Abigail is really getting into the Christmas spirit over here. She loves the tree, and first thing every morning she wants to get up and look at it (and count to 3 so I can plug it in and make it light up!). At school, they have a little miniature tree that they are allowed to decorate. We let her pick out a special ornament for the tree- she chose a monkey blowing a bubble. We also got to add an ornament from our First Family Vacation this year to Myrtle Beach!
I saw an idea for an advent countdown where you have 24 wrapped books and open a new one each night. She really loves this, and after the first two were really good ones, she's even let me read books about Hanukkah and listened to really long books- the Winnie the Pooh one is really cute but long!
The big event so far this year was her first visit to meet Santa. We went on a train ride last year and planned to have her meet Santa after, but she was a year younger and desperately needed a nap when the train ride was over. The line for Santa would have added another hour to the afternoon so we decided to skip it. I was worried that I would be sad that I only have her this year (instead of a sibling with her), but I really just focused on her and having a good time.
We went to Willowbend Mall because we go there sometimes and I saw that they had falling snow in the setup. They really did a great job! Right where you enter, there were pictures of different north pole animals, and a block of ice where you could compare your hand to a polar bear's.
Then you could measure your height against a polar bear's height. It was pretty hard to get this picture, but it turned out so cute. I love how she's looking at the camera! Next up, you could take a family picture on the 'ice throne', but we declined because I was not dressed for it (greasy hair, baseball cap and all!). Then, we got to go into the snow area!
She was unsure at first, but after I showed her what to do, she loosened right up. There were videos playing of animals swimming and playing lining all the walls. The line moved pretty quickly and I was glad we got there right when they opened. Much better than waiting for over an hour like we did for the Easter Bunny!
She was so excited to meet Santa- she pointed him out on the banners as we were walking into the mall that morning. She could see him through the trees while we were waiting in line, and pointed and waved. And then it was our turn!
With her vise grip on my shoulder, we approached. She was clinging to me. We had to wait a minute, and I told her to say hi to Santa, she waved. Then I asked if she wanted to sit with him, or next to him, and she of course said No! So I handed her off. Mean mommy.
Santa said, "Oh! The ole drop and run." They took the picture really quick and I picked her up. She calmed right down. Santa gave her a Frozen book, and we ended the first meeting by her voluntarily blowing him a kiss and saying 'Bye!'
It was pet day so a huge dog went next.
We decided to walk around the mall for a few minutes to calm down after that traumatic experience (we both needed a time-out). For some reason I decided to walk back by the exit where you can see Santa taking pictures with other people- it was on our way out of the mall anyway. Abby really didn't want to sit there. I showed her the picture she took and she got upset and said, "No, Mama" and motioned like she didn't like it when I put her down on a strange man's lap.
We went and had lunch afterward and she was chatting up a storm, saying YUM! And Cheers! Toasting with her quesadilla. If nothing else, it was a good bonding moment. She was able to communicate that she didn't like when I put her down with him, and she really liked eating quesadillas!
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