seeing santa.

on Saturday morning, we took Eli to visit Santa Claus at the Kingston Springs firehouse. there was hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, and Santa held a bucket of candy canes which he doled out by the handful to every child in exchange for their list of wishes. while in line, Eli seemed excited as he watched the other children climb into Santa's lap one by one. i could tell he was anticipating his turn with intense curiosity about the man in the big red suit and polyester beard he would soon meet...

...only when the time came to plop down on the big guy's knee for a photo, fear set in (who could blame him?) and he started to cry. Santa, of course, made sure to look all Santa-y and composed for the picture, despite the meltdown taking place on his lap.



the instant that camera went click, Eli hopped down and made for the snack table where he grabbed two brownies--one in each fist--and headed over to check out the firetrucks (also big and red, but far less menacing).



afterward, we stopped by the coffee shop to visit our friends there, had another brownie (theirs were better), and went to buy our Christmas tree.

i have always dreamed of having an entry hall in which to put my Christmas tree on display, rather than cramming it in the corner of the living room. finally we do, and the tree looks really pretty as the center of attention when you walk through our front door.

we did our usual torture-the-pet-with-antlers photo by the tree that evening after hanging the final ornament. you can't see it, but Sam's crying (on the inside) about having his photo taken with Santa Claus too.