Santa Visit

Last Saturday we went and visited Santa at one of our local tree farms. As my kids have never been thrilled to "sit on Santa's lap" we haven't paid to see a Santa since Sister's first Christmas. Baby Bear had to be bribed with candy canes to stop screaming and let go of my shirt so I could step away and get a photo. Brother and Sister both had their "lists" ready for Santa when asked.

After visiting Santa, we went out back to see the reindeer. Unfortunately they weren't in their pen. Maybe it was too cold for them. Fortunately, I was able to get a good photo of the three kiddos for our Christmas card this year. Baby Bear had to be bribed with my cell phone to stay in the photo after Brother had tried to "hold" him which is why Baby Bear's shirt is untucked. All in all, I'm just thankful they are all smiling and in one place. My expectations for photo sessions have certainly decreased as the number of children in the photo has increased.
We've been lucky to have some beautiful sunny weather, though it has been extremely cold for around here (down to 6 degrees a couple nights). They are predicting snow soon. We just pray the snow doesn't keep family from joining us again this Christmas like last year.

Here's a quick update on Baby Bear. He was approved for the RSV (a respiratory illness that can be especially dangerous for children under two-years-old) vaccine again this year. It requires a total of five shots in a four month period of time. He has another tooth that started coming in earlier this week. Most of the time, he thinks he's a big boy. It's difficult for him to accept that he has to sit in a carseat instead of a booster, a high chair instead of a regular chair at the dinner table, and when he's in a group of kids, he'll always go with the bigger kids rather than playing with the ones his own age.