Pictures With Santa

Kelsey asked for Lalaloopsy's

Mackenzie asked for a flute

Haylee asked for an archery set

Natalee asked for a pink BB gun

Nathan didn't ask for anything.  He just wanted that candy cane!

     Kelsey has been telling me this past week that she wants Santa to bring her Lalaloopsy toys for Christmas.  I told her that we were going to see Santa on Friday when we went to the Santa train and she could sit on his lap and tell him what she wants.  She got a concerned look on her face.  Kelsey has always been too afraid to sit on Santa's lap and I think she was still feeling like she might not be ready.  She told me she needed me to help her be brave.  Then she said, "Tell me to face my fears."  I thought it was adorable.  I told her I would be happy to help her and if she still wasn't sure, she could write a letter to Santa and bring it to him.  She didn't want to do that though.  She just wanted to try to be brave.
     As you can see from the picture, she faced her fears and told Santa what she wants for Christmas.  She was quite proud of herself when she was done, as she should be.  The other girls told Santa what they wanted also.  Nate just wanted the candy cane and I couldn't even get him to look at me once he had it in his hand.  In fact, he didn't even seem to notice when Santa picked him up and set him on his knee for the picture.  Which is good because Nathan usually wants nothing to do with Santa.
     I don't have any great pictures of us on the train.  I remembered to bring my good camera but forgot to put the SD card back in it after downloading some pictures onto the computer.  My phone camera was good enough for pictures with Santa but there wasn't enough light by the train.  Oh well, maybe next year!
     Nathan was funny about the train.  I was most excited for him to get to ride it since he has become so in love with trains this past year.  Then as we're in line, he starts saying, "I don't want to ride the train!"  He was genuinely nervous about it.  But we told him we would hold him tight.  Originally, I wasn't going to go with the rest of the family because I figured I would have to stay home with Avery.  It's usually bitterly cold and windy.  But this year it was really not that cold.  I still bundled her up so she would be nice and warm.  Then Daren held Nathan and I held Avery.  Nate ended up really loving it, just like we thought he would.