No More Lap Child Status

As some of you may know, I recently celebrated my 2nd birthday. The good news is that I'm getting really good at math, but the bad news is that I'm going to start costing my parents more money.

The Lap Child rules of most airlines is that infants under the age of 2 can fly for free if they sit on their parent's laps. And now that perk has ended. It's been a long time since my very first flight to Chicago when I was about 4 months old, but I'm ready to start earning my own frequent flyer miles.

In fact, as the big day approached, my father started applying for my frequent flyer programs with United Airlines, American Airlines, and Aegean Airlines. I also have my own Starwood Hotels SPG account as well, just in case they decide to target me for any special free night promotions the way they did for my mother (which got us a free night at the Paris Westin Vendome).

I suppose since the TSA doesn't check ID for children under 18 years of age (and since most people can't tell how old Asians are), I could just pretend to be a younger sibling who is still under 2 years old, but I think that would cross the ethical line for my parents.

So now we're looking at 3 paid tickets for each trip we're on. It's a far cry from the days where my father would just book the cheapest ticket, board with just his carry on and crash on a friend's couch for a long weekend trip. Now, we're using nap time strategies when picking flight times, checking car seats and strollers, and booking family friendly hotel accommodations.

As I look back on the past two years of my life, here's a quick recap of the memorable flights we've taken:

• #1:  First flight ever - New York (LGA) - Chicago (ORD) on Feb 17, 2012
• #3:  First international flight ever - Newark (EWR) - Tel Aviv (TLV) on Mar 2, 2012
• #6:  First business class upgrade - Bermuda (BDA) - Newark (EWR) on Apr 8, 2012
• #9:  First business class award flight - Newark (EWR) - Tokyo (NRT) on Aug 23, 2012
• #10: First non-United flight (Asiana) - Tokyo (NRT) - Seoul (ICN) on Aug 27, 2012
• #26:  50,000 miles flown mark - New York (JFK) - Istanbul (IST) on Dec 27, 2012
• #38:  75,000 miles flown mark - Seoul (ICN) - Los Angeles (LAX) on Mar 8, 2013
• #40:  First flight to S. America - New York (JFK) - Rio de Janiero (GIG) on Mar 18, 2013
• #50:  100,000 miles flown mark - Vancouver (YVR) - San Francisco (SFO) on May 4, 2013
• First Interview - MommyPoints on May 11, 2013
• Global Entry Interview on May 24, 2013
• #56: First European flight - New York (JFK) - Munich (MUC) on May 25, 2013
• #64: Last minute award flight - Newark (EWR) - Tel Aviv (TLV) on Sept 15, 2013
• #68: Free one way - Newark (EWR) - Phoenix (PHX) on Oct 25, 2013
• #69: Final free lap child ticket - Phoenix (PHX) - New York (JFK) on Oct 30, 2013

So while I'm no longer a lap child, I think I'm going to retain the blog title of Lap Child Diaries since I'm pretty sure I'm going to continue climbing on my mother's lap for a while even though I'll have my own seat.

Well, on to the next chapter of my life!