The Christmas Train

About 5 years ago Craig and I went with some friends to see The Christmas Train in Dry Gulch, USA. It's a town about an hour away and we had a great time back then, but haven't been back since. This year some other friends invited us and we knew Avery would have a blast! She did! The Christmas Train is put on by a large church in the area. It's basically like an old western town with restaurants, gift-shop type stores, vendors selling hot chocolate and even funnel cakes! They have redone a ton of stuff since we were there last and now they have a huge playground area and even a carousel! Santa has his own house and he was there if you wanted to wait in the long line to take a picture with him. There's a western musical show, and the best part is a real train that runs around the town with pictures along the sides telling the story of the bible basically. It begins with creation, moving to the birth of Jesus and finally his death and resurrection. After the train ride, they have a theater that you go in and you hear the testimony of the pastor of the church telling his life story and how The Christmas Train got started. They even give you a CD to take home explaining "The Gift." Everyone that works here is dressed in old western clothing and they have carriage rides and everything. It's pretty incredible. Despite the temperature being in the 30s (granted, I was not cold at all with my own personal furnace in my belly!), we bundled up and braved it. Avery had the best time and it was worth getting home and getting her to bed at 11 pm that night!

Santa comes to Tulsa!

My friend Christy had Santa come to her house and she invited tons of kids from church. The kids had a great time as Santa passed out goody bags for all the kids and most of them were brave enough to sit on his lap for a picture. Avery has never been scared of Santa or people in big costumes and I am thankful!

Couture Blogs

OK to get a third entry into her contest, I had to make another post with her button, so here it is, Tyne! and again, a link to her contest: http://tynerbock.blogspot.com/2008/12/yeah-makeover-giveaway.html. But don't too many of you enter because I want to win this! :)

Blog Makeover Giveaway

I follow an awesome blog by a very hilarious mother of almost 4. I know her husband and his family from my hometown and church, but that is our only connection. However, her witty stories always keep me coming back for more! She is starting a new blog design business and is running a giveaway to get it started! You can enter by going to http://tynerbock.blogspot.com/2008/12/yeah-makeover-giveaway.html. Check it out!

Singing Debut (or Not!)

OK I am going back a little ways due to some camera issues. Last month the Sunday night before Thanksgiving, Avery's Sunday School class had an opportunity to sing two songs they had been working on in front of the congregation. Let's just say at least Avery looked cute! I videoed her the night before singing her songs just to have on record that she did know every word. I was afraid that when she got on stage, she would freeze and just stare at the crowd... which is exactly what happened! My only solace is at least she wasn't the only one! 4 out of 5 of the kids did just that and of course Chloe hammed it up and sang loud for all her friends! Maybe Avery will warm up to public performances in the future!

Funny Faces

While looking through the Thanksgiving pictures, I realized there were a LOT of people making funny faces! Aunt Staci was letting Avery take pictures with her camera, so some of these are her asking people to make a funny face, but some are all on their own! I thought it would be funny to do an "outtakes" slideshow of the weirdos in our family! :) (Don't worry--that includes all of us!)

Thanksgiving Pictures

OK I finally got some Thanksgiving pictures up! After the very first picture that I took, our camera died! So these are courtesy of Staci and Jenna's cameras. Thank goodness everyone had a camera! We had a really fun week staying at Nona and Pop's house from Monday night until Sunday afternoon. It was really still too fast, but we had a great time! It was busy and we ate a lot, but that's the holidays, right? It was our last time to go down for a visit until after Bailey is born because I will be too close to my due date at Christmas, so we are glad we got to stay for a long time and Avery got to spend a lot of time playing outside and doing all the things she loves to do at Nona and Pop's ranch!

Letter to Bailey

Dear Bailey Mae,

Today is Thanksgiving Day and I am sitting here with my feet up trying to hold myself back from going back to get one more piece of pie. :)  I have thought about you so much today and I thought I would write you a letter so later when you read it you will know how excited I was about you coming into our lives.  Right now I am 31 1/2 weeks pregnant with you and I don't see how my belly could get any bigger!  I feel like a watermelon has snuck its way under my skin and is about to fall out!  But regardless of all the stretching out and pains, I cannot wait for you to be here and I am so glad you are about to be part of our family.  I guess I have been thinking of you more today because all of our family is here at Nona and Pop's house.  I wish you were already here for me to hold and cuddle.  I am even excited about getting to nurse you.  Your sister is so excited about you being here and she loves to tell everyone what your name is and that she's going to be a big sister!  Poor Avery probably thinks I have been pregnant with you forever because we have been telling her she's going to have a baby sister for over 6 months!  I am even excited about getting the pack 'n play out with the bassinet on top to bring to Nona and Pop's house for you to sleep in next to my bed.  I am looking forward to changing your diaper, feeding you, and holding you and comforting you when you cry.  I can't wait to see Avery get to hold you and get to know you.  She will be such a big helper for me and I know she is going to love you so much!  I can see her being a very protective big sister and I pray she will be your best friend.  I love you so much already Bailey, and I am so looking forward to meeting you and holding you for the first time.  You are going to be so loved and spoiled, just wait!  I pray God will hold you close until you are in my arms and long after that.  Your Mommy and Daddy are waiting anxiously for you!!

Baby Shower for Bailey Mae

This past Saturday my sweet friends threw me a shower for Miss Bailey Mae. It was really fun and we got lots of cute things! Avery was really excited to go to a baby shower (her first one) and she talked about it all day the day before and was still talking about it today! She got a couple presents herself and felt really special. I can't wait to welcome this new little girl into our family so her big sister can finally meet her! I'm sure Avery thinks I will be pregnant forever since we have been talking about it for so long! Will Bailey ever get here??? I am 30 weeks today so we are on the downhill stretch. Avery was born at 37 1/2 weeks, so we will see!!

Big Girl Bed!

Well, we finally changed Avery's bed into a double bed and now she has her "big girl bed"! She loves it and like a champ has transitioned once again like a pro without any fuss whatsoever! I have been so impressed with how she has gone through big changes that I thought would bother her, but they haven't at all! She never had a problem when we changed her bed from a crib to a toddler bed, moved to a new house, or changed her bed once again to a double bed. Let's pray that she acts the same when Bailey is born!

Oh, also, please take note of another one-of-a-kind Nona-made quilt on Avery's bed. I found a Pottery Barn quilt that I really wanted but of course it was discontinued (and too expensive anyway!) so Nona (my mom) made it from the picture and I think it looks better! She is still making the pillow shams and accent pillow so that will be on at a later time. What would we do without our Nona?! Our beds wouldn't look nearly as pretty! THANK YOU NONA!! (ps. she also made the curtains in the background!)