Santa Clause is Coming to Town

On Saturday we were all supposed to go to the Christmas Lights Train in Santa Cruz. Then Ernie had to work and I got lost and we didn't end up making the Train. But we still had fun. Lily got to see a Christmas parade, a giant Christmas tree and she got to take a horse-drawn carriage ride. She loved all these things. I also took her to see Santa and Mrs. Clause. I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to her feelings on that experience.



There was a faux ice rink where all the kids were skating. Lily almost lept out of my arms trying to get in to play with all the kids. She had to settle for watching on the sideline, however. I am such a mean mommy, I know.

She delighted and entertained on the carriage ride. She kept yelling "NEIGH" at the horses and dancing in her seat. She wimpered in the cold (and it was COLD) the entire time except on the carriage ride. She could barely contain her excitement.

Here she is all bundled up watching the Christmas parade. She loved the lights and when Santa passed by she said "Ho, ho, ho." Now, others may not have discerned that this is what she was saying, as it came out more like a coughing "Ha, ho..." But I had let her watch a Christmas movie before we went and pointed out Santa whenever her came on the screen. As a result, she knew that "Ho, ho, ho" meant Santa. And she was very excited to meet Santa.

We stood in line to meet Santa for about twenty minutes. She was dancing around and pointing to the man in red saying "Santa!" Whenever I asked her if she wanted to see Santa, she said "Yes!" with a decided nod of her head. She was giddy with excitement right up until I walked her up to him. You see, on a television screen or from a distance in line, he looks friendly and jolly...and most importantly, he looks small. But up close he is a big giant man with a big fury beard and a blaringly red costume. He's quite intimidating. Suffice it to say, Lily did not appreciate my putting her on his lap. I think, if you look closely, you can see her tonsils.

And here is a picture of me cuddling with my little bundle of joy. We were standing in line for the carriage ride here and Lily was looking intently behind me for several minutes. She looked like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. Then her whole face lit up and she yelled "DADDY!" I turned around and there was a man with Ernie's build and coloring wearing a beanie exactly like the one Ernie usually wears. Lily was certain it was her Daddy and wouldn't believe me when I told her Daddy was at work. So she walzed over and hit the poor unsuspecting fellow's leg and said "Daddy". I'm sure the poor guy had a minor heart attack until I came over to explain the situation. For some reason I couldn't stop laughing over this.