Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Santa Baby


I had pretty realistic expectations about our visit to see Santa Claus this year: Brees
would be scared of Santa the way most 2 year old kids are.  There was no way she was
going to allow me to hand her over to sit in the lap of a complete stranger with a big
white beard no matter how many candy canes we tried to bribe her with.  We decided to
get all dressed up and head to the mall anyway: Isabelle could visit with Santa and tell
him about her wishlist and we would just hope for the best with Brees.
As we approached the beautiful North Pole display, Brees actually got very excited.
She waved to Santa while we stood in line, calling out to him in her little squeaky girl
voice, "Hey, Santa, hey!!".  Shawn and I looked at each other with hope: this might
actually happen.  But then our turn came, the photographer ushering us in and inviting us
to approach Santa with all our Christmas cheer.
And toddler chaos ensued.  "NO!!  No no no mama!!" she cried emphatically, clinging to
me like a cat on a screen door.  Just as I was about to scrap the whole shebang, Santa
calmly said, "Oh, don't worry family.  We'll just do a peek-a-boo shot.  No use in having
such a pretty little girl cry".  He and the photographer instructed Shawn and I to walk to
the other side of the North Pole display, taking Santa out of Brees' sight.  Santa turned
his attention to Belle and listened intently to her every wish, a moment I was so
thankful that our sweet little 8 year old got to experience despite her sister's tantrum.
I then watched as this sweet man climbed behind his big green chair and disappeared
behind the display, crouching down before calling out, "I'm ready!".  I mean, seriously,
what a good sport.  We brought Brees back to the chair and sat her on Belle's lap,
Santa popping up in the background without Brees ever knowing. Smile, snap, photo
done!  Santa whispered from behind the chair and asked us to pick Brees up before he
came out, "I don't want to scare her again".  She wrapped her little arms around my
neck when she saw him reemerge but still managed to say, "Bye bye Santa!".
I will always treasure this photo: Santa being sneaky, Brees still a bit traumatized,
Belle's million dollar smile.  Santa was truly caring and went out of his way, literally, to
make the night special for our girls.  We will definitely be leaving him extra cookies under
the tree this year.


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11 comments:

Deanna Fike said...

haha. oh you know i love this picture! :) i wonder how many years it will be before i get both of my boys in a santa picture together?

Caitlin A. said...

That is so sweet! I think it's wonderful when Santa gets so into what he does. Lovely photo :)

Nessa Bixler said...

That is so wonderful! Love that shot!

Posh on a Budget said...

That is too sweet...

http://poshonabudget.com/2012/12/ww-yep-you-read-that-right.html

Vanessa said...

Love both the girls' faces in this pic. (Also may I just say Santa is knocking it out of the park, too!)

Tanya Jean said...

This has got to be the sweetest thing I have ever seen! How precious that he was so caring and understanding enough to do this. And they both just look perfect :)
xo TJ

Jessica said...

How cute!! This is probably the only way I could get a pic with Santa. It's less a problem with Jude and more a problem with Jonathan. Let's just say I'm okay with his apprehension to sitting on some strangers lap. LOL The nice thing about this pic too is the great story that goes along with it. :)

OTandET said...

That is a super darling story <3 I think we are taking Otto and Loretta tomorrow to the Santa at Bass Pro Shops (haha, no joke, my dad SWEARS it's like an amazing Santa set up over there). I love how little and sweet your girls look in that oversized chair!

Lucy The Valiant said...

That is adorable! What a great Santa!

Diana Chastain said...

What a good Santa! SweetPea didn't want to get in Santa's lap either (she is also two). But I was right there and she was a good sport. We had her older cousin with us so that helped. But my friend's daughter who is a month younger, freaked out. And that was her second encounter with Santa this year. The Santa had to do the peek behind photo with her too.

Thanks for sharing.

http://mrsdchastain.blogspot.com

Sara said...

Ha, that is quite the impressive Santa. :)