James withOUT Santa :)

When I was a little girl, my Mom would take my sister and I to get our picture made with Santa every year. It was a fun tradition that we had for quite a few years. We would dress up in matching Christmas outfits, go out to lunch, and then go see Santa Claus. My Mom kept the pictures in a little red album that she would pull out every Christmas when we decorated the house. I used to love to look through that album and look at those pictures of us as little girls - and I still do! In fact, I can't wait to get my hands on that album in about a week and reminisce about those times and those memories together. I guess I've just always been sentimental like that! :)

When Stephen and I got married, we started a red album of our own. The first few pictures in the album are the Christmas cards that Stephen made for us each Christmas during our first few years together - just the two of us. And then last year on James' first Christmas, we added his first picture with Santa to the album. I thought it would be fun to continue that same tradition that I had enjoyed so much as a little girl with our children!

Well, If you've been reading the blog for a while now you might recall James' first picture with Santa. He was 10 months old and already struggling severely with separation anxiety. I can't believe now that we thought that he would react any differently than this to this red, bearded stranger...

 Poor, Sweet Baby!

Well, Friday afternoon we were going to attempt to go see "Santa Uh-Claus" (uh-claus is what James very cutely adds if you just say Santa) for his second ever picture with Santa Claus. We had high hopes this year because he can say "Santa" and "Ho Ho Ho" and whenever we'd ask if he wanted to go see Santa and sit on his lap he would say "yeeeah" and pat the seat of my chair with his hand. Friday afternoon he even told me "Mama, socks, shoes, go" when I mentioned Santa Uh-Claus. He was all about Santa until ... he took one step into Santa's Winter Wonderland and spotted Santa and he immediately began crying and holding on to Mama for dear life! Not even a bag of cookies from Santa could change his mind, although, for the record, he did get close enough to grab the cookies from his hand before telling him "bye -bye" through tears on the way out.

I had just about accepted that James would not be taking a picture with Santa this year when we drove by Santa's gazebo on Sunday night on our way to church and noticed that everything was there except for Santa. Perfect! James was excited that Santa was "hidey" (James' word for hiding, which is what he thinks anyone that's not around when mentioned is doing) and we were excited to get some adorable and free (thank you, James!) pictures of him in Santa's chair withOUT Santa for our album. I think they'll make for a fun story one day too (or at the least, a sentimental Mama flipping through a red album of sweet memories)!

"It's so nice in here when Santa Uh-Claus is hidey!"

"Now is jumping in Santa's chair defined as naughty?"

"So glad that me and Santa could work out this little deal to have him be mysteriously missing...but don't tell Mama!"