Santa

N just got back from another business trip and was up most of the night with a headache and tummy ache.  My car was actually getting its brakes replaced and was still at Wheel Works with ALL 3 car seats inside.  I was trying to think of something to do to get Molly and I out of the house when she noticed all the Santa pics on Facebook.  I suggested going to the mall so she could meet Santa and take a picture with him and to my surprise she was into it.

This is the last time I was able to get Molly anywhere near Santa's lap:

I packed up some art supplies and we walked down to Valley Fair.

Yeah, we worked on her smile…

Molly set up camp and about 8 kids in total shared her art supplies while I waited for us in line.  I got several thank you's from other parents since Molly was so generous and offering out pages to other kids.

Right before it was her turn Molly got a little nervous and told me she was simply going to stand next to Santa for the picture.  However, this Santa was good and won her over.  I'm really surprised we got such a relaxed smile and comfortable pose.  Molly has completely shut me down every year prior to this… she wouldn't even consider sitting with Santa.  Hopefully this is the start of a yearly tradition.

Next stop was CPK for lunch… I suspect the real reason Molly agreed to the whole Santa thing.

It definitely warmed up on our walk back and Molly even stopped to smell the flowers.