Now we are three ...

My big boy turned three yesterday. It still sounds funny to my ears because he is the "big" boy around here, and yet, he is only just now three. But there is no doubt about it: He is a boy and no longer a baby. And if you don't believe me, just ask him, and he will tell you. As he tells us. About a hundred times a day.

In honour of my big-boy-who-is-no-longer-a-baby, we had a little birthday celebration yesterday. I hesitate to call it a "party" because only our family was invited--just the four of us--and we kept the festivities really simple. As much as he enjoys going to friends' birthday parties, throwing one of our own would be a disaster. The combination of sugar, excitement, and other kids playing with his toys would be a recipe for a complete meltdown, and I wanted him to enjoy his birthday not spend it crying.

Instead we spent the day doing things that he loves the most: visiting the dinosaurs at the museum, jumping on bouncy castles, and baking, decorating and, of course, eating the birthday cake. (It came in a box. We dyed it pink, purple, green, and blue. It looked awful, but he got to decorate it himself and he loved it. He had three pieces.)

We opened all of his birthday letters and read them aloud--a little tradition I started for his first birthday. Although I must admit he was much more excited by the obnoxious singing, dancing disco-hamster card I bought him than the heartfelt epistles of his nearest and dearest. That's a three year old for you.

And, of course, there were presents. 

Since Colin's birthday falls just after Christmas and since, heaven help us!, we do not need any more toys in this house, I put a ban on friends and family giving him birthday gifts. I know, I'm horrid.

Nonetheless, his grandmothers couldn't help slipping a little something in the mail, and Kevin and I got him a set of three Automoblox. And as he's been dancing around the house with them for the past 24 hours, telling us all about "these really cool, awesome toys," I might have to lift the ban next year and go "full toy." (So quickly do our ideals crumble...)

Whatever! We had an absolutely wonderful day, full of smiles and laughter and absolutely free of tantrums and tears. And if you've ever had a two year old--I mean, a three year old--then you know just how rare and wonderful those days are. 

Happy third birthday, Colin Henry Beach!

Guess who ...

... turned three today?

How to Fly with Babies

You would think that after flying internationally with babies dozens of times that I would be an old pro at it. On the contrary, I have only now figured it out. It was just on this last trip to Toronto to visit family that we had a truly successful flight, so, assuming that this wasn't just a one-off, I thought I'd share a few of my hard-won lessons about flying with babies:

1) Go to bed early. If, like us, you have to wake up at 3:00 a.m. and leave for the airport at 4:00 a.m. to make a 6:00 a.m. flight, then this means everyone must go to bed by 7:00 p.m. the night before. If you are lucky and don't have to leave before the crack of dawn, go to bed early anyway. Once you have children, you will never again get to nap on the plane.

There's just something about little boys and "things that go"... 

2) Get to the airport early. Getting to the airport two hours early (or three for an international flight) may seem excessive, but where little kids are involved there are always unexpected delays. Combine two or three unexpected delays, and you've just missed your flight. Trust me, I've done it. And there is nothing worse than waiting around an airport all day on stand-by when you have kids in tow. Now we just get to the airport extra early, have a big breakfast after check-in, and let the kids stretch their legs walking up and down the terminals. By the time we finally board, everyone has a full belly and is ready to have a little morning rest.

Archer burns off a little energy before the flight.

3) Bring a movie. We usually fly cheap no-frills carriers, but on this last flight to Toronto our plane had an in-flight movie, and Colin, my little restless flier, sat mesmerized for the entire three-hour flight watching The Lion King, The Smurfs, and all those other Disney movies we don't have at home. (And Kevin and I got to see all those new releases we've missed in the past year!) The price of a fancy-schmancy iPad or a portable DVD player may seem a little steep, but if they buy you even three hours of peace on your flight, they are worth every penny and the next-best thing to flying First Class.

4) Bring a car seat on the plane. Since Colin turned two he has been riding in his own seat on the plane, and until recently this was a disaster. He would spend the entire flight un-latching his safety belt and trying to crawl under the seat in front of him. Then, on our flight back from Arkansas last October, he fell asleep in Archer's infant car seat just before boarding, so I brought the whole thing on the airplane. And although it was not technically legal, it worked beautifully. This time, I brought Colin's own toddler car seat, and it worked even better. I don't know why more parents don't flight with car seats for their young children (I have almost never seen another parent do this), but I do know that I will never fly again without one. Sure, they are bulky, but you can buy a special backpack or carry-on case for them for about $25, and that--plus a portable DVD player and some diapers--are the only carry-ons you really need.

We were all smiles on this last flight--except when Mama pulled out the camera.


5) Bring a change of clothes. Did I just say you only need to bring a car seat and a portable DVD player? Well, bring a change of clothes for each kid, too. There is something about the change in altitude and cabin pressure that is the perfect recipe for explosive poo. This usually happen right after take-off and before you are allowed to move about the cabin and change a dirty diaper. We've started putting the nylon diaper covers that we use with our cloth diapers on top of the disposable diapers that we travel with and this seems to contain most of the mess. Most, but not all. So pack a change of clothes just to be safe.

6) And pack a few special toys. I also travel with a small back-pack for Colin that I stock with a few special things that are only for flying: a couple of Matchbox cars, some finger puppets, a few small animal figurines, a small notepad and some crayons, and a couple of miniature paperback books. Colin feels like such a big boy carrying is "pack-pack" as he calls it, and it saves me a lot of time that his toys are always close at his hands. To make things easier on me, I bring the same number of each item: three cars, three puppets, three animals, etc., so I never have to wonder if he's lost something under his seat. I just ask myself, "Are there three of them?" If so, we're good to go.

 Colin shows off his special "pack-pack" ...

... and Archer tries to make a get-away with some of its loot.

7) Stay calm. Whatever you do, don't let the stress of flying get to you or it will make your kids stressed, too. After years of flying with kids, Kevin and I finally started to see a pattern in our kids behaviour on travel days: just before checking in both kids would start crying and they wouldn't stop until we go through customs and security check. They weren't tired, they weren't hungry, they weren't yet bored with the novelty of flying. Finally we figured it out: they were nervous because we were nervous. In fact, we were sweating bullets because the lines were long and we were worried about missing our flight. Now, we get to the airport extra early so that we beat the crowds and we make sure that whatever curve balls get thrown our way we "Keep Calm and Carry On," and now everyone gets on the plane smiling.

What are your tips for traveling with children?

Siblings, siblings

We're back in Edmonton after a quick and very last-minute trip to Toronto to visit Kevin's family. Kevin's younger brother, Chris, just got engaged to a very nice girl named Sujin who was visiting, and this was our one chance to see them both before they return to South Korea to live for a few years. 

Since this was the first and only time that we were likely to have "all" the family together for a while, I thought that it warranted a picture--bad sweaters and all. Kevin's mom, Shirley, is really big on family, having been an only child herself and having lost her mom at a young age.  I know it really pains her that both her sons live so far away and that she only gets to see her grandchildren once in a blue moon. So a photo of us all is about the best present I can give her.

Similarly, Shirley's gift to me was the reminder that the hard years of raising very young children really do go by so quickly. Before I know it, Colin and Archer will be living thousands of miles away, consumed with raising their own families, and I'll never get to see them enough. I promise to think about while I'm out tonight enjoying some much-needed time away from my family ;)

In the meantime, here's to siblings--and coordinated outfits:

Kevin (right) with Chris, circa 1978.

Me, with my brother, Stark, circa 1984.

At Seven Months ...

It's been a busy month, so I'm just getting this in under the wire, but technically Archer is still seven months old for another week so here goes ...

At seven months, Archer ...

-weighs 18.5 pounds and is 25 inches long. This puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height, which makes him stocky. Must be those Beach genes, although I still think he takes after my side of the family in terms of good looks ;)

-is so mobile! He sits, he stands, he crawls, and as of this weekend he pulls himself up. Kevin says he even saw Archer pull himself all the way onto a low shelf that we have in the living room. Was Colin this mobile at such a young age? I doubt it. But no doubt Archer's physical precociousness is due to wanting to keep up with a big brother who never stops moving.

-has become very vocal. No longer content to just babble and blow raspberries, Archer wants to be a part of the conversation, and, in this house, that means he has to compete with some very big talkers. So far, Archer has discovered that being the loudest gets everyone's attention, even if no one knows what you're saying.

-is such a curious, easy-going, and happy baby. I still get stopped by strangers who are amazed by his cheerful good nature and constant smile, but this month his dominant trait seems to be his curiosity. This baby is into everything--and likes to put everything in his mouth, including (eek!) a broken Christmas ornament! Fortunately, I got to him quickly that time, but I can tell I'm going to have to grow eyes in the back of my head for this one. 

(Pictures were all taken at our weekly play group.)

Christmas in Pictures

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas!

Remember when ...

Until Colin was about two years old he was a terrible sleeper. Even after he gave up night nursing, he'd still wake up several times during the night and would only go back to sleep if Kevin or I (but mostly Kevin) would walk him around his room singing to him.

Colin has been sleeping through the night--and in his own bed!--for almost a year now, but tonight after Kevin put him to bed, he got up, knocked on our door, and said to Kevin, "Daddy, sing me that song about mamas crying."

I was a little baffled by this request, but Kevin knew just what he meant. Apparently, lacking a repertoire of lullabies, Kevin used to sing him "In the Ghetto," that wonderfully maudlin Elvis ballad, which had been one of my old karaoke stand-bys in our younger, more carefree days. Being about boys who grow up to commit armed robbery and are subsequently murdered by the police, it is not at all an appropriate bedtime song, but it does have that catchy refrain, "And his mama cries ...".

It had been a year at least since Kevin had sung him to sleep, yet Colin still remembered the tune. It is both heartening (and a little bit frightening) that just shy of three Colin already has such a keen memory.I wonder, though, what he will make of this particular memory when he is older.

In any case, I think it's time I taught Kevin the lyrics to some proper lullabies ...

What are your favourite bedtime tunes?