Seeing Santa!

The first week in December was full of pre-Christmas activities, from decorating to writing Christmas lists. We topped it off with a trip to see Santa at the Village Mall. But of course we started the week (and every day) with story-time. Honestly we read with the kids all the time, but seeing all the kids sitting around Alex listening to a story is a sight I will never tire of.

Decorating the Christmas tree turned into 'What if Kenzie is the Christmas tree?' Based on her face, I'm not sure she was thrilled, but she will get used to her siblings tormenting her, as I'm sure it won't end any time soon.

One thing I have learned with having three kids is that often the perfect picture opportunities come when one or more kid isn't dressed. I've always gotten my kids dressed daily with hair done, and tried to take cute pictures of them together whenever I had a chance. Now I just watch for the cute moments to unfold, and embrace the fact that they are almost always in some sort of disarray. This particular day was putting Christmas lights on, and Carter started playing with Kenzie. This was a HUGE moment, as he was afraid to get near her for a long time.

After a while of watching, I encouraged Olivia to lay down so I could try to get some cute smiles...this is what happened.

My favorite picture. From the kids' sweet faces as they kiss Kenzie's hands to her crazy eyes as she gets up close and personal with her brother. I love these kids more than anything :).

Sitting on the chair together only lasted about three seconds. Carter still wasn't interested in holding Kenzie or taking a picture with her.

The kids kept asking to take more pictures, so they could see the results. Eventually they came up with their own plan. Olivia sitting on the piano bench, and Carter and Kenzie sharing a chair. Kenzie was just 2 weeks old at this point, and nowhere near holding her own weight, but I didn't want to disappoint the kids, so we tried it. I was wishing that Alex was there, but instead I improvised, holding Kenzie up with my food while she leaned against Carter. Olivia and Carter were thrilled with the results, and I like them too.

The next day we went to see Santa. Knowing that this can be a scary experience for kids (and after last year's disastrous results), we tried to prep the kids by talking about how nice Santa is, and that he looks like a Grandpa with a big beard but we sit on his lap and talk to him. We also went with Amber's family, to try to distract them from this strange experience. Before going, we asked the kids what they were going to ask for. Olivia was certain that she wanted 'sick doll' and a hula hoop. Carter wanted Cereal. Obviously Olivia had a better idea of what Santa was all about :).

Notice one kid missing? Carter had an off year, and refused the experience. I tried to have Alex help him up to Santa's lap, but he was very stealth-like in his evasion techniques, and I didn't get a good picture.

Later that afternoon I got this cute picture of Kenzie supervising the construction of her stocking (which was bigger than she was).