Christmas Is Starting Early This Year

This summer we took a vacation with the kids to North Conway, NH and visited Storyland and, for the first time, Santa's Village. We had hyped up the trip and got the kids really excited to see the reindeer and Santa Claus. It never occurred to us that we would be there on a day when it was 50 degrees, rainy, and windy, and that the line to see Santa would be an hour long. Conner was devastated. He really wanted to wait in that line. I really didn't. So, I promised him that as soon as Santa came to the mall I would take him on a special trip to visit with Santa. Not only did that appease Conner, but he has brought it up almost weekly since that time.

Allison and Conner don't have preschool on Wednesdays, so I figured this was a good day to get to the mall and live up to my promise. Conner was thrilled. We drove to the Burlington Mall, and after a 30 second wait we were up to see the big guy. He asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas. Allison told him that she wanted a "different babydoll", and Conner said he wanted a "different Lego". That was as specific as I could get them to be. Santa showed him his special book where he keeps his nice list, and said that he would put their names in it as soon as he got home. Afterward, we captured this:

(Conner picked the shirt out himself.)