Visiting with Santa

Today was our day to see Santa! Sadly, our schedule has been so busy that this was the first chance we've had to go. John Grayson was excited, which was to be expected. He's excited about most everything these days, and his favorite way to respond to a question (how was school? how are you doing?) is GREAT! Such a sweet boy. But I digress. Typically I go into our Santa visits with minimal expectations. That's way I'm not disappointed if one (or both) of them decide that they're just not feeling it. It also explains why John Grayson had clunky white tennis shoes on in his picture from 2008 :-) The past two years, I've dressed the kids in their "dressy" Christmas clothes but was totally okay (if not expecting) a tear or scream from Delia. Little did I know that the act of getting dressed would be the most stressful part of the experience.

We went to the gym first thing and then came home to change into Santa clothes before heading to the mall. J Gray was great and dressed himself. Delia, on the other hand, decided to battle Mommy. It took almost 10 minutes and bribery via Elmo to get her into her tights, shirt and dress. Forget about the shoes. She wanted no part of them, so I decided to be thankful she was dressed and head to the mall. Luckily we saw some of our friends in the parking lot, which helped distract Delia. She knows who Santa is this year and can actually say "Santa" but I wasn't convinced she'd walk up to him and stand there nicely for a picture. Well, Little Girl made me proud, and so did Big Brother!! John Grayson, bless his heart, held her hand and walked over to Santa with her. She looked very awe-struck, almost like she was seeing a celebrity for the first time (and for kids, especially tiny ones, Santa is a BIG deal). She stood there silently while John Grayson chatted with Kris Kringle. They took an adorable picture (if I do say so myself) and even went back to give an extra hug and high five. John Grayson asked for a giant crane (whew--I was afraid he was going to change his mind because Santa has already done his shopping) and Delia said "baby" (as in baby doll).

Santa 2010 = SUCCESS!!!