Traveling with a toddler..........

Some people think Ford is well behaved, but he is a WILD CHILD... Okay okay, yes, he is generally as civilized as any toddler can be, he is pretty easy going and "listens" (not the webster's dictionary definition but any parent of a toddler or who has older kids will know exactly what I mean!) 

I had this BRIGHT idea that going to Arizona for two and a half weeks without Luke was a good idea.... I know once we are there it'll be fine, swimming, zoo, children's museum, running, playing with the cats, playing with GGM and GGP (way easier then Great Grandma and Great Grandpa for an almost 2 year old), Ford will have a ton of activities to do. BUT two plane rides totaling 6 1/2 hours is a lot of a little guy. He is pretty good, everyone around us is always complimenting how he acts and is so good on the airplane. What they don't see is my battle with him to STAY IN OUR SEATS! He doesn't quite understand why he can't get up and run around; it's not like he is in his car seat (which if I had more then 2 hands would have accompanied us onto the plane!) plus, he gets SOOOOOOO excited to say HELLO to everyone he wants to walk up and down the aisle, which is fine on flights that don't take off at 5AM! Everyone is trying to sleep and he is happy-go-lucky Ford, who is enjoying all the new faces. Luckily the flight attendants are always SO gracious with us and don't mind if we spend some time at the back of the plane where he can stand up and has a little room to explore! 

He tried very hard this flight (currently almost to Washington) to fight taking a nap... I have since won the battle and he is sleeping in his seat next to me. 

Hopefully he will sleep some more on the way from SEA to TUC as he only got 5 hours of sleep last night and was up from 2:30-7:30... I do not think an 45 min nap (if he sleeps until we land) will do for the rest of the day. 

Well, that was short lived. Oh well lets hope the next flight has better results in the sleep department! 

Growing up...

I have always said to Luke, "one day you will wake up and Ford will be ten". I say it because I know it's true. Everyone says to us, "cherish these days, they grow up fast." "Don't blink, he will be in college before you know it" "if you aren't looking, you'll be a grandparent before you know it" ....... My heart aches so much sometimes to realize that all of these people once laid in bed like I am doing, wondering about their sleeping children; if it is really true that they grow up THAT fast. It seems like yesterday that I had my first horse lesson, first date, first day of high school, last day, got engaged, married, turned 21, moved to Alaska, found out I was pregnant, had Ford, watched him smile for the first time, watched him crawl and walk and run. 

The answer of "do they grow up THAT fast" is simple, they grow up faster then we, as parents, can ever imagine. Ford isn't even two yet and I have cried countless times about the fact that he has out grown his preemie sleeper that Kelsey got him when he was born, that he will never have SO many first again, but that there are still SO many to come. I honestly do not know where the last ONE AND THREE QUARTER YEARS has gone. I know I will wake up tomorrow and he will be married, so it won't actually be "tomorrow" but close enough, at this rate he will be 50 before I can blink! 

I am SO SO SO lucky to have a family that has instilled such amazing memories into my life, so that I knew from the beginning that life goes by WAY to fast for anyone's liking and that if you don't enjoy every second of babyhood, childhood and general life, it will be gone before you know it. 

I enjoy each day and every second that I get to share with Ford, he is such an AMAZING, independent and self assured little man! But no matter how much I adore and love him for the me that I see in him, it makes me so incredibly sad that he is day-by-day slowly letting go of me and learning his own way in this crazy world, I honestly can't imagine how I will feel in 16 years when he is graduating high school, if I feel this way now. 

If I had any advice to share with someone about being a parent it is; really, truly, time flies, there is nothing more special then your children, no time wasted with them, nothing makes you feel more fulfilled in life then watching them figure something out, laugh for the first time, learn to run or climb, no matter how scary it is for us, they become little PEOPLE so fast, you must treasure every waking second and a few (okay, a lot) of sleeping ones too.... If you don't you will wake up one day and realize your kids are grown, even if they aren't even two yet! 

From this....

To this!