Pictures with Santa

The kids were so well-behaved for their trek into the mall yesterday to see Santa! We had a bumpy start (two round trips to the mall due to people falling asleep on me in the car), but they were good regardless. Due to our poor timing (again sleeping!) we arrived right as Santa was going on lunch break at 12:15. He wasn't returning until 1:30! So we had some time to kill although the kids didn't seem to mind. We poked into "Build a Bear" where we discovered they sell merchandise for the Rankin and Bass "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" movie (which the kids and Dad love) and so that was very exciting. Catherine kept saying "Bumble," "Bumble" (the name of the abominable snowman.) Then we got our free suckers at See's Candy and headed to the busy food court for pizza. We got in line to see Santa around 1:05 pm. The kids waited patiently the entire hour we were in line and Jacob was hilarious! He kept doing little songs he has learned in preschool complete with hand motions, shared his Buzz Lightyear toy from Gramma Toria with the little boy in line next to us and in general was just amusing in his antics. Catherine had people so enamored with her little red outfit and was extra cute as she brought her baby stroller and baby along too and pushed it beside me in the mall. : ) When she got bored in line she just took her baby out of the stroller and sat in it herself!

I've posted my favorite pictures - I think Catherine peering over the fence at Santa is pretty sweet and at the end of the picture set Jacob still sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what he'd like for Christmas in detail is "pretty stinking cute" as I like to say. ("A Buzz Lightyear bike, a Polar Express toy AND the movie", etc.) Catherine only cried at the end partly I think because I took the coloring book and her pacifier from her to in theory get a better picture. It was actually a really fun outing and I was proud of them for doing so well in the long, slow line.