december daily : 12.18.10.

today's activity was going to see santa.  which i knew was likely  not going to go very well but it went better than i could've hoped for.  i knew that L would likely cry instantly.  and she did.  and i figured C would be dramatic as well but she was actually quite good.  on the drive there, she kept saying, "i can't like ho ho!"  i figured it was going to be even worse than expected but we explained to her that she needed to tell santa what she wanted so that he'd be able to make it especially for her if she had been a good girl this year.  her one and only wish is a kitty cat keyboard and microphone.  it has been since october when she first saw it.  i think L's wish was to be off of santa's lap and pronto.  the best part of the experience was that we had to wait maybe 3 minutes to meet him AND we got to take our own photos.  for FREE.  i told andy that we wouldn't have gotten better photos if we had paid for them so although they aren't perfect by any means, i'm happy with them.

 

proof that she wasn't really traumatized and was just fine once i picked her up.  silly baby girl.  thanks to aunt cuckoo for her festive outfit that she sported for the occasion!

 

next to santa was a giant gingerbread house you could walk through - as in big enough for an adult to walk through.  i was taking a few photos of andy and C when someone asked if he could take a photo of all of us together.

 

bless that random stranger.  he totally made my day.  not only a photo of us, but a photo of us where we're all looking/smiling AND we're in focus.  it's already the wallpaper on my laptop.

 

and on the opposite side of santa were bell ringers for the salvation army.  i originally wanted to do this as an activity this year but thought C was still a bit young.  next year.  i think she would absolutely love it.

 

we also got a surprise box from nana and papi today.  a bit of early christmas as we won't be celebrating with them until january.  i dubbed it faux christmas and i love that my mother and sister-in-law are now calling it this as well.  nana made my day by noting in her card NOT to wait until christmas to open the packages.  she knows me so well.  L received a new christmas book which i read through already.  absolutely adorable.

 

andy and i got gifts too - but we have to share.  homemade peanut butter cups and a gift card to mcdonald's so that we can have an easy dinner this week with all the stuff we have going on.  look at miss L eyeing that gift card!

 

she also had her eye on the peanut butter cups.  this girlie loves to eat - and she knows what's good, too!

 

C received an eye spy christmas book.  which we discovered she's really good at!  our entire family loves these books so it was a treat for us to see C get one and for her to enjoy it as much as have in the past.

 

and the last gift was for both the girls and so i opened it with L's help.  another holiday book for our collection.  love that we've got an additional one to add for next year already.  andy and C already read it this evening.  i'm looking forward to reading it tomorrow.

definitely a good day.  it's days like these that i'm so glad i took the plunge to document how we're celebrating the holiday this year.

Comments

[lisa truesdell]

love that pic of all of you - what an awesome thing to have!

[Joanna]

We bought my niece Lark that keyboard for her birthday this past September and she LOVES it! My sister does not. Well, she puts up with it. I'm thinking maybe I should get Lark some drums for Christmas! ; )

[tracy]

yeah. n got that keyboard last Christmas. it's . . . delightful. i'd be more than happy to send you his!

[brandi]

Oh my gosh! your Dec.18 post is so nuts. So much going on and so many great photos! Love the pic at the end of you and L. You look beautiful.