Big, Wam Fuzzies!

Today was Santa Claus day! Baby Girl and I went to the mall with the Little Boy Next Door (LBND) and his mommy to see Santa and get their pictures made. Not usually that much fun and today was looking like it was going to be no different. When we got there, we had two families ahead of us. After waiting for a while, the mall management came out to let us know that the woman who managed the photo operations for Santa had locked her keys in the car and was running late, but they sent out Santa before she got there so he could visit with the kids. Okay, no big deal, they even gave us a coupon for a free 5X7, so we were happy. Baby Girl and LBND were being good, they were the brave kids who walked right up to Santa and gave him high-fives. All the other little ones kinda hung back a little bit.

Once the photo manager got there, Liz, we figured things would move along fairly quickly, but alas, that just wasn't meant to be. Turns out the computer was giving them trouble and then the camera was broken. So, we waited more. Most of the other families gave up, but we toughed it out. After a few minutes, a little girl (18 months) and her grandma, got in line behind us. Almost immediately, the little girl started crying and pointed to me. Oh Lord, what had I done? Her grandma let her out of the stroller to comfort her and she immediately flung herself into my arms and there she stayed for the next half hour! She hugged me and gave me kisses and wouldn't let go. Finally, when her grandma had enough with the line, she had to take the little one away from me kicking and screaming. I gotta tell you, I loved it! Not the kicking and screaming part, but the great cuddles! Baby Girl didn't even get jealous, she and LBND were having way too much fun.

Finally, after and hour and a half, we managed to get our pictures taken. Santa and his helpers were so embarrassed about what had happened, but really, we still managed to have a good time and told them so. Santa and Liz were both grateful that LBND's mom and I were so nice and I got another big hug from Liz before we left. Everybody was wanting the Sarah hugs! Woo Hoo!

And so I end my warm, fuzzy tale with the picture of the result. Baby Girl and LBND with the Jolly Old Elf himself: