Gracen and I have been busy crafting up all sorts of fun homemade ornaments for our tree this week, and this cute little Santa is the latest addition to the fleet. I’ve made these with several classes of students during my time teaching, and while they’re a perfect project for older kids, Miss G and I had a great time working on one together.
While we don’t have a Santa photo for Gracen’s very first Christmas (we were living in Kuwait and didn’t really have the opportunity there, so we planned on getting one taken in Paris while we were on vacation, but ended up spending 3 and a half days in the Frankfurt airport and never making it to France due to weather conditions…), here’s a comparison of Grae’s santa photos for this year and last. It’s amazing what a year does, isn’t it? In the first one she still looks like such a baby, and in the second, she’s clearly a little girl (*sob*).
♥
To keep up with all the Mama.Papa.Bubba. fun, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here.
Gracen’s always been a shy little girl around people she doesn’t know (men more than women for some some reason). In fact, she started really playing strange between 3 and 4 months old when most babies are still so young that they don’t mind being passed around in the least.
Last Christmas, when we went to visit Santa at a nearby mall, we were thrilled with the fact that both the photographer and Santa were very sensitive to Grae’s cautiousness. Santa took the time to come over and talk to her while she was still in my arms and let her pet his velvety suit, and the photographer set out a little rocking horse for her to sit on instead of having to sit on Santa’s knee. The session went really well, the photos turned out beautifully, and our little girl left happy and excited about Santa Claus, which was the most important part.
Given the great experience we had last year, there was no question in my mind that we’d go back to the same place this time around. We’ve been talking about it for the last week or so, and though Grae’s seemed really exciting about seeing Santa, I could definitely sense that she was a little uneasy with the sitting on his knee part.
When we arrived to the mall this morning, we lined up, and enjoyed the entertainment provided by Santa’s playful elves. Gracen went around collecting their trading cards and loved seeing the tree, hugging Frosty the Snowman, and inspecting Santa’s kitchen as the line up moved through Santa’s village. When it came to her turn to visit with Santa, she was happy to give him high fives, but didn’t want to sit on his lap. And you know what? That was absolutely fine with me. Having my little girl feel nervous or uncomfortable all in the name of a photograph is just not worth it in my eyes. Instead, she sat on his rocking horse long enough to snap a couple of quick photos, and then asked to be taken off. Here are the shots we got this year…
I love how the first one starts out very seriously, in the second you can see a cautious smile sneaking out, and in the third she looks like she’s having a good time.
In the end, the photographer asked if she’d like to sit with both Mama and Santa, and she agreed {although she doesn’t look overly thrilled}.
Overall, I’d say the whole thing went pretty well. The photos are a perfect representation of Grae, after our mini photo shoot was done she snuck back to give Santa a quick hug, and she hasn’t stopped talking about him since.
♥
For those of you in the Lower Mainland, these photos were taken at Richmond Centre. I’d highly recommend them as the elves, photographer, Mrs. Claus, and Santa are all absolutely lovely and great with little ones. They have several package options all available for $25 (we always get the disc of images so we can print and use them as we like) and there’s plenty of entertainment as you wait in line. For more information, click here.
Today was our last Family Place session of the year, and lucky for most kids, Santa stopped in for a surprise visit. Grae, on the other hand, was not nearly as excited as the other munchkins. This was her third encounter with the jolly old man this year, and she was less than impressed. And by less than impressed, I mean that she shook her head at him and even tried to give back the present he had just given to her.
She was much happier once Santa had left the room and snack time and our gym visit were next. Hopefully this was our last Santa encounter of 2011…
Sunset, the community centre closest to our house, always hosts fun events to celebrate the holidays. We had registered for their very popular ‘Lunch with Santa’ event long ago, and today was finally the day that it took place.
There was plenty to see and do, and right away Gracen set out to visit each of the inflatable characters.
Since we arrived before the event actually started, it was calm enough for G to actually bounce inside the castle for once.
Soon after, things got WILD inside the bouncy castle (as they always do), so we resorted to our usual bouncing on the outside edge technique. Not to worry, Grae doesn’t mind one bit as long as she’s jumping around like a monkey.
After a sufficient amount of bouncing, it was off to the arts and crafts area to decorate a paper gingerbread boy. Grae loves crafts, and I think she would have cleared out the entire stock of pom poms and goggly eyes had I let her.
There was much too much excitement around to actually sit down and eat properly, but we gave it our best shot anyways. Santa arrived ringing his bell part way through the meal and we all went over to visit with him for a quick minute.
Although Santa wasn’t a hit with Grae, the band certainly was. She was completely and totally enamoured with these high school kids who played several carols for all to enjoy.
This was as still as she sat the entire time… What can I say? This little doodle loves music. :)