Good morning from Alabama! Hadley and I got back to my parent’s house last night after a whirlwind six days in Austin, Texas visiting my in-laws for the holidays. We caught a flight bright and early (3:30 a.m. wake-up!) Wednesday morning and lucked out with a direct flight. This made round-trip flight #7 for our two-year-old pro-traveler!
Four out of seven trips have just been Hadley and me, and traveling with her without Jamie continues getting much easier the older she gets. She’s able to hold my hand and walk around the airport, in bathrooms (“Hadley, don’t touch ANYTHING!”), on and off the plane, etc., and we managed to squeak by with only one massive meltdown just as we headed to baggage claim to finish up our trip. There had to be one. DUH.
Now that she’s two, she gets her own seat! She flew for free with my Southwest Companion Pass that we very, very sadly used for the last time before it expires next week. Note: The beginning of January is the best time to start working towards your own Companion Pass because you have to earn 110,000 points between January and December. Obviously starting in January is your best bet! Check out this post and this post for more information about how we’ve enjoyed zipping around the country completely free for 18 months and how I can help you achieve this pass too!
She watched movies during every flight on her . She’s currently loaded up with Frozen, Winnie the Pooh’s Grand Adventure, and Aladdin.
She usually doesn’t take naps on flights and prefers to fidget or cry to get out her energy (ahhh), but this time around she took cat naps both on the way to Texas and on the way back.
She was very excited to see her Miya and Papaw!
They had Christmas presents for her that we opened with Jamie on FaceTime. Thank goodness for FaceTime. I don’t want to imagine a deployment without it!
Our time together consisted of driving around and eating in Wimberley, shopping and dining out around Austin, feeding the ducks at a neighborhood pond, exploring a children’s museum (The Thinkery was great!), and attending an early Christmas Eve church service. We were busy!
Pictured below is Hadley with her cheeks stuffed with her first chocolate cake ball that she decided to eat whole. She was a fan!
Because she’s sleeping in a big girl bed normally now, she was allowed to sleep with me in my bed during this trip! I absolutely loved falling asleep and waking up next to my girl. I’d love to let her continue sleeping in my bed until Jamie gets home, but that’s definitely not going to work when the baby comes in a few months. So, we’re back to sleeping solo. I’m very thankful for how well she just goes with the flow and adjusts in so many different situations.
One afternoon we were able to eat lunch with one of my most precious Army wife friends from Fort Campbell! Michele and her husband are out of the Army now and living in Austin, and Hadley and I were so so so incredibly happy to see her!
Hadley’s Papaw ordered her a chocolate chip cookie for dessert one night during dinner out, and they brought out one sized like this… because everything’s bigger in Texas, right?
I finally (finally finally) got myself a to use as a diaper bag for day trips and traveling. I knew I’d be traveling home with more than I came with, so I picked this trip as the perfect excuse to snag this bag! I’ve been wanting one forever and love it!
Six days of fun with her Miya, Papaw, and Uncle B wore her out! Can’t believe that the next time we visit Texas we’ll have another little baby girl. Can’t wait!
I am far from any kind of expert when it comes to traveling with babies and toddlers, but because we’ve done quite a bit of flying with Hadley throughout the last couple of years, here are a few of my biggest personal tips/sanity savers!
1.) This may be obvious, but it’s so important! Look into seeing what items the family you’re visiting can borrow from their friends and have on hand before your arrival. Items such as pack-n-plays, high chairs that strap onto seats, bed rails, and toys are extremely helpful.
2.) Keep your carry-on super light and check as much as you can at the check-in counter. I typically only prefer to carry around Hadley’s Kindle, one change of clothes, a sippy cup, a few diapers, wipes, and a snack or two. I hate bringing toys, so I don’t do it! The less that you have to haul through the airport, in bathrooms, and on the plane, the better! We’ve had Hadley’s checked baggage lost twice, but we’ve still always been able to make it work until it arrives.
3.) Stick with a baby carrier or super lightweight umbrella stroller and leave the big stroller at home.
4.) Use electronic boarding passes so that you have less documents to fiddle with. I always screenshot ours so that they’re ready to go in my photos.
Let’s chat!
1.) Have you been to Austin? What are your favorite things to do while you’re there?
2.) What travel tips would you add to my personal list?
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo