I Love You, Ethan: Our Hawaiian Vacation!

We just came back from our vacation to Maui! We celebrated my in laws' 35th anniversary. It was indeed a paradise. It was a perfect weather. It was also my 1 year old daughter's first plane ride!

I have to admit I was anxious on how our lil ones would behave on the plane especially Ethan. When Ethan had his first airplane ride it was just for an hour to Southern California so I wasn't too worried about it. His next plane ride was to the Philippines where it was a straight 12 hour flight and I was incredibly pleased on how he behaved. He slept through the flight mostly. That was 2 years ago. Our 5 hour flight to Maui last week was short but he had a meltdown during the flight when he asked for a phone/iPAD and we said we don't have it. We tried distracting him by tickling him, reading the airplane's magazine whatever we can find in the seat pocket but it didn't work. Instead he cried, screamed, kicked the chairs. My husband said he didn't bring the iPad which was loaded with his favorite Yo Gabba Gabba shows and music, I was like, SERIOUSLY??? That could have been a life saver but I understand that we're also trying to limit his screen time. His meltdown lasted for a long 10 minutes. My husband and I maintained our calmness during that time which was difficult! In the past, we would be very impatient and get upset with his behavior (we still do sometimes!) but we've learned over the years that it only aggravates the situation and Ethan's behavior just gets worst if we get mad at him so we've learned to calm down in this type of situation.

When Ethan doesn't get his way, his first line of defense is to cry (at least when mom is around). He rarely cries at school or daycare, apparently it's a CRY-ONLY-WHEN-MOM-IS-AROUND syndrome. I try not to give in but he doesn't give up either. He can cry and scream for a long time until he gets his way. Now, if we're at home- I'll let him cry but when we're out in public especially on an airplane where folks are trying to sleep or watch a show, and I can't take him anywhere else unless we parachute out of the plane then it leaves us no option but to calm him down the best possible way. So, my husband busted his phone out and let him listen to the Bunny Rabbit show song, we let him lay down, pat his butt and in a few minutes he was knocked out. Hooray!

We almost have to have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) / Runbook with Ethan, since he has a hard time expressing himself, we have to read his mind. Something like, when he cries and seems sleepy, play some lullaby music, pat his butt, etc. Or when he cries, mom pours a glass of wine and chugs it! LOL

Anyway, on our flight back we have rented an iPad from Hawaiian Air and it was a life saver!!! He repeatedly watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (which is one of his favorites) until he fell asleep. Whew!

During our vacation, Ethan enjoyed swimming and walking on the beach. Our 1 year old Emma enjoyed walking in the grass chasing the birds. We also drove to the beautiful Road to Hana, went snorkeling on Kamaole Beach and Kapalua Bay, walked through the old town of Lahaina, checked out Whalers Village on Kaanapali Bay and we hung out of course on our favorite Wailea Beach. It wasn't a super relaxing vacation but what's important is we're all together. Seeing our kids happy makes everything worth it. It is priceless and we'd do it all over again! Have I mentioned we're travelling back to the Philippines in November? :)