Meeting Santa Claus

So things were crazy busy with the holidays approaching, shopping, cleaning house, wrapping presents, cleaning house, thinking about updating the blog, cleaning house, decorating for Christmas, then cleaning up the mess I made decorating....you get the idea. I finally finished school and was on break, and on December 23 (only 2 days before Christmas) realized that I had not taken David to meet Santa Claus. Silly Mommy. Boy was I gonna hear it from Nana if we didn't get David to the nearest mall pronto. So after Ryan got off work we headed to the mall to join the throng of other parents who had put off pictures with Santa or had forgotten until the last minute.

Whoever designed the layout for the waiting line at this mall obviously was having a bad day. There was a huge wiggly line right near Santa, but then it stopped all of the sudden. Then you look across a major thoroughfare, past a couple carts peddling games and jewelry and stuff, and the line continues along the wall. At least there was a sign that said "Santa's Wonderland - Enter Here", but most people walked past it. This line got to the corner and stopped! And there was no helpful little elf to tell you when to make the trek to join the real line.

So we were talking with the people in front of us and it was decided that when it looked like there was enough room for you and yours to fit you took off and hoped that no one passing by would "line jump". It was finally our turn to cross over. Yeah! Ryan and I took turns making side shopping trips, feeding David, and finding a bathroom where David could be changed. The ladies behind us were really nice (a mother and daughter who had been having their pictures made together with Santa every year for the last 18 years). They thought David was so cute and I just have to agree with them.

Finally, after two and a half hours our wait was over. David was in a great mood and was smiling and laughing. He just looked at Santa and wouldn't stop even when I set him in Santa's lap. Here's a few pictures that we took ourselves.

After surviving the first year, I think we can handle doing this for the next eighteen years as long as we bring food, can find a bathroom, and have a shopping list so we can multi-task. And we might try not waiting until the last minute either!