Visit to Santa

As you can see by the above picture, we saw Santa today! I'd meant to do this for the past two years, but this is the first time I actually made it happen. It's just as well. This is the first year she cared a bit about Santa/Christmas/etc.

Today was not a typical day for us. I want to say that because I'm about to tell about our visit to Santa and it was really out of character for Nora. She is usually really good natured and LOVES strangers. So much so that it scares me sometimes. I always worry that she would happily walk off with someone she had never met before. Since she has become 2 she has become a little more cautious/clingy, which is not a bad thing in my opinion.

This morning she woke up on the wrong side of the bed, so to speak. We had Music Class this morning and it was a big struggle to get out the door. A tantrum was involved. She did okay at Music Class and at lunch (mostly), but when it was time to see Santa I asked her if she wanted to meet him and she said, "No!" This was when we were at the mall and not even near Santa yet. I was really surprised because we'd been talking about Santa and how he brings presents and toys. We just set up the Christmas tree last night and she was totally digging it.

Even though she said she didn't want to meet Santa, I took him to his "workshop" anyway. No one else was around and the man working was really sweet. He waved to her from his couch, then he came down and talked to her from behind the rope. He asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said, "Presents, with wrapping paper," which is her standard answer. She's not too concerned about what kind of presents she gets as long as they involve wrapping paper. He gave her some stickers, then Santa showed us some of his set-up. He pointed out a dog and a kitty that were part of the display. Nora liked that.

After she got comfortable, she agreed to sit on Santa's lap for a little bit and we got some pictures. I was happy with how they turned out and I also shelled out for a frame, which I will keep and use every year. We don't decorate much but Nora seems to enjoy the things we do do. It's so nice to experience all of the joy of the holiday through the eyes of a two year old.

So, I don't know what was up with Miss Nora today, but we survived our visit to Santa and we got a nice picture out of it. We also took her to a drive-around light show tonight and she LOVED it.

Merry Christmas to all!