Traveling with a Toddler

Surviving the Ride. Enjoying the Ride.

One of my biggest worries about going on vacation this year was how Caleb would handle being confined to the car for long periods of time. He did surprisingly well, considering his usual day has included running around a playground, climbing around our house, and bouncing in his crib. He was a super trooper!

Here are some of the strategies we used to help the trip go smoothly.

Strategy #1: Independent Play
I packed a diaper box full of toys for our trip. It included old toys and new toys, real toys and homemade toys. You’ve seen the best featured in the recently awarded CTTAs. Other standouts included magnets on a cookie sheet and a water bottle with random items inside.

Strategy #2: Play with Mommy
When Caleb was fed up with his toys and playing by himself, I’d move into the backseat and we’d play together. Board books were a lifesaver even though we read them over and over (and over). Caleb also had fun pointing to different body parts I’d name or making animal sounds for animals I’d say. “This Little Piggie” was also a good game to get out some giggles. Videos to come!


Strategy #3: Have Realistic Expectations
There will be crying. And yelling. Accept it. Expect it.


Strategy #4: Be creative.
Find toys along the way. Caleb enjoyed navigating for us using a newly acquired (and free) map of Tennessee. Thankfully we already knew where we were going, but it kept him occupied for a bit!

Strategy #5: Eat in the Car
Caleb needs to sit still when he eats anyway so why not feed him in the car? Although Caleb did get a few extra snacks at times, I still tried to make it “lunchtime” by giving him a bib and actual lunch-type food.

Strategy #6: Take a break
We would look for a rest area after Caleb had eaten lunch. At one stop, we found a playland in lieu of a rest area. Then Caleb could run, jump, and climb while we made lunch for ourselves. Burning some energy at this point in the day made the next strategy possible.



Strategy #7: Hope for a nap.
Drive and do not stop until after the nap is over.


Strategy #8: Be flexible.
Go with the flow. Lunch time might not be at lunchtime. Naptime might be early, late, short, or not at all. Not only did I need to hold my plans loosely for our days of travel (especially when it took us three times as long to leave the national park as it did to enter it), I also had to be physically flexible. One benefit of having a sedan is that I could reach many of the places where Caleb would drop his toys. Thankfully I wasn’t more pregnant than I was because it required a lot of twisting and turning and stretching that I don’t think I could do nearly as well in a few months.

What do you do to survive and enjoy long car rides (with or without toddlers)?

Caleb-Tested Toy Awards

Thanks for joining us on this auspicious evening where we honor deserving toys with the highly-coveted CTTA prize. Not many toys can pass rigorous safety standards these days. Fewer pass the "frugal mom" qualification. Fewer even still can say they've engaged the attention of an active, exploring, limit-testing toddler for any length of time. Toys awarded with the highly-prized and highly-competitive CTTA will earn smiles from parents (at least 2 parents) and the loving care of toddler hands. (If you think these prizes are small for such a grandiose award, remember The Velveteen Rabbit. Dust is not the sign of a great toy.)

And the Caleb-Tested Toy Award for "holding the most interest in a single day" goes to...drum roll, please...a baking powder can filled with odds and ends. It started with a rock, an acorn, and a helicopter seed pod inside. As those things were lost to the far reaches of the backseat, they were replaced by water bottle caps, spoons, and other odds and ends. Caleb enjoyed taking the lid off and putting it on again, taking things out and putting them back in, and simply shaking the can like crazy. He also found other creative ways of playing. Just watch.

The Caleb-Tested Toy Award for "holding the most interest over an entire week" as well as the Award for the "most effective on narrow, winding, mountain roads when Mommy can NOT turn around and play with you for fear of sharing breakfast with you all over again" goes to... a Sesame Street button-pushing, switch-turning noisemaker thingy. By the end of the week, Caleb had a pretty good Cookie Monster impression going. He hasn't played with it much since being home, but he definitely got good use out of it throughout our vacation.

Vacation: Chimney Tops

Day Hike #6: Chimney Tops
4 miles round trip
1350 feet elevation gain
Weather: gorgeous

This was another of my favorite hikes from our trip.

One angle of the view from the top. Cameras don't do it justice. Maybe you need the precarious, "I'm about to fall off a mountain" feeling to really appreciate the view.

Quote from a fellow hiker: "Dying wouldn't be so bad. Then I'd see Jesus. It'd be falling and living that would stink." Nothing like heights to put the fear of God into you.

If you squint, you can see them.

By the time we hiked down the trail and drove to the Chimney Tops pull out off of Newfound Gap Road, this is what the summit looked like. I'm glad I was there when the sun was out and the rocks were dry!

If we were lucky, Caleb took a catnap while we were hiking. When he was awake, we tried to keep Caleb occupied with fallen leaves, sticks, acorns, pinecones, and other natural toys, but the best distraction was walking next to a river. Caleb loved hearing and watching the water.

Vacation: Laurel Falls

Day Hike #5: Laurel Falls
2.6 miles roundtrip
314 feet elevation gain
Weather: showers

We hiked this trail in the late afternoon/early evening after Caleb's "nap." Caleb hiked part of the way up himself. His reaction to Laurel Falls was priceless.

Vacation: Baskin Creek Falls

Otherwise known as the beehive trail. It's actually a very nice trail--one of the more secluded trails in the park. We didn't see anyone else on the trail when we were hiking (and it was even a nice day!), and only about 3 cars would max out the parking at the trailhead. This was one of my favorite hikes of our trip, even considering the beehive we (or Luke) encountered close to the falls. Some bees had decided to make a hollow log opening up onto the trail their home. They weren't too happen when Luke disturbed their happy home. Thankfully Luke escaped with only one sting, and we were able to backtrack and climb around the hive to avoid it.

Day hike #4: Baskin Creek Falls

3 miles roundtrip

953 feet elevation gain

Weather: No rain! We even had some sunshine!

Baskin Creek Falls

Caleb loved playing in the water.

Caleb--practicing his animal noises as we hiked. Any guesses what sound he's making? (With our own little noisemaker along, we didn't see too much wildlife on our hikes!)


Unless of course, you consider overgrown fungi to be wildlife. Then we saw plenty, in all shades of the rainbow.

Vacation: Andrews Bald and Clingmans Dome

Thursday we were planning to visit some more waterfalls but on the way to the trailhead we noticed the weather breaking. Sunshine! We decided to make a break for a summit with the hopes that we'd actually see something besides the clouds surrounding us. We misjudged the weather. This was one of the rainiest days of the week. While we didn't get much of a view from the summit, we did get to experience a bald.

Day hike #3: Andrews Bald and Clingmans Dome
4.5 miles roundtrip (Clingmans Dome was a side spur that added a mile.)
899 feet elevation gain
Weather: Rain, rain, and more rain. But thankfully the rain paused for about 10 minutes while we were on the bald.

Vacation: Rainbow Falls

Wednesday we managed to switch campsites between rain showers, hike to Rainbow Falls, have some down time, and enjoy a campfire in the evening. I'm not sure how we managed all that in one day!

Day hike #2: Rainbow Falls
5.4 miles roundtrip
1685 feet elevation gain
Weather: Rain on the way up, but a nice break in the rain for lunch and our descent

Rain gear --They don't make two-headed ponchos.

Bridge along the trail. (I thought of you, Mom! See the nice hand rail on the high, narrow, and slippery bridge?)

Some falls along the trail

Wanting to get some climbing in of his own!

Rainbow Falls in the background

Funny story: In the morning as we were racing to move our tent in between rain showers with the hopes of keeping the inside dry, we left Caleb in his car seat to play with his toys out of harms way. The toys he actually played with were the cookies! I came back to the car to find a little cookie monster with half an M & M on his lip and cookie crumbs all over! I thought about pausing to take a picture, but I really wanted to stay dry that night....

Vacation: Abrams Falls

Day Hike #1: Abrams Falls
5.0 miles roundtrip
340 feet elevation gain (not much)
Trailhead: Halfway through the Cades Cove Loop Road (read winding, one-way road). I always forget how long it takes to drive to trailheads! But along the drive, we saw a bear...along with a hundred other tourists and their point and shoot cameras. Good thing we got that out of the way early (and in a car).
Weather: Sprinkles and showers throughout the day, but nothing too serious.

Caleb's reaction to Abrams Falls

Abrams Falls

from a distance

Once in awhile, Caleb got to walk (or run) on his own two feet if the path allowed for it.

Chilling with Daddy. This is when Caleb still liked the backpack.

Vacation: Overview

After driving south and east for several days with a toddler in tow (which deserves it's own story) and visiting some friends along the way, we reached Great Smoky Mountain National Park and our new home away from home--where we enjoyed roasting marshmallows over a campfire, encountered narrow, winding roads, hiked past misty rivers and mountain valleys, and spent a lot of time together.

Luke and I have enjoyed camping vacations in the past, but this one had a different flavor. I suppose kids will do that. Caleb helped us enjoy and see things we wouldn't have otherwise, and he kept us on our toes. Vacation can be a lot of work! Needless to say, living in a tent for a week helps you enjoy the comforts of home all the more.

I love it when loving vacation and loving coming home from vacation coincide!

Vacation: By the Numbers

• Miles in the car = Over 1700
• Nights in a tent = 6
• Days of rain = 6
• New teeth discovered = 3
• Miles of hiking = 25
• Miles of elevation gain on those hikes = 1.25
• Remote waterfalls visited = 4
• Summits reached = 3
• Beehives encountered = 1
• Readings of Curious George's Are You Curious? = approximately 25 million
• New car parts needed = 1
• Bumps and bruises = 1
• Laughs and giggles = countless

5 years

Last week, Luke and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. We left Caleb in the care of his Grandma and Grandpa Ryon and flew to the Florida Gulf.

We spent a day swimming, picnicking, and reading on the beach at Fort de Soto. We spent a morning chasing dolphins in a kayak. (Ok, not really chasing per se, but we did get pretty close.) We ate good seafood every chance we had. (At least good by our inexperienced taste buds.) We went out during naptime without disrupting the rest of the day. We walked on the beach and enjoyed sunsets. We spent time together. We found ice cream that reminded me of the best of Baskin Robbins and Whitey's all in one.

I'm so thankful for my husband who continues to prove again and again that I can trust him with who I am, even when it's ugly. We've learned a lot over the past five years, and I look forward to having Luke at my side through future challenges and joys.

Luke, thanks for giving me a glimpse of the grace of God. I love you.