Recently, it has been brought to our attention that some of you anonymous readers out there think we have been neglecting our second child… that he has gone the way of so many “subsequent” children, with no pictures to show for his childhood. Let me reassure you, this is not the case. The problem is that we just didn’t do a good job explaining where to find those pictures.

When Nolan was born, we made a separate section in the family photo album just for him. However, it took us about two days to realize it was going to be completely impractical to separate photos of the kids into separate albums and get them posted for your viewing enjoyment in any reasonable amount of time.

So, Nolan currently has a photo album that pretty much covers his first 24 hours of life. Mylie has a photo ablum that covers her first 2 and 1/2 years of life. But anything after December 2007 can be found in the “Kids” collection of our photo album. We have been doing a fairly reasonable job of keeping them updated, so any time you need a Nolan or a Mylie fix, feel free to browse!

Well, we’re home again. We’re all in one piece, and still more or less like each other, so life is good. I’ve compiled a few highlights from our trip that I like to call, “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.”

The Good: There were open seats on the first three legs of our plane trips, so Mr Nolan got to ride in his car seat for 3/4ths of our plane rides. This meant better sleep for him, and more free hands for me to keep Mylie entertained.

The Bad: There were no open seats on the last flight. And though it was only an hour and a half flight, it was the last one after a long trip, and we were all VERY tired. Nolan had a major melt-down, during which Mylie kept wanting me to get things out of her bag for her. I guiltily kept watching the people around us put on headphones, then hats over their headphones, then hands over their ears… well, you get the picture. Luckily, it was only about 10 minutes or less and then he fell asleep.

The Ugly: Sometime during the first flight Nolan had a blow-out. No, blow-out doesn’t really do it justice. “Atomic bomb” is probably a more accurate description. Biggest one I’d ever seen in my life. And I didn’t notice until the plane was unloading and I picked him up out of the carseat to put him in the Bjorn. So, while everyone around us was leaving, I was desperately trying to clean up the mess right there in the plane, and keep Mylie from following the crowd off. Of course, the airline was trying to do the world’s quickest turn-around, and started boarding the plane almost immediately, so the crew all came on and each grabbed one of my bags and Mylie, while I scooped up Nolan and the “bomb” and hiked off the plane.

The Good: The wonderful Arizona sun in the spring time that was just the perfect temperature without being too hot. Especially when I found out it was snowing back home. Haha, suck-ahs!

The Bad: Apparently, the sun rises at 5:30am there. And so did my kids…5:45am EVERY SINGLE DAY. Oh, except for the day that Nolan woke up at 5, and took 45 minutes to go BACK to sleep at which point Mylie woke up. Lovely.

The Ugly: The major melt-down tantrums that both kids had the last night we were there, due to incredible lack of sleep.

The Good: Three words – shopping with Grandma! I finally was able to get some much needed pants, and even got to go into the dressing room by myself while she walked around with the kids.

The Bad: Somehow the four pairs of pants must have taken up over half the room in my suitcase, because there was WAY less room coming back than going there. I’m not really sure how that happens.

The Ugly: The price you have to pay if your suitcase is over 50lbs. Currently: $50, after May 5th: $100. Coming home, my suitcase weighed in at – are you ready for it – 50.0 lbs. How in the world did I manage that?

The Good: Baby Bjorns. No self-respecting parent should travel without one.

The Bad: Strollers. They are the most worthless piece of equipment for air travel. I’ve never liked taking them, and this trip solidified that hatred. If I hadn’t needed it on the other end, I would have left it home. As it was, I ended up leaving it collapsed and dragging behind me through the airport. The plus side – I convinced Mylie to “help” me carry it and hold on to one handle of it, therefore keeping her by my side.

The Ugly: The state of my shoulders and back after packing Nolan on front, the diaper bag on back, rolling a backpack and a carseat with my left hand and pulling the collapsed stroller behind me on my right side (and that doesn’t even count the checked baggage!).

The Good: Despite the exhaustion-induced tantrums toward the end of the week, my kids were incredibly well-behaved for the whole trip. Nolan was a charmer with his smile, and constant babbling, and Mylie showed off her intellectual prowess to any that would listen. Mylie never once attempted to run down the aisles of the airplane, and (for the most part) was content to sit in her seat and play with all the new toys or watch a couple videos. She’s so much more mature than the last time I flew with her, and it was actually kind of fun. And with the exception of the first ten minutes of the last flight, I never once felt overwhelmed.

The Bad: Mylie’s in the middle of potty-training. She’s not all the way there yet, but she was too far along to put back in diapers for the trip. So I stuck to my guns and made her wear panties for most of the time, with pull-ups at night time. It’s hard to be away from home and be in the middle of all that mess.

The Ugly: On our last day there, she pooped her pants 4 times. Seriously, who goes 4 times in a day? And the last time was right in the middle of Chuck E Cheese. I did finally cave on that one and put her in a Pull Up for the rest of the trip.

The Good: Swimming outdoors in the middle of April! Nolan is a natural swimmer – takes after his Uncle Cody. He loved the water, and didn’t even mind if his face got in it.

The Bad: Mylie is NOT a natural swimmer. I don’t know if we waited to long to get her in a pool (she was 1 year old), or what, but she has some severe anxiety about the water and getting her face in it. She clings to me the whole time, and is just tense. The funny part is, she loves to jump in the water from the side of the pool, which to me seems like the scariest part. She doesn’t even mind if I have her go all the way under before I catch her. But after I grab her, she will not put her face in the water again. Weird.

The Ugly: Mylie’s allergic reaction to… something. We’re not sure if it was something in the pool, or the sunscreen, or the sun itself. Or perhaps a food allergy, or clothing detergent. But whatever it was, she had a nasty rash and eczema on and off for the whole trip. It would clear up with some calamine and a dose of benadryl, but would come back.

All in all, though, I would say the “Goods” win out over the “Bads” or the “Uglies”. And despite my pre-trip anxieties, I would definitely do it again. Next time, though, I’m either bringing Nick or buying a seat for Nolan. And I’m making sure the shades are sun proof so my kids sleep in to a decent hour. But I give this vacation a big thumbs up! And now – I’m going to take a nap!!

Tomorrow I venture out into the great blue yonder… well, maybe it’s more like the great brown and red yonder that is Arizona (we’re visiting my grandparents and Nick’s mom). What a lovely break it will be from the nasty cold that has overtaken the Northwest for, oh, about 7 months. Despite the gorgeous day last Saturday (of which I spent the majority in a warehouse working the consignment sale), it’s still pretty much the dead of winter around here and everyone’s getting a little cranky about that. We went from having our heat on on Friday, to our AC on Saturday, and back to heat from Sunday on. Ugh.

But back to the trip at hand. Despite the sunshine, I must say I’m getting a little pit in my stomach about my upcoming adventure.

Dilemma #1: Our flight leaves at 6:04am. That means our car leaves the house at 4:00am. That means my alarm clock goes off at 3:15am. Nobody’s ever happy when that happens.

Dilemma #2: Has anyone noticed airports around the nation have not been the happiest places on earth in the past two weeks? Hopefully we circumvented the majority of the problems on that one…

Dilemma #3: I am traveling with a toddler and an infant. By myself. Um, can anyone say happy day? Oh, and see #1 about the leaving the house at 4am thing – this isn’t going to be pretty.

Dilemma #4: We’re traveling on mileage, which meant the cheap flight, which meant no direct flights, which means a layover in San Francisco. Refer to dilemmas 1-3.

Luckily, I’ve done my research – I’ve scoped out all the best preschooler entertaining games and toys for flight travel, and I’ve purchased – well, all of them. Man, I remember when I used to be a really savvy traveler that knew what to do in the security line, and breezed through without a hitch, with my camera, video camera and lap top in tow. I had the system down. All of the sudden I feel like a novice who’s never flown before. Mylie used to be a great traveler as an infant, but not so much as a toddler. Mister Nolan, on the other hand, is a HUGE unknown. Sometimes delightful, other times, not so much. Let’s pray for sunshine, the kind that hits BEFORE we get to Arizona.

I’m sure we’ll survive – I’ve got the video iPod, the iPhone, the pipe cleaners, and lots of (usually forbidden) snacks. And if all else fails, I’ve got heavy drugs Tylenol. So wish us luck, pray for us, and check back for stories of our adventures!

“How many kids do you have?”

“Two… well, three if you count my husband.”

Come on ladies, you know you’ve made this joke or a similar one at some point in your marriage. And everyone chuckles with knowing and sympathetic glances. And though I’m probably also guilty of similar ribbing, I would like to take a moment to stand and say how much I enjoy – and more accurately – need this other child in my life.

My other child loves to laugh. He loves British humour, Saturday Night Live (back when it was truly good) and any other genuinely funny comedies. He loves to laugh at my jokes, and sometimes convinces me that I’m a downright professional comedienne. When he really gets laughing, it’s contagious.

My other child loves planes, and trains, and cars and generally anything that goes “VROOOM!” He runs to the window whenever he hears a plane flying over our house, and dreams all year of going to the Air Show. He once told me that Mylie “is going to love planes, whether she likes it or not!” He would play Microsoft’s “Flight Simulator” day and night, if left unchecked. He shudders with glee when he sees a train up close and personal. And he truly believes that one day he will have his very own “KITT“.

My other child loves to watch movies. He is (mildly) obsessed with the Back to the Future trilogy, and (due to being the third child after two older sisters) is the only grown man I know who can quote all of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. He can also perform Monty Python and the Holy Grail (see British Humour reference) from beginning to end. In fact, he can quote the lines to nearly any movie he loves after seeing it only a few times, though he often has difficulty recalling what I’ve said to him from minute to minute .

My other child loves maps. I’m pretty sure this is related in some way to his love of “modes of transportation.” Or it could just be that each map brings the possibility of a treasure hunt.

But most importantly, my other child loves life. He puts himself 100% into every single thing he does. He works incredibly hard, and he plays even harder. When he looks at the world, there’s a wonderment that not everyone is capable of having. Today he spent an hour with Mylie watching different versions of “Peter and the Wolf” on YouTube. He loves to play on the swings at the playground. He gets a kick out of playing the Primary songs on the guitar. He loves to wrestle and he loves to dance and he delights over buttercream frosting on birthday cakes.

And lest he be offended by my portrayal of him as immature, my other child is the most responsible, caring and good-natured husband and father that I know. He works incredibly hard to balance his responsibilities at work, home and church. He is always ready and willing to help me out at home, even after he’s been at the office all day. When I needed to run away to Seattle overnight, he left work early so that I could. He (almost) never complains about having to do the dishes, and he does them most every night. He steps in and helps with the kids when I need a break, or even when I don’t. And he prides himself on being able to be a “parent,” not just a “babysitter.”

Nolan celebrated his 4th month birthday this week by learning how to roll over! Such a big boy… He is now up to almost 16 lbs, and 26 inches, which puts him somewhere in the 95th percentile for length and 71st for weight. Happy Birthday little buddy!