Traveling with a toddler

Today, the little rugrat and I flew out to Vegas to visit my parents. This is his 7th trip, so he is a seasoned traveler at the ripe old age of 1. I always get so nervous to take him on a plane (especially without daddy there to help me) because he is such a rowdy child and hates being held for any amount of time. I don't know why I stress about it so much because he is always weirdly well behaved on trips. I've learned that there are a few key things to remember when traveling with a toddler:
1. Always come prepared!

Videos on the ipod work wonders for this child! I was so worried about remembering the snacks, drinks, pacifier, and (most importantly) ipod touch that I forgot to bring my cell phone on this trip--that's how strongly I feel about being prepared!

2. If he wants to do something and it doesn't bother anyone else, let him do it!

He's kind of like a carry-on bag, right?

Sure, he ripped a couple pages out of a Sky Mall magazine--but he was dang happy doing it!

3. Make sure he's tired!

If that's not a tired face I don't know what is.  I never let him nap before we fly, so he's good and tired, and he will usually fall asleep for a good majority of the flight.

I also learned one more valuable piece of information on this trip.

I will never ever ever live in El Paso, TX. That's a whole lotta nothin'.

Sorry for the quality (or lack there of) of these pictures. I thought pulling out the big camera on the plane would be overkill.