Travelling Toddlers

While my 10-month-old isn't quite walking just yet, he might as well be a toddler with all the standing he's doing lately, and all the keeping on the move to keep up with his kuya (big brother). He climbs stairs, cruises across tables and couches, and is quick to sneak anything from chicken nuggets to Play-Doh into his mouth. While Baby 2 has been travelling a lot on the ground, he also has now travelled in the air as November 10 marked his first plane ride to McAllen, Texas along with Baby 1 (who first travelled there when he was 8 months old). The visit was to see their 92-year-old great grandfather and other great aunts and uncles who were excited to meet the little one and spend time with both children. Though we mostly stayed in our hotel for safety and convenience, we did get to do a little shopping, visit great-grandfather's house, and eat a lot of delicious local food. The hardest part of traveling was going through TSA with two little ones and all the bags. Oh and adjusting to the baby's sleep schedule in a hotel--especially since he was starting to get sick, which probably didn't help his sleep. The easiest part of traveling was having both boys fall asleep on the plane ride back (after a delayed flight it was pretty late and dark and white noise filled). On the way there, the most notable event was my firstborn using a potty in the sky!

He's definitely growing up fast. Practically potty trained (he holds it all night, goes potty at school now, and we're just working on getting him to the toilet in time for all #2s). I started getting a little teary eyed during his gymnastics class on Saturday thinking about how he was about to age out of the Mommy-and-Me class at 3 and a half years old (the next class is for 3.5 and up, and mommies stay watching through the window while a teacher leads all the kids). He's also gotten really into playing on playgrounds (for the slides), which is something I can still do with him as long as he wants me to.

Preschool has been getting better each day with fewer tearful goodbyes and more days of teachers saying how good he's done (I think going potty at school has definitely helped allow him to be more comfortable!). I think he's been eating more there, doing lots of art, and while he still gets a little nervous at goodbyes when he can't find one of his favorite teachers to wave bye to me with, he still seems to find a way. The only downsides have been the constant illnesses. Yes, we had another sickness hit the family right before Halloween. Baby 1 was healthy enough to go trick-or-treating (and was excited to understand the concept of getting candy at least even if he didn't quite understand the concept of dressing up). I, however, felt pretty crummy as the cold hit me next. Then Baby 2 got it in Texas, and other relatives are starting to feel it as well. But Baby 2's first Halloween was still a lot of fun with cute ensemble outfits. He didn't care much for dressing up either, but our little dinosaur was just adorable for the few minutes we managed to keep him in the costume.

In general, however, Baby 2 continues to be pretty laid back. The older he gets the more we see how different he is from his big brother. The obvious--he doesn't nurse to sleep but prefers motion. He's more smiley but also more food inclined. But also Kuya prefers playing with Play-Doh and letters and numbers while the little one prefers trying to eat Play-Doh. He hasn't really attached himself to any one or two toys like Baby 1 did with his Pooh bear and Binks the lion pacifier, but he does love to explore and climb stairs just as much.

With the holidays approaching and family coming in to town there will be less travelling out of the state and more traveling to dinners and parties (small though they may be), but it will definitely be fun to get to see their personalities emerge even further as they interact with old and new cousins and try new things Meeting Santa? A one-year cake smash? There's so much in store!