"Why its the Polar Express!"

Remember the ordeal I went through in June to get tickets for the Polar Express??  Well the day had finally come and we were set to go!! 

The night before Santa made a special trip to our house and the kids woke up to these special presents...

Avery's box - Complete with the Polar Express book, a bell, a ticket to Santa's house and jammies to wear on the ride.

Rudy's box - ditto

(Ben was too little to join this year)

The kids could not believe how special they were that Santa invited them to the North Pole and that we were going THAT NIGHT!

Dressed and ready to go!

Thank goodness for car naps - we had a long night ahead of us!

First stop, dinner in Monticello

And would you believe Santa went to Jorja and Layla's house the night before too and invited them as well?!  

The little depot had a gift shop and games set up with photo ops and snacks, too..

Getting ready to board!

"ALL ABOARD!!"

The beautiful greeters :)

Mesmerized...

"Hot chocolate, anyone??"  

A crew brought out hot chocolate and the girls danced to the hot chocolate song… just like in the movie...

The conductor did an excellent job of punching the kids' initials into their tickets

Christmas is so much better through the eyes of the kids...

Frosty even made an appearance!

The hobo from the movie.. the kids were not too sure about this one...

And last but not least…. SANTA!

I don't have pictures of the outdoors, but throughout the entire train ride there were lights and scenes set up along the tracks.  On the way to the North Pole, the Polar Express was read aloud over the speakers and on the way back to the train station they played Christmas carols with lots of dancing in the aisles.  (We didn't get off the train once on, which was great considering it was cold and a lot of effort to get that many kids on the train in the first place.. but the North Pole scene was awesome… elves working hard, lots and lots of lights, reindeer, Santa waving and then joining our train…)

What an AWESOME way to kick off Christmas season!!

Avery's Potty Party

Well I couldn't postpone it much longer.  Avery was showing clear signs of being ready for the big train.  She was asking to use the potty, sitting on Rudy's regularly, and letting me know when she needed her diaper changed. 

At the beginning of November, I geared up for another potty party!

prizes packed...

potty chart made...

bathroom decorated...

füll tray of an assortment of drinks...

I didn't have to worry about a "Scotty go Potty" or "Potty Patty" for little miss because she already had the concept down… so overall, the day was much easier on me!

Look at that BIG GIRL in her big girl underpants! 

(and sporting one of her favorite prizes from using the potty!)

And her other favorite.. her "noman hat"!

Pure sass.

Unfortunately the results weren't as great as Rudy's.  Definitely not Avery's fault, though.  She did amazing when we were focusing on the potty 100%.  She had several successes!  But as soon as I let my guard down or she got busy playing, she'd have an accident.  I couldn't devote as much time to letting her figure it out, either.  Whereas with Rudy we stayed home for a few days - Avery didn't have that luxury.  We had to get Rudy to and from school and grocery shopping, etc.  And having two other kids in the house didn't make it any better, either.  I couldn't always give her my immediate attention when she needed to go potty.  We ended up ditching diapers entirely, but still relying on pull-ups pretty heavily.  She was not even two yet and considering our current situation, I felt more than fine with the slower transition!

Ben Joins the Bath

(I'm out of order a bit here - Ben hopped in when he was about 4-5 months old)

 

Alright, guys… time to make some room!

That's right, Ben… you're going in!!

Priceless reactions

Now:  It's like he's always been there...

Fall Family Pictures

Just a few of my fans… 

We have the BEST photographer!  She found this location and even brought the couch along!

 Rudy sure knew how to work the camera… it was hysterical.  We said, "Rudy pretend like you are laughing"… and so he did :)

 So funny...

SIX Months Old

Six Month Stats:

Weight:  19 lbs, 10 oz (84%)

Height:  28 in (93%)

Head:  43.4 cm (49%)

Diapers: Size 3

Clothes: Size 6-12 months

Shoes:  Not yet

Hair:  Getting awkward

Biggest change at 6 months is that Ben started eating "baby food" - we started with the traditional rice cereal, then added in fruits and vegetables.  He did really great with just about everything.  He would vary on what he liked and didn't like, but overall he ended up eating it all…some things just took some getting used to :) 

The first bites...

Of course Sis is my little helper and usually wants to sit on my lap when we feed Ben.  She's very involved with caring for her little brother.

The Mother Hen and her Ben