Up on the rooftop, reindeer paws..

Santa arrived via fire engine to our city park last night.  He got off the truck, went and knelt in front of the baby Jesus to pray, then was escorted by awestruck children to the gazebo to begin the process of knee sitting and wish granting.  As they walked with him, I heard the children saying things like “Santa, I love you” and “Santa, it’s me, Julie. Hello!” Too cute. It reminded me of the scene at the end of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where all the little alien creatures escorted Richard Dreyfus to the space craft.

The boys loved him. Even Quinn talked to him and was not afraid.  Mia thinks Santa is the scariest human being on the planet. Think Blair Witch Project, and you have a handle on her terror.

View Exhibit A as Mia turns and sees her worst nightmare:

Terror!!!!

I have also been able to prove the theory that, no matter how many times you try, it is physically impossible to get 4 kids to all smile at once.To prove this, here is Exhibit B, which also shows the progression of Mia’s nervous break-down:

Crying Mia

She finally gave it one last pout, and looked at the camera:

Okay, 1 picture

What follows is cuteness that only sword-swallowing babies can rival:

Mmmm..peppermint

Mia’s first candy cane.

It was after this last photo that I gobbled her up, chubby cheeks and all. Mmmm, peppermint!