Flying with a toddler

It's been a few weeks that we've been home from AZ and we are already planning another trip back! We got to spend time with our favorite people and we just never seem to have enough time. Chase's best friend Jon got married March 7th and it was so nice to have an excuse to get down there. Chase was on a business trip in Mexico until Thursday so he got there just in time for all the wedding day festivities.

Because we wanted to spend as much time there as we could, Elsie and I had to fly separate from Chase. I've done it many times before, but as she has gotten older its gotten much more difficult. Last time I flew alone with her was almost 6 months ago! She was barely walking. So I knew I had to be prepared. I decided to only bring a small backpack with us and borrow clothes, and the essentials from my mom and sister. So I had very limited space. Here's what I made sure to bring.

•Coloring book + crayons. (I need to find triangular shaped crayons for furture...)
•Ipad with movies, games and headphones so no ones gets annoyed.
•Snacks... I brought a tupperware of her favorite crackers and we made fruit loop necklaces for her to wear and eat.
•Normally Elsie only gets her binkie at night time. But I brought one just in case her ears were bugging her or I needed to shut her up.
•Easy grab wipes and diapers are essential. Heaven forbid you have to change your toddler on the plane.
•Empty water bottle that you can fill it up at a drinking fountain once you pass through security.
•Toothbrush. Elsie LOVES her toothbrush so I figured it would work if nothing else was.
•Also be sure to bring a blanket. It gets cold on flights sometimes and its nice to be able to bundle baby up.

I also made sure to wear jeans and a sweater so I could use pockets to hold our boarding passes and my ID. That made a huge difference. We chose to drop her car seat off when we checked in so we didn't have to lug it through security. Also we didn't bring a stroller. But I imagine you cant do that when you have multiple kiddos. Anyways, over all the flight was a success with only one minor outbreak when the crackers were gone... nothing an good old disney movie couldn't fix! Flying with kids is always a little scary but I'd take it any day over driving 12+ hours!!