Are We Going to the North Pole?

Lauren has become a true Santa fan. Last year when we took her to meet Santa at the mall, she refused to sit on his lap and was extremely wary of his long beard and big red suit. Frankly, who can blame a 20-month old from being terrified of a roly poly strange man dressed in a garish outfit reaching for her? What a difference a year makes. This year, she couldn't wait to go see Santa, so we took her last Sunday to an outdoor mall, where we proceeded to wait for 45 minutes in 50 degree windy weather (I know, we're California wimps) before Lauren got to enter Santa's house. Lauren didn't mind and had a blast playing with the other kids in line and generally amusing herself:



Once inside with Santa, we weren't sure whether she would actually sit unattended with him. After an initial sizing up, she let him lift her onto his lap and then engaged in conversation with him while I fumbled with my camera and desperately tried to get a couple of free shots (hey, we're in an economic crisis, after all). She was given a candy cane and a coupon for frozen yogurt (unabashed product placement at its best), then we were done. After we left, I asked what she had asked Santa for, and she said "Dance clothes and ice cream," although I'm pretty sure the ice cream thought popped into her head after the "ice cream" coupon was slipped into her little hand. After she managed to get herself completely sticky from licking her candy cane, we enjoyed a nice dinner together at Cheesecake Factory and headed home, with visions of sugarplums, er ice cream, dancing in her head.