We were pretty certain that Caroline would have another terrifying visit to sit on Santa's lap this year, but we were going any way. So today we stood in line for about 30 minutes at Brookwood Mall (I love going there b/c they let you take your own pictures in addition to the one they take). Armed with multiple snacks, suckers, and candy canes and with Christopher in tow (I bribed him with promises of an afternoon nap) we weaved our way through the line of screaming kids. This is the first year Caroline has really understood that she is supposed to tell Santa what she wants and that he will come down the chin-chee and leave her toys by the fireplace. She got her list straight in her mind several weeks ago and has been able to rattle it off on command. When we would ask her if she was ready to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted she would say that she wanted to tell him her list, but "no sit on his wap". However today, after waiting patiently in line and watching the other 80 kids go, she quietly slid out of Christopher's arms, ran over and hugged Santa and was happy too sit on his lap and just look at him. Rutland immediately went for his beard (which was real) and his glasses, then laid his head on the furry part of Santa's coat. The pictures still weren't great because it was impossible to get both of them to look at the camera at the same time, but they were light years beyond what we envisioned happening - which was a complete melt down. Caroline was so proud of herself when we left. I hope Santa's got everything on her list!
We took a few pictures in front of our tree before church the other day...
