Santa?

I've been a little nervous about taking Brenden to see Santa this year. Last year he saw the Santa at Tim's Reserve Center Army party and was not at all impressed. He wouldn't go anywhere near him, not even if Tim held him. But then he had an awesome time meeting the Easter Bunny so I thought maybe he had turned a corner.

This year he met Santa at the Reserve Center again. Although it wasn't nearly as traumatic as last year, he still wasn't too happy about it. He quickly blurted out that he wanted Mickey Mouse for Christmas and then said "Candy!" because he had seen other kids getting candy. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason he sat on Santa's lap at all. He jumped right up and headed off to try to stuff candy that was still in the wrapper in his mouth.

Not sure about this, mom!

Of course there were other things to distract him. Twister, the concept of which he does not grasp, and face painting, which they actually did on the little one's hands because they are smart.

Left cheek blue.

Serious business!

He'll let Santa be painted on his hand!

Race car!

It's hard to understand how he can be so excited to see Santa on TV or in a book but not want to meet him in real life. I have a feeling that he would not feel this way about Mickey Mouse or Curious George, who is his new favorite cartoon character. I'm not sure if it's because he's so much bigger or looks a little different from pictures.

I guess we'll just have to go try it out at the mall. Maybe he'll be happier if this Santa has a real beard. We'll see!