+ Christmas travel with a toddler

We just returned from a Canadian Christmas in Calgary. We left on Christmas Eve and returned on the 28th. With a squirmy, inquisitive, fiesty, gotta-touch-every-dirty-thing-while-we-wait-for-our-flight two year old. I remember the days when K and I were first married, traveling carry-ons only. Now, we have a small toddler who isn't capable of lugging his own bag and carseat and diaper bag around yet. Dadda gets to do that. Airports are full of long lines, and even longer walks. Add to that the aspect of traveling to another country, and we get to deal with more lines and longer waits.

Don't get me wrong, we thoroughly enjoyed visiting our extended family during this very special time of the year. And, W is a wonderful little boy and he actually has flown about 30 times in his first two years of life. K's and my families are spread out in Phoenix, Calgary, Victoria, Vancouver, and Minnesota. We haven't even visited our families that live in Alaska and Toronto yet! Hope to soon. W is a very experienced traveler and K and I are appreciating his growing progress each time we travel. He walks now so we don't have to carry him. But we can't take our eyes off him for a second, either. He wants to say "hi!" to everyone. And any older woman with shorter grey hair gets a "hi, Nanna!", which is what he calls my mom, who fits that description.

We do a lot of walking, and letting W see everything. We walk slowly and at his pace (sometimes he even just stops in the middle of the chaotic crowds) because we can. They recommend getting to the airports more than 2 hours in advance to deal with security lines, baggage check, customs, etc. On paper, that doesn't sound like enough time, but when we get there and the crowds aren't as bad as we expected, we get to do a lot of waiting. And chasing. And going on 'walks'. Where does his energy go? And why doesn't he sleep on the plane after all that walking around?

There is so much to see at an airport. W is not able to settle down and let mommy and I eat our quick, pre-boarding meals. He doesn't want to stop long enough to eat his own meals. Airport eating establishiments don't usually supply high-chairs or booster seats, so we eat in the waiting chairs and on the floor. W gets ketchup on his hands and off he goes to smear it on the large windows because he sees a plane on the tarmac. "Plane!"

This time, I got to chase him behind ticket counters and he even bolted through the customs 'cages' where we have to show our passports. He likes touching every single bag streaming by on the carousels. And when I do attempt to retrieve him, he thinks it's a chasing game and starts laughing crazily and starts running away, rather than obediently stopping.

This was the first flight where he was not a 'lap' baby. After his second birthday (December 17), he gets his own seat. Which is great for our laps, but it really isn't reasonable for the flight attendant to ask a toddler to get buckled in 40 minutes before we actually get rolling. Convincing W that he really doesn't want to go up and down the aisle while folks are still filing in and hoisting heavy bags into the overhead bins is not something he wants to hear.

We did survive. And I'm writing about it. And W is all the more 'experienced' for it. Thankfully our flights are mostly under 2.5 hours. Much longer, and I would have many different things to add.