Polar Express

To kick off our holiday season, we once again took Staley to Monticello, IL to ride the Polar Express.  As we felt Adelie would still be too young to appreciate it (and it's a long car ride and it would be past her bedtime and we didn't want to end up being those people who bring a tired, crying baby on the train), Adelie stayed home with Grammie.  Staley enjoyed her special alone time with us.

The experience itself was exactly the same as last year.  There was a golden ticket, cookies and hot chocolate, dancing girls, songs, a reading of the Polar Express story, a train trip to the North Pole, a bell, and a somewhat creepy Santa.  The only difference was that Santa did not make Staley cry.  Instead, she was excited to show him her bunny toy that she got in her Happy Meal before the trip and was ready to tell him that she wanted a princess dress for Christmas.  Zach told her that Santa might ask her if she's been good to which Staley replied, "I went pee pee and a little bit of poo poo."  It was true that she had done both those things before boarding the train, although I'm not sure if that is Santa's only criteria to get on the good list.

Cheesing with her golden ticket

Staley and Santa

All in all, it was a great way to start our holiday season.  And because Staley has been good this year (both with her potty skills and otherwise), a princess dress may just find its way under the tree.