My first American Halloween!

There is way too much to tell, but let's just say mami wasn't kidding when she said Halloween would involve "lots of candy and lots of fun".

Trick or treating was amazing!

All that candy just for me!

You walk out when it's dark in your costume, knock on doors and when they open you say "trick or treat" and they drop candy into your bucket!

Then you say "Thank you! Happy Halloween" and go on to another house. And each one has spooky decorations on the outside and some people even sat outside around a fire waiting to give out candy.

My pumpkin bucket got heavy very quickly so papi helped me carry it.

Me and my uncle - he's the Indian Chief

And everyone liked my Scooby Doo costume so I think I got extra sweets for that.

I can't wait to eat them all!

My first American Halloween was a hit! Can't believe I missed out on all this the past 2 years. I have to make up for lost time.

What should I be next year?

Are you ready for Halloween?

I am!

Been wearing my costume for a few days now.

You know, just to get a good feel for it.

Only one more day to go!

I can't wait to go trick or treating because I hear you get TONS of candy.

Can you guess who I am?

Cox Farms Fall Festival

I'm sure everyone who lives in Washington DC and Northern Virginia knows about Cox Farms in Centreville, but not being from around here we had no idea. They are the largest family farm in the area!

Mami had never been to anything like this or even to a pumpkin patch, so she was just as excited as me when my tío told us about it (that means uncle in case you didn't know).

The Fall (or Autumn to others) Festival runs until Halloween on the 31st but afterwards they have other activities like Pumpkin Madness which is on the 5-6th of November. 

The festival costs $15 per person on the weekends and $8 on the weekends. Mami flinched when paying, but later we realised it was worth every penny because everything is free (well, you pay for your own food but you can bring a picnic if you want) but everything else like the HAY RIDE is included.

And let me tell you, they have EVERYTHING! I even helped eat a big bag of kettle corn...mmmmm!

There are lots of animals, like piggies, chickens, goats, sheep, horses, live shows and entertainment, long slides, playgrounds, and stacks of hay to climb on. There is so much to do that we didn't get to do it all. Imagine that. ME not getting around to everything.

But the fun doesn't end when you have to go. As you leave you get to choose a baby pumpkin. I am very lucky because I ended up getting more than one because my tío, mami, papi and my Omama gave me theirs.

So if you are in the area, you should go check it out! This is the last weekend for it...and let me know what you think. What about in the UK? Are there any "must visit" pumpkin patches?

As for me, I'm waiting for papi to come back from buying a big pumpkin so we can carve it. Don't forget, it's Halloween next week, and that means CANDY!!

Do you know what you are going to be? I'm SCOOBY DOO!

Facebook: Cox Farms
Twitter: @CoxFarmsTweets

Pobres paltas

Miércoles Mudo

London Heathrow Airport's Nipperbout Mobile Creche

I'm here now in the USA, but to get here we had to go to London Heathrow Airport and get on a plane.

A few weeks before mami had seen some discussion around Heathrow Airport not allowing families to take their pushchairs to the gate. This didn't go over so well, and not just for us, but for other families too. 

This bit of news, mixed with the nerves mami gets when travelling with me because she says I get "frustrated and on edge even before getting on the plane" made her scared for the 8 hour flight to Washington DC. 

And she had every right to be. I get so bored waiting around. Being told to "sit still" "no running" "don't touch" that when I do get on the plane I just want to kick the seat in front of me, scream and run around. 

But can you blame me? 

So when we passed through security at London Heathrow Airport last week and entered the departure lounge and saw a sign that said Children's Play Area mami didn't miss a beat. We made our way over and mami said to papi "I am checking him in, you go get us coffees". 

And that's what we did. She signed me in to the playarea run by Nipperbout Mobile Creche and Event Child Care in Terminal 1 and off I went!

Now I could end here and say it was great fun (which it was) but mami and I feel that more airports and Heathrow should consider this a permanent fixture. Mami was told this area was there for a few weeks, then taken down. Then back again in a few weeks time.

This is how it works:

1. Nipperbout has trained professionals on hand to check children in, ensure they are safe in the enclosed area and keep it clean and tidy

2. Parents can come in or sit outside in the normal departure area seating. The walls to the play area are low enough (see images) for us kids to see our parents and for them to see us!

3. You can stay for 10 minutes or 2 hours like me! 

4. It's FREE!

Our reasons why children's play areas should become a part of airports today:

1. Even before getting on a flight, the waiting time is long and very tiring. Having a play area allows us kids to relax and enjoy some time to run around

2. Parents are more at ease and less stressed. I could see such a big difference in mami's attitude this time around. Usually she is a "ball of nerves"

3. By the time we get on the flight, we have had a good hour or so of play and we are ready for lunch and a nap

4. Not only are we happy, but fellow travellers won't be scared of being near us kids on a long flight

We know that Fisher Price had a temporary play area at Gatwick Airport but I didn't get a chance to go to that one. 

Have you been to the play area at Heathrow or other airports? What did you think?

Share your reasons and ideas on why having play areas would make for better travelling experiences.

We really want to help families travel happy!

Welcome to the USA!

This isn't the number 27 bus towards Hammersmith...oh no! It's a BIG TRUCK!

Everything here is very BIG. The cars, the roads, the houses, even the milk containers (no complaints from me).

Mami and papi are enjoying going out without me while I stay with my Omama (grandma).

 I think they like that a little too much. I mean they go out ALL THE TIME now.

They act as if they have never been able to.

Geez!

I am still exploring so I'll let you know more soon!

Have you been over this way?

What did you most like about the USA?

Toddler travel essentials: Portable DVD & edible crayons

I'm done crying over my things. Mami and papi assured me they will arrive at our new home soon. 

Now I am ready for the air plane ride. We get to go up into the sky! Yesssssss.

To prepare for the looooooong trip (it's 8 hours of flying time you know) mami and papi have some "travel essentials" for me. 

Here is our list so far:

1. My very own TV! Siiiiiiiiii! You read right, mami and papi got me one today so that I can watch my movies. I even get these cool earphones and everything. Mami calls it a portable DVD player, but it's really my own TV. 

2. Lots and lots of sticker books. They fit perfectly into my backpack and let's face it, who doesn't love stickers?

3. Five of my favourite books - I can't bring my entire collection so mami let me choose a few.

4. My very own colouring pad and...chocolate flavoured crayons (and real crayons too) I know, so cool right? Mami found them when clearing out stuff and says I can draw and have a snack at the same time! 

5. Oh and my movies! Of course. What's the point of having my own TV if I don't have movies. For in-flight entertainment I have: In the Night Garden (my all time favourite), Chuggington, Dora the Explorer (my friend!), Sesame Street, Charley Bear, Pocoyo and a few others.

I should be okay with all this...what do you think?

By the way, Papi bought the the movie player and headphones (Bush 10 inch screen £90) at Argos just in case you are looking for one too. It comes with a car adapter and carrier and he says it is "worth every penny". 

I tried out my TV last night (that's me in the pictures watching Pocoyo. And the headphones are sooooo cool!) and I am happy to report everything is working just fine. 

Now off to the airport we go!

Is there something else I should be taking with me? What fun things do you take in your travel bag?