And away we go...

The countdown is on for our vacation, something we can now call our Family Vacation. Last year and this year our holidays have been trips to Canada, home to see my parents and family and for the boy to see and meet them. The holiday is less about the boy as he won’t remember them the next time we see them at Christmas but for my family and in particular my sister to see how he changes and to watch him grow.

As for my mother, she doesn't really need to see him that often; her day can sometimes revolve around the boy as she gets a Facetime call every day from us, although neither my husband or I am in the picture, normally just the boy.

Traveling with a 3 month old or a 7 month old or now a 13 month old completely changes how you travel. You start packing light because they need so much, you have to think and plan about how to get from point A (the Car) to point B (the airport) with everything in tow. And there’s the crazy amount of things you bring on board for a 7 hour flight.

Thankfully in the summer the flight is direct, no messing around in Paris or Amsterdam and transferring planes, we just have to board once, get settled and enjoy the flight.

Long gone are the days of magazines, games and movies on the iPad, we've learnt that the best way to keep a kid happy on a plane is to give them your undivided attention, a few of the favourite toys that you've hidden for a week and a couple of new ones.

The kid has been a good traveler, he’s been happy and well behaved and we can only hope for the same this time. We’re as prepared as we can be, prepared to give him our undivided attention and have all kids of toys and a change of clothes so we’ll get there no problem.

If I ever start packing….. we leave in two day.

My how life changes…

How in the world did I think when pregnant that I would have more time free to update a blog? Honestly I can barely remember the first few weeks when Andrew was born and pretty much slept through the last few months of my pregnancy.

Since then things have certainly changed. It really wasn't easy at the beginning. It was hard honestly and lonely and I remember trying to get everything done and try and do it right and spending so much time on my own. Then my mom arrived and it was a bit better, at least I had the company during the day and someone to help with the bits so I could catch up on sleep.

Looking back now I can see it all a lot more clearly and I know I was probably asking too much of myself and the pressure wasn't making things better.

But now life is better, the little boy is a joy. This all changed just after Christmas when the clock was ticking on my return to work and I wanted him to be sleeping well, in a strict routine and I figured he would handle day care better and I could handle the return to work better.

No one can ever explain what it’s like to have a kid and how life changes. I can hardly remember the days before he was here – where did we spend all that money each month and what did we do with all that free time?!! God knows because now, it’s all about him – as it should be.

And we love it that way.