After swimming we headed to the airport. We got there with time to spare and found a great place for Katherine to run laps and burn off some energy. I was hoping that she would take a nap on the plane (she didn't).
Katherine has flown a lot but that did not seem to matter. She was horrible! She did not want to wear her seat belt at all. Before we got on the plane we talked about expectations. When I mentioned the seat belt she said, "Mommy, I don't have to wear the seat belt. I can sit on your lap. The pilot said." She has such a great memory. On our last flight the flight attendant did tell me I could hold her on my lap for landing because her ears were hurting and she was crying. Now Katherine thought she could do that any time. She would not sit still and she would not leave her seat belt on. She was screaming and thrashing about while Sam and I were struggling to get her quiet and still enough to buckle her up. Of course the plane is waiting to take off, the flight attendants are waiting for her to be buckled and everyone within about 10 rows is shooting me annoyed looks. I wanted to crawl under the seat. My mom told me that one time a family was removed form a plane because they could not get their toddler buckled in. I just knew that was going to happen to us. Finally we literally hold her down and hold the seat belt closed until we take off. After about 5 minutes she calmed down and did fine for the rest of the flight.
... Until she had to go to the bathroom on the plane. Sam took her and it did not go well. Someone else had left the place very dirty and she was scared to use the toilet. I can't blame her but apparently she threw one of her biggest fits in that tiny bathroom with Sam.
She is at a difficult age where tantrums can come out of the blue at any time. She was tired from a long trip. But, she still needs to cooperate and obey. One of the hardest things about traveling is that it is hard to discipline. Where do you take your child for a time out on an airplane? How do you have any kind of consequence? It was hard. As we were driving home we said we were never going on vacation again. A week later I am remembering more of the happy memories and I am sure we will travel again. If we fly, I will take her carseat so at least she is buckled into a 5 point harness that she can't unbuckle on her own.
I have had people ask me if I am glad we took the trip. It was hard and tiring but I am glad we went. I love to travel and have not yet let kids stop me from that. Disneyland is a place that is meant for kids and we were by no means the only ones there with babies and toddlers. But, I would say that it would have been easier if either my kids would have napped in the stroller or they no longer needed naps to stay happy. So, if you are thinking of going to Disneyland think about that. I think our next trip will be a little more low key, maybe a cabin in the woods or a all inclusive beach resort. Hmmmm, maybe it is time to start planning :)
2 comments:
We had so much fun too, and are so glad we did this with ya'll! However, we agree that your next visit to California should be something low key. Let's rent a dog-friendly house in Santa Cruz, or Monterey. Houses that sleep 8 are less than $3k / week. Not that bad, huh? Plus, that's one of the most special parts of CA and one of the parts ya'll haven't seen somehow! April/May '10?
I had read in a book once that someone did some sort of "scientific study" and concluded that the ideal age for a child to go to Disneyland is seven. I have no idea how One could come to that conclusion (since kids are so different) but it motivated me to wait a while. I'm not sure how long we can last though - I want to go myself, ha!
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