Santa

After much deliberation we decided that the University Village Santa would be our Santa. We thought about downtown Nordstroms, or Alderwood Mall, or Bellevue Square, but decided that we could probably commit to making it as far as University Village each year. So Mommy, Daddy and Abbie headed off to U Village on Sunday, December 17.

We anticipated that Abbie was not going to enjoy being on Santa's lap. (By the way, while standing in line with a chilly, hungry, and fussy Abbie, Daddy convinced Mommy that this was not one of those things that parents say they're doing for their child but really is something only the parents want. Some day Abbie will thank us for doing this because she'll be glad to have her first Christmas memorialized with a sitting-on-Santa's-lap-picture. And if not, it's just one more thing she can share with her therapist.) Anyway, when it was our turn we told Santa our plan: Mommy will drop Abbie in Santa's lap and very quickly step aside. The photographer must immediately snap the photo. Don't jingle any bells or make any faces hoping to coax a smile. It won't happen. Just get the picture before the full-on crying starts. Santa agreed to our plan. So Mommy dropped and stepped and the photographer snapped. Everything went according to plan. The photographer did try the jingle bells and funny faces but not until the first picture was snapped. The second, rejected picture was a full-on cry. Ah Christmas, it's really about the children.

Daddy's favorite part of the entire experience was Santa sending one of his elves on a Starbucks' run right before we stepped up for our turn. Who knew Santa was a 3-shot venti peppermint mocha no whip latte guy? That's Christmas in the Northwest (wma file).