Hi, Santa Claus!

Today, Tiny and Buba went to see Santa Claus at the mall. We’ve been talking about Santa Claus, reading books about Santa Claus, and singing songs about Santa Claus in hopes of getting the kids excited and not scared about getting their picture taken with Santa.

This morning, I showed them the picture from last year. ”See,” I said pointing at the very authentic looking Santa. “That’s Santa Claus. And there’s baby Tiny and baby Buba sitting on Santa’s lap.”

Tiny shrieked, “Hi, Santa Claus!”

I explained that we would go to the mall and they would sit on Santa’s lap and get their pictures taken. “Sit, sit.” Tiny repeated, letting me know that she understood.

When we got into the minivan to head down to the mall, I asked the kids, “Where are we going?”

“Santa Claus! Santa Claus!” they chorused from their seats.

“And what will you do when you see him?” I asked.

“Hi, Santa Claus!” Tiny replied. “Sit, sit.”

They seemed genuinely excited, and that excitement lasted all the way up until we were standing right in front of Santa. Buba stared with curiosity, so  I thought he might be okay. But Tiny was scared. “No, no, no, no, no,” she shouted, stomping her little feet and pulling me down the ramp.

“It’s Santa Claus,” I tried to explain, but Tiny had already made up her mind. I was just about to walk them away, when Santa encouraged me to let Buba try sitting on his lap. Buba went willingly, but cried as soon as Santa had a hold of him. I grabbed Tiny, and we sat on the bench next to Santa. Tiny was really going nuts now. Even sitting on my lap, she was fighting to get away. I wanted to get her out of there, but Santa encouraged me to give them both a minute (there was no one waiting in line). Tiny and Buba did calm down a bit, but the photo is certainly not one that I’ll be sharing.

Of course, the second we started to leave, Tiny turned back and waved her little hand saying, “Bye-bye, Santa Claus! Bye!” And she continued to talk on and on about Santa Claus as we made our way back through the mall.

Say Cheese!

When we took Tiny and Buba to get their holiday pictures taken last November, it was a bit of a disaster. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and I had chosen that day for two important reasons: 1) T had the afternoon off, so he was able to accompany us. 2) It was a Wednesday, and so the weekday buy one get one free deal was applicable. However, the portrait studio waiting room was packed with kids and parents. We had a 4pm appointment (because they were napping 1-3pm), but waited over half an hour to be called into the studio. Tiny and Buba were about 8.5 months old, and early evening was not a good time for them. The more we waited, the more nervous I became. They kept it together really well while we waited. But, of course, once we actually got to the picture taking part, they fell apart. The photographer took about 8 pictures and then sent us on our way. I didn’t really love any of the photos, but these pictures were going to be the only gifts we were giving to family and friends. And there was no time to make another appointment, so I was stuck. I picked the best of the bunch, placed our order, and left unhappy.

We went back to the same studio for Buba and Tiny’s 12 month and 15 month portraits (because except for the holiday photo shoot, we’d always had a good experience). While we got much better pictures those times, T and I both agreed that the experience was most similar to a workout at a gym. Because now Tiny and Buba were mobile. So not only did we have to try to get them to look at the camera and smile by shaking toys and making silly sounds and faces, but we also had to keep them from escaping. All this in a tiny, little room that was about 100 degrees. We were all dripping with sweat by the time we left.

I kept all of this in mind as I prepared for our holiday photo portraits this year. I made our appointment on a Saturday (so we lost out on the buy one get one free deal) and booked the very first appointment of the day (so no line, no waiting). Up until this point, we’d only had Buba and Tiny photographed (mostly because I was self-conscious about my postpartum figure), but this time I decided that I’d like to try a family portrait as well. So, T and I dressed for pictures too, and I tried to keep all of our clothing as lightweight as possible to keep us from melting under the heat of all the lights. I had no idea how Tiny and Buba (now 20.5 months old) would behave, but I tried to prepare them that morning, telling them that they would have to sit down and smile (say cheese!) while they got their pictures taken. Tiny repeated the directions all morning, “Sit! Cheese!”

I have to say, this photo session could not have gone better. The photographer was the best one we’ve had since Buba and Tiny were infants. She got them smiling and laughing by making faces and noises, clapping and saying Yay!, and giving them balls to throw to her and then pretending to be so excited by their great throwing abilities. We had also brought along Santa Bear to help bring out the smiles, and he managed to make his way into a few of our photos as well.

I’m not really sure what mad the difference this time- the kids being older? the fantastic photographer? the timing of our appointment? my prep work at home? Perhaps all of it, perhaps none of it. But at least this year I’m really excited to give out our photos as gifts. Let the holiday season begin!