Ricky rolled his new toy ball to Snow White who happily tried to catch it with her favorite puppy friend beside her trying to get it in his mouth.

Being watched by his mother and older sisters, who unknowingly to him, could speak to said animals, the infant cooed, trying to learn a new trick himself: rolling on his tummy. To him it wasn't easy as he had just learned to sit up a month earlier which had made his daddy freak out.

"Ricky! You got some 'splainin' to do!" Bobby Lee said as he saw Ricky sitting up.

"Easy, Desi, he's a big boy now," Nell played along, knowing that Bobby Lee loved watching old TV shows when he was finished with a shift.

"I know," Bobby Lee smiled, picking Ricky up. "I'm proud of you, little buddy! Soon you'll be walking, and as soon as you start walking, I'll start training you to be a junior guard!"

"One victory at a time, Robert," Nell grinned.

"Take it one day at a time!" Elena and Gabby shouted together as they ran up to him.

"We've taught you so well!" Bobby Lee said as he hugged them.

Ricky didn't understand why his mommy and daddy freaked out whenever he and his big sisters did things that they practiced doing.

He always thought they were broken, having his baby thoughts disappear for a moment as he tried to get his new ball away from Elena's kitty.

His thoughts were interrupted by Elena's kitty Snow White rubbing against him. Ricky cooed as he stroked her soft fur.

"Snow White likes you, Ricky!" Elena giggled.

"Well, Ricky's loved kitties since the moment he was born," Nell smiled, remembering how James had held up Elena's Kitty to help her focus.

"He likes puppies too," Bobby Lee smiled, watching as Ricky reached toward James' dog Jagger. His smile widened as Jagger sniffed Ricky. He knew James was usually the one to watch Jagger when the girls wanted to be around him, but since James was busy helping in the castle, he offered to keep an eye on him.

"I'm glad he likes me," Jagger barked, softly licking Ricky. "As far as babies go, he's not so bad."

"We glad we can understand you," Elena said, giving Ricky his ball. "But this Ricky's. You can't chew on it."

"I thought you encouraged sharing, Elena! But don't worry, I've got my own ball to chew on," Jagger assured her. "Maybe he can use one of my new chew toys, since he likes chewing on things."

"That's okay, Jag, Ricky has his own things for helping with teething," Bobby Lee chuckled, scratching him behind the ears. Elena wasn't the only one who could talk to animals; Nell, Bobby Lee, and Gabby also had pendants and medallions that let them talk to and understand animals.

Only Ricky didn't have one since he was a baby and Nell didn't want him to choke on his pendent but had assured the animals that once he was two or possibly three years old, he would get his own.

For now though she could tell that Ricky only enjoyed two things in his infancy: Chewing and snuggling.

A little later, they were up in the castle again. James had been given a good report on how Jagger had behaved around the girls. "Thanks for watching Jagger," he said as he scratched him behind the ears. "I would have done it myself, but I was busy helping clean up after the party."

"No problem, James," Bobby Lee smiled, "We all agreed to help watch Jagger if the girls want to be near him if you can't watch him. And he's really good around Ricky."

"We trained him really well," James grinned.

"You mean you trained him," Nell smiled. "We just sat back and watched as you did research and took Jagger to classes on how to teach him how to be a therapy dog."

"Jaggy's a good doggie!" Elena giggled.

"He's a nice doggie," Gabby agreed, though with not as much enthusiasm. She'd always been leery of dogs ever since James' first dog had bitten her when she was younger, although it was her own fault for playing roughly with him. She was learning to be more at ease around Jagger, and so far, he was the only dog she wasn't afraid of, except for James' plush dog Little Rex. But as Mommy and Daddy said, it was a start.

And a start that for the most part, Nell was thankful for as Ricky fussed in her arms.

"What's the matter little guy? Hungry?" Nell cooed, though she hated to have to wean him now that he was teething.

"If he was hungry Helen, he would be chewing on your hair," Bobby Lee joked with a smile.

"Maybe he needs a change of scenery, or a nap," James suggested.

"He is running a little late for his nap," Nell agreed. "Why don't we put him down, then we can talk about our upcoming winter vacation?"

"Yeah!" Elena and Gabby cheered. They'd been excited about going with the royal family on their winter vacation, but nobody knew where they wanted to go yet.

"Good. It's okay Ricky, Mommy has you," Nell cooed before kissing her daughters ' cheeks. "Be good."

Hearing their mother baby talk Ricky, the twins giggled a little before turning to their daddy who shook his head in amusement at his wife's baby talk.

"So where do you want to go, girls?" Bobby Lee asked.

"How about some place we haven't been to in a while?" Nell suggested.

"Princess Sandra! We can visit her and see her kitties!" Elena giggled.

"But we went to Orillia for Halloween, remember?" Bobby Lee asked. "Why don't we go someplace else this time, and we can visit her for our next vacation."

"Okay," Elena sighed. At the same moment, she cheered up. "Princess Elena! We see her?"

"You mean, Avalor?" Nell asked.

"Yeah!" Elena cheered, flapping her hands and jumping up and down.

"Why am I not surprised that Elena picks Avalor?" Bobby Lee rolled his eyes.

"Robert, it's their first vacation to pick," Roland smirked, musing his hair. "Besides, remember your honeymoon?"

"I got seasick," Nell reminded him with a frown. "It was terrible."

"We know," Bobby Lee sighed. He recalled that Nell had been sick the whole time, and she couldn't properly enjoy the cruise. "But here's a new question: How do we get to Avalor? I don't want to travel by boat if Helen can't tolerate it, and you saw how sick Elena got when we traveled in the air when we went to Orillia."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Elena murmured. "Am I a bad girl?"

"No, sweetheart, of course not," Nell assured her, "Maybe we can try flying again. After all, you're older now, and you might be used to that. You did pretty well on the way home from Orillia after Halloween."

"That is true," Bobby Lee agreed. "Okay, if you're sure about this, there's no reason why we can't try it again. But we should bring some bags for Elena, just to be on the safe side."

"Why?" Gabby asked.

"Sweetheart, did you or did you not see the big mess on the carriage floor after Elena got sick?" Nell tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn't help but smile sympathetically.

"I got an earful from the guy who had to clean it up," Bobby Lee recalled, kissing Elena's cheek.

"Sorry Daddy," Elena muttered softly as Gabby squeezed her hand.

"Not your fault," Gabby assured her with a girn. "We all get sick with some stuff."

"She's right, Elena, but like we said, you'll do fine this time around," Bobby Lee assured her. "And the bags are just in case you do get sick. You know we like to be prepared for anything."

"Okay," Elena smiled a little. "We see Elena!"

"Yes, Love Bug, we're going to see Princess Elena," Nell smiled as Bobby Lee picked her up and spun her.

"Snow in Avalor?" Gabby asked, tugging on Sofia's dress.

"Sorry Gabby but Avalor is pretty warm," Sofia explained as best as she could. "And Elena I know to you she's a princess but she's a queen now."

"She makes snow appear?" Elena asked with a smile.

"No, sweetheart; not like the queen in your Elsa and Anna book," Nell shook her head. "But she does have her own royal sorcerer, and maybe if you ask him, he can make snow appear."

"Okay!" Elena grinned.

She hugged her mother as her excitement for Avalor increased as she ran to her and Gabby's room.

"Someone's excited for the royal vacation," Bianca smirked, a sleeping Ricky in her arms. "Who picked it out this time?"

"Three guesses, Bianca," Bobby Lee grinned, "We're going to Avalor on Elena's suggestion."

"That sounds wonderful," Bianca smiled. "Can I go with you? I don't think I've ever been to Avalor."

"Yes!" Elena jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

"Elena Lydia..." Bianca scolded as Ricky started to whimper.

"Sorry," Elena muttered, kissing Ricky's cheek.

Ricky settled down when it became quieter. He normally loved seeing Elena jumping up and down and flapping her hands, but not when he was trying to sleep.

"You'll still come with us to Avalor, won't you?" Elena asked.

Bianca smiled. "Of course I will, sweetheart. I wouldn't miss such an exciting trip like this for the world!"