Santa

Ok, we found the BEST Santa ever! Sarah and I took the girls to see Santa this evening (Matt had a dinner meeting and didn't mind skipping out on going to the mall in the evening this close to Christmas). The girls were super cute in their little Christmas dresses. I have been prepping Erika for a while now that we were going to see Santa and she was going to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. She has been a little more apprehensive about strangers and people dressed up than she ever had been before. So, we get to the mall and wait in a little bit of a line to see Santa. Sarah took Erika to ride up and down the escalators while Laurel and I stood in line. The first clue that this adventure might not be successful was when Erika saw Santa leaving his "workshop" (bathroom break) and was terrified. She ran back to Sarah and didn't want to even look at Santa. This might not be so good. After a few minutes of riding the escalators, it was our turn to go into Santa's workshop. The girls loved looking at the decorations and touching the fake snow. Then, the moment of truth came. We went around the corner and saw Santa sitting in his chair. Erika wouldn't go around the corner. She started crying and had to be held. We did a little coaxing to at least get her to go in front of Santa. She was still crying and not extremely excited about the whole Santa issue. But then, jolly old St. Nick did his magic and actually got Erika to stop crying, come near him, and talk to him. He had us put Laurel on his lap and then he talked very calmly and quietly to Erika about if she was a good girl and if she could come be a big helper and stand by Santa to hold Laurel's hand. He was so great with her! She even told him what she wanted for Christmas (a little kitchen) and that she was a good girl and a good big sister. Then, Santa told her that she was in fact on his good list! And, to top it all off, we got a REALLY good picture of the girls. It was awesome! A very fun night!

Also, it helped that Santa had a huge basket of candy canes beside him.

Here is a super cute video of Erika singing 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town'. Until Mommy ruins it by adding another verse. Erika was supposed to join me, but got distracted by Caillou.