A Toddler's Priceless Sincerity

This morning my daughter woke up in her usual bright-eyed and cheery way.    As I opened her door, I heard “I awake Mommy.”

“I see that.  Good morning sweetie.” I replied.   Then, picked her up and hugged her smiley face.  She quickly indicated with kicks and wiggles that she wanted down.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she started talking. “Mommy, I am two and a half.  Mommy, I have to go potty.  Mommy, I wear my pink dress.  Mommy, I wash my hand..." and so on.

After a slight pause, she continued with some questions.  “Mommy, I go to school today?  Mommy, I stay home with you?  Mommy, can I have a Popsicle?”  I could barely answer her before she moved onto the next topic. 

Daddy and me eating donuts

“Mommy where is Daddy?”

“He is in our bedroom,” I said.

“Okay, I go see him.”  She said as she ran down the hall shouting, “Daddy, I awake.  Daddy, where are you?”

“In here (our bedroom),”  he replied.

“Daddy, I want a bow in my hair.  Can you put a bow in my hair?”  she asked.

“Mommy will put a bow in your hair,”  he replied.

“Okay.  Mommy put a bow in your hair too, Daddy?”

“No, I don’t need a bow.  I don’t even have hair.”  He said laughingly.

“Mommy, Daddy doesn’t have hair,” she said with an inquisitive tone.

 “I know sweetie.  Daddy doesn’t have hair.  He is bald,”  I replied with a smile.

She replied with a question, “Why?”

 “It fell out a long time ago, but that is okay.  We love Daddy with his bald head.”

 “Mommy, can we go to the store today?” 

“Maybe.   Why do you want to go to the store?" I asked.

“We go to Target and buy Daddy hair, okay?”

I loved her sincerity. 

We had a quick giggle and long conversation.

Flying with a Toddler at the Holidays

The thought of flying with a toddler at any time of year can induce anxiety and force a family to rethink the entire idea.  The long lines, security check, and the constrained seating requires a lot of patience for an adult never mind a small child. So flying with a toddler during the holiday season- well I have no words. 

Photo by Poike/iStock / Getty Images

In regards to our upcoming flight, I hope for the best, expect the worst, and would be ecstatic if the situation ended up being somewhere in between. 

The last time my husband and I took our toddler on a flight, she sat peacefully next to me dosing off as we prepared for take-off.  Just as I exhaled in relief, the ding, ding sound of the bell occurred. The pilot told the flight attendants to take their seats - we were next in line for takeoff.  Then, my child woke up.  She looked at me with a perplexed face and grunted.  She didn't need to tell me what was happening but proudly shouted, "I pooping!" with a glee in her voice.

My internal voice shouted "No, no not now - fall asleep, fall asleep."  My external voice said, "Okay, sweetie."  She continued to announce the play by play activity to the rest of the silent cabin.  And joyfully exclaimed, "I did it!"  when she was finished.   (A silent, sarcastic "Hooray!" swirled in my head.)

I responded with a "Good job!"  She then demanded a diaper change.  However, we were ascending.  The fasten seat bell sign was illuminated and the flight attendants were still seated.  Trying to explain the situation to a two year old was a moo point.   However, I thought it would sound better than nothing to my fellow passengers that heard her crying demands, "Diaper Change, Diaper Change!"

As soon as it was safe, I handed her and all of the diaper changing necessities over to my husband who was sitting in the aisle seat with a "Good luck" and a smile.  "Phew!" - better him than me I thought.

This time, like the times before I am surely packing my patience and a lot of toddler distractions for the flight (videos and more videos).  Again, I will sit in the middle seat and leave my husband in the aisle.

As I keep calm and breathe,  I am thankful this holiday season and looking forward to spending the holidays with our family in Idaho. 

Happy Holiday's and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Btw, would love to hear your toddler travel stories...please share!