My son Gibson needs a little balloon race assistance.

With a mom who would like to get a few extra minutes of sleep when she can, our 16-month old doesn’t want to risk the chance of missing one of the spectacular morning flights for which the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race is famous.

You see, Gibson is by far the biggest balloon fanatic in the Hillyer house.

It started innocently enough at a neighbor’s birthday party this summer. When Gibson spied the brightly colored balloons dotting the backyard, he must have thought he was in heaven, or something like it. He loved everything about the party — the cake, the ice cream, the ability to run around creating chaos.

All of that was great, but it was the balloons that captured his imagination. He couldn’t keep his eyes and hands away from them.

It was instant obsession and continues to be several months later.

No matter where he is and no matter what he is doing, Gibson’s attention turns immediately at the first glimpse of anything remotely balloon related.

His latest favorite balloon stop is the grocery store. As soon as we load him up in cart and roll him through the entrance, Gibson is motioning to the collection of silver balloons hovering just past the bread aisle.

The closer we get, the more animated are his gestures toward the balloon corral at the ceiling.

As we weave around the store shelves, Gibson keeps track of the balloons like he has some internal balloon GPS.

And that is why Gibson needs a little assistance this weekend. Keeping track of a few silvery balloons in a grocery store is easy. But when it comes to keeping up with the airships that make up the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race, Gibson’s internal balloon radar is far from accurate.

Little does he know that his dad has the answer in the palm of his hands and that involves the other favorite of toddlers everywhere: the cell phone.

For the fourth year in a row, The Natchez Democrat is using the power of technology to help Gibson and children of all ages know when and where the balloons will be this weekend.

For this dad, being able to send out balloon race updates to cell phones and to e-mail inboxes across the Miss-Lou is a little like the weatherman being able to track Santa Claus on his radar Christmas Eve night. However unlike those prognosticators, these text alerts will accurately predict where you can go to see the balloons as they lift off and where they are headed.

Readers cans sign up today at www.natchezdemocrat.com/balloon-race for our balloon race flight updates. There is also a link at the top the screen on the newspaper website. If you signed up previously for balloon updates, you are already signed up for this year’s race.

Prior to each scheduled liftoff, natchezdemocrat.com will send a message to subscribers telling them when and where the balloons are flying throughout the weekend. And we will tell it to you directly to your cell phone or computer while you are still in pajamas, with your coffee.

If the weather’s not right for flying, our flight updates will let you know so you can get on with the rest of your day or stay cozy in your bed.

So this weekend, don’t just set your eyes skyward.

Look to The Natchez Democrat and natchezdemocrat.com to give you news, photos and video coverage of this year’s Great Mississippi River Balloon Race.

Maybe I need to get Gibson a cell phone before the races begin.

Ben Hillyer is Web editor at the Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.