If you haven’t noticed I’m pretty excited about our upcoming family vacation. Traveling has always been a love of mine and I hope to pass that excitement down to my boys. I never wanted us to be a family that says, Oh we haven’t been anywhere in years.
We’ve been flying with A since he was 7 months old, and to be honest, it was so much easier when he was a baby. I would nurse him for takeoff and landing and then he would pretty much sleep the rest of the flight. On our last family vacation I was probably out of my seat most of the flight walking up and down the aisles with them. I can only image how this flight will be, and with a layover none of the less. I need all the mama prayers I can get.
With the logistics of the trip aside, here’s a look at a few ways we’ve been preparing the boys for travel…
CANDID CONVERSATIONS: we’ve been talking to both of them a lot about how we are going to get on an airplane, go to an Island, and the process of everything in between. Now that A is even older he asks a lot of questions. Mainly questions about the plane, particularly to takeoff and landing. I think it’s important to let them know what to expect and give them as much detail as possible—of course within reason.
SHOWING THEM PICTURES: we’ve been showing them pictures of previous trips and reminding them of how we traveled before and all the fun we had. It blows my mind that A still remembers feeding the Iguanas in Aruba. We’ve also been showing them pictures of where we will be going and what the hotel looks like. This has gotten them really excited to check out some of the amenities and sleep in the big bed.
INVOLVING THEM IN PACKING: this has probably been the biggest help with getting them ready to travel. It allows them to make decisions about what they want to bring along, picking out toys to play with, snacks to pack, etc. I promise, there are clothes in the bottom of their suitcase but their toys had to be on top so they know they are in there.
GEOGRAPHY: both of the boys have globes in their rooms that they are familiar with. Little nuggets we actually picked up on our trip to the Dominican. For the past few nights they’ve been taking out their globes and asking us to show them the country we are traveling to and where the airplane will be flying over. This probably isn’t the most effective thing for a younger child since you can see my little nugget was more interested in licking the globe and pretending like it was a giant lollipop. A on the other hand keeps looking at his globe everyday and asking what other countries we are visiting next.
EXPLORING CULTURE: we’ve also been talking to them about different cultures and how people all around the world speak different languages and may eat different foods.We’re trying to prepare them for new sounds and sights they might see.
I’ll be taking a little break from blogging to enjoy our time together as a family. I do have a fun Friday Favorites previously planned so you might want to check that out. I might be sharing a few things here and there on instagram (@beautifully_candid) if you’d like to follow along for the fun. Overall I’ll be disconnecting for a few days and enjoying some sand and sun. Looking forward to catching up with everyone when we get back!
