Author: Abby Allphin
Married. Mom of three. LDS
Traveling with a Toddler
In May, my son and I had the opportunity to fly to Northern California to visit my brother and his family.
With my husband having just started up their granite business this year, he wasn’t able to come with us on this trip. 😭 (But we survived the week without him, with lots and lots of praying.)
Thankfully my parents were going out too and I was able to get the same flights there and back as them. So I wasn’t completely alone while flying pregnant with a toddler.
But let me tell you what that trip taught me.
#1. My husband does more for me than I realize or even give him credit for. So if you want to appreciate your husband, take a week long trip with your toddler alone and you’ll understand what I mean.
#2. Go for easy food that you know your toddler will eat and like while on a trip. Don’t try and give him new foods and end up with a hangry toddler. If we knew we were going to eat something he wouldn’t eat, I would either try and make him a sandwich or grab some chicken nuggets for him.
#3. Free up space on your phone so you can take as many pictures as you want.
#4. Just relax and have fun. Enjoy each new experience with your toddler.
I did a lot of Pinterest searching before this trip because I knew I had a mobile toddler and last time we flew he wasn’t completely mobile. So I was extra nervous about him not wanting to sit on my lap during the flights and just wanting to run down the aisle.
I looked up different ways to distract him with new toys, apps, even food. But I was overly prepared, like always.
The tackle box snack pack was a hit for my son because he was free to choose what he wanted and it didn’t take up much space in my diaper bag.
Next time, I’ll make sure that I only put in snacks he likes because a third of it he didn’t even touch.
Another thing he enjoyed was having an iPad with his favorite movies on it and some kid headphones. 
His favorites right now are Despicable Me 3 and Ferdinand.
As you can tell in the picture, my son takes a bottle of milk. So I made sure before each flight to get fresh milk for him and sometimes even after depending on how he was acting.
I also made sure to change his diaper right when we got on the plane so he had a clean one on for each flight. We boarded during family boarding so there wasn’t ever anyone on yet and I would just change him on the seat next to us.
My son also has to have his “nana” with him for comfort. Especially to go to sleep. His “nana” is just a cloth diaper that we used as burp clothes when he was little but he became attached and now has one with him all the time. I usually don’t let him take them out of the house or the car, but for traveling I made the exception. The other nice thing about his “nana” is he isn’t attached to one certain one. He can have any of them, so I made sure to pack extras in our suitcase and diaper bag, just in case. So if your toddler has something that comforts them, don’t forget to bring it. That little comfort from home goes a long way when your toddler is exhausted.
The other thing we made sure to do when traveling was let him stretch his legs as much as possible. Before, in between and after flights, we made sure to let him walk around as much as possible. I bought my son a backpack with a leash, this way I couldn’t loose him while we were out and about especially in the airport.
But what we discovered last year, after taking multiple trips back to back with our son, was that we needed to take time out of our vacation to one, take naps and to two, let him play. We like to try and find a park for him to play at or a field to run around in when we are traveling to let him get some energy out. We enjoyed our trips a lot more when we made sure to do those two things each day because our son got the attention he needed and we got a happier son the rest of the time.
The last thing I have learned from traveling with my toddler is to let them explore! Don’t make your trip so jam packed with activities that your toddler can’t take his time exploring and enjoying everything around him.
My son loves the movie Ferdinand, like I mentioned earlier, and if you haven’t seen Ferdinand, it’s about a bull that is a huge softy that loves to stop and smell the flowers. My son is just like Ferdinand and I have come to realize that that is a good thing. Every time we walk past flowers, real or fake, he has to stop and smell them. So remember while you are traveling with your toddler, family, husband, friends, or just by yourself, don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers.
These are just some of the things that I learned while traveling this past time with my toddler that I hope will help you on your next big flying adventure.
What are some things you have learned from traveling with a toddler or kids of any age?
I’m back!
Well, that 31 Day blog challenge didn’t go as expected. But we have had some crazy, amazing things happen in our life.
For one, I’m pregnant! And it’s a girl!!! I’m due the middle of September and it has been a rough pregnancy, but thankfully I have had my toddler to distract me.
The second thing that happened is my husbands business took off and is doing great. They are booked out a few months and are constantly working, but it is wonderful to see him genuinely happy and enjoying what he does.
The third thing that happened is we sold our house and started fixing up my in-laws old farmhouse. It has been very challenging especially being pregnant and having a toddler and my husband starting a new business, but it has also been such a blessing. We love living in the country and are enjoying the peaceful evenings together in our little farmhouse.
(Two side notes about this photo: 1. No, that is not our farmhouse. 😅 That’s our barn next to our farmhouse. 2. Someone dropped kittens off at our barn one night. There is a momma cat and six kittens, but only these two orange ones are friendly and have stuck around. So they are officially family now. [Moose is still getting use to Spaz and Taz.] Just another exciting thing that has happened.)
But with all these exciting things happening in our life, I haven’t had the time to sit down a write. Thankfully things are starting to slow down and we have a better routine that I am hoping I’ll be able to stick with it better.
I love to write and post about things that I have learned or that I enjoy so that maybe someone will find it helpful and insightful and hopefully, my family will be able to look back on this and learn about the person I am striving to be.
Day 17
10 Favorite Songs (no particular order):
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1. Be Still, My Soul
2. Treasure
3. You’re Welcome
4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
5. All of Me
6. Crazy
7. Perfect
8. Why Don’t We Just Dance
9. What Lovers Do
10. Perm
Day 16
Something I miss.
I honestly miss high school because of all the extra curricular that I participated in which included softball, cheerleading, dance, and show choir.
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Softball is my favorite sport. I loved playing first base or catcher. ⚾️ The feel of dirt and sweat after any game made me feel like a winner. It is something that made me feel close to my brothers because they all play little league baseball.
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eerleading was something I never thought I would do, I even made fun of cheerleaders, but then I tried out and I absolutely love it. I loved hyping people up at sporting events and showing school spirit throughout high school. 🎀
Dance was something that honestly was fun because of the teachers I had and the friends I danced with. It was a time to relax and unwind, while learning and growing as a person.
Show choir was by far my favorite part of high school. I had wonderful teachers and great friends. But performing was like nothing I can describe. It was almost like putting on a new identity and escaping from who you are and striving to be someone better. It was a way for me to really express who I am and how I feel about the world around me.
I love the life I am living with my husband, son, and pup, but I sure loved getting to participate in all the extra activities I was able to throughout high school.
Day 15
Favorite comfort food.
When I think of comfort food, I think of what I like to eat when I’m all alone and the house is quiet.
And that is a Combo Burrito from Taco Bell, no onions, and multiple hot sauce packets.
But if I were to add to this list…
•Fresh Dr. Pepper
•Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Carmel Squares
•Nacho Cheese Doritos with a bologna sandwich
•Turkey Tom from Jimmy John’s with a pickle on the side
•Strawberries, blueberries, and whip cream
Just a few of the things I love to eat when I need a little comfort. ❤️
Day 14
Where I want to be in 10 years.
I love dreaming about the future and where we, as a couple and family, could possibly be.
As for myself, I see me being a wife, Mom, and possibly a teacher (depending on if I pursue a teaching degree like I would like to).
I see our family living in a beautiful farmhouse style house in Granby, Missouri with possibly a couple cows and another dog.
Nicolas will probably be working hard in his granite business and still be a wonderful husband and father like he is.
I think that we could have a few more kids in 10 years depending on how we can handle multiple children.
But no matter where we end up, I know that I will be happy as long as I have my family by my side. ❤️
Day 13
Worst habits.
I think it’s very important for a person to know their own strengths and weaknesses so that they can strive to build on them and use them properly.
I know that habits are one of my weaknesses.
I have a hard time sticking with something. I always have to put reminders on my phone, sticky notes all around, and have my husband remind me and even those things don’t help me sometimes.
But I would have to say that my worst habit is not saying my personal prayers.
We read scriptures with my son and say family prayers with him before bed every night. It’s part of his bedtime routine.
But when it comes to saying my own personal prayers, I don’t.
I know I should to help connect with my Heavenly Father and get answers to my prayers, but I don’t physically kneel down and say my prayers.
I pray in my heart all day long. I just don’t say my own personal prayers.
But this is a bad habit that I want to break this year and something that I want to set as an example for my children so that they will want to pray to their Heavenly Father daily too.
What are some ways you remember to say your morning and evening prayers?
Day 12
Favorite childhood book.
I loved books as a child. Even before I was able to read, I loved looking at the pictures and making up my own stories.
I remember recently going back and reading a book to my son that I had always loved growing up and not recognizing the story because I had just remembered the one I made up for it.
My favorite book growing up would have to have been If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.
I remember my mom reading it to me and my brothers growing up and I remember getting so excited when that author came out with more books like, If You Take A Mouse to the Movies, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, and If You Take A Mouse to School.
These were the books I always picked out for my mom to read to me and still pick them out today to read to my son and even my nieces and nephews when I get the chance.
Day 11
Dream job.
I feel like I’m living my dream job being a stay-at-home Momma.
But I definitely have dreams of what I think it would be fun to do. So here are my ideas of a dream job. 💡
•Cookie Shop Owner
-Cookies are my favorite thing to bake and I love trying new recipes to find just the one I love. And I do make a delicious chocolate chip cookie. 🍪
•Elementary School Teacher
-I was a cadet teacher for Mrs. Lett’s 3rd grade class in high school and I loved getting to see the kids everyday and help them learn and grow. To see them succeed really warmed my heart. 📝
•House Flipper like Joanna Gaines
-I love to decorate and figure out how I can make a house look like a home.
•Crafter
-I want to make a craft one day that people love and sell it at craft shows. I also would love to teach people how to make crafts so they can create their own art.
•Coach
-I had the best coaches growing up for softball, dance, cheerleading, and show choir. They taught me a lot about the sport, but also taught me a lot about life and making commitments and building friendships. I would love to have that same impact on a group of people. I would really enjoy helping them succeed at something they love doing.
These are the things I would enjoy doing as a dream job and who knows, maybe someday I will get the chance. ❤️
Absolutely Abby 
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