The Magic of Santa Claus

First up, let me just start by saying...WOO HOO! I actually did it. I successfully fulfilled a short-term goal. I blogged for thirty straight days. Are you as shocked as I am? Are you as excited as I am by such a trivial accomplishment? Hello? Any readers out there? Well, anyhow. I'm not entirely certain whether or not I will keep writing daily. It's actually become quite the obsession. I sit down and tap away at the keys about trivial moments of my life. Oh, occasionally I throw in a rather significant bit of information, but all in all, it's just words on a screen, right?

Today I will share Alex and Abby's very first visit with the jolly old elf himself - Santa Claus. We got there right as he was arriving on a firetruck of all things. (Alex was so excited when he saw this that he was bouncing.) I must admit that it was a fair bit more exciting for me than it probably should have been. I was down right giddy for the sake of my children. Heck, I got so into the holiday spirit that I about jumped up on Santa's lap myself. There are a few things I wouldn't mind Santa whippin' out of his bag for me this Christmas. Alright, I'm just kidding. I know there are a few children out there that might be walking a fine line of acceptable weight limits for Santa's lap. But I'm quite certain that I'd bust that scale twice over. And as exciting as it was to see him arrive in a firetruck, I'm not certain I'd want to be responsible for seeing him leave in an ambulance.

Alex was by far the most excited about Santa. Without any reservations, he jumped right up onto Santa's lap and chatted it up with him. They got their pictures taken for free and Alex was first to show Santa how cool they looked together. Four years old is definitely the age when the magic of Christmas sets in.

Now Abby, on the other hand, was (note obvious past tense here) excited about Santa. Until she was asked to go sit on his lap. And that was it for her. Meltdown, screamfest, no way, uh-uh, not a chance was she gonna go sit on the big man in red's lap. So I said I'd sit with her. No. Not with her on Santa's lap, but next to her. She got her candy cane and picture taken and this was the best shot we got. After it was all said and done and they handed her a copy of her picture, she showed it to Santa and smiled at him, deciding that maybe he wasn't as terrifying as she thought.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Santa for giving the kids a great memory. They flaunt their photos now to anyone who will look at them. We also got to go around town and see all sorts of things. There were free carriage rides, but the line was too long. Oh. And just in case you need any last minute ideas on what to get me for Christmas, I wouldn't mind a pair of these.

So with Christmas day nearly here and the year coming to an end, I want to say to everyone: