Santa Claus

This week we attempted twice to meet Santa. The second time was barely a success.
The first time was a Firewheel. There was no line at all. Alyssa said she wanted to meet him, so we went inside. I don't think she even got 10 ft from him. She just stood there with fear in her eyes shaking her head saying no, no. I don't want to go. He sat Aubrey in his lap and of course, she was staring up at him and all of a sudden a flood of tears comes streaming down her face. So, of course, we just left. And as soon as we stepped out of the store, Alyssa wanted to go back in and try again, but with Aubrey crying so much, we didn't.
So we talked to her and told her she needed to go tell him what she wanted and she said, "momma, this time I not scared."
Then we set out for the Willow Bend Santa. We thought we were getting there right when the mall opened and there wouldn't be a line. We waited in line for about an hour and a half. The whole time prepping little Alyssa for the big moment. When we finally reached the front, of course there was a little freak out session. Aubrey was asleep on Aaron's shoulder and Alyssa was clinging to me like a scared little kitty cat. But this Santa had such a sweet nature about him, it didn't take long to win her heart. She was still a little scared, but my brave girl took my hand and walked over to the big guy. He talked so sweet to her, complimenting her elegant dress. He told her he knows she has been a good girl and a good listener and he asked her what she wanted. " A teapot set." She said it so fast it was hilarious, like she was trying to hurry and get it over with. He didn't understand her so I had to translate and then he started singing I'm a little teapot to her. This may sound strange, but it was just the ticket to loosten her up enough with him to get ready to take the picture. So Aaron handed a sleeping Aubrey to Santa, and Alyssa sat in his lap. Aubrey woke up in total shock. She had this look of , who in the world is this hairy man holding me, and she started to let out a little cry. But this Santa was good! You could tell he liked kids. He calmed her and talked sweet to her and the cry only lasted a second. The picture we got wasn't great, but it is sweet. You can't really see Aubrey's face because she is looking up at him trying to figure out who he is, and he is looking down at her talking to him, and Alyssa is listening intently. It was good enough.
You may be asking yourself why in the world do you wait in line and put your kids through all that nervous anticipation? Well for me it is for that memory and that picture of innocence. This time of such pure innocence in our kid's lives doesn't last long enough, and I want to enjoy every second of it. And that sweet moment after it is over when Alyssa was gleaming about how she did it. She told Santa what she wanted him to bring her.
I just wanted the picture to capture the awesome time of innocence.