Belated Post: My Kids & Santa

One final post before the month of December (and the year 2009!) are out. I forgot to post these pictures prior to blogging about Christmas...

The day that my sister and niece got into town, Hudson came home from school with a note that said that Santa Claus would be at the school at 2:45 and that morning Kindergartners were welcome to come (assembly-style for K through 2nd grade). Hudson was excited beyond all reason and when it came time to head down the hill, I had to wake Claire up from her nap to go. I hated to do it, but how could we miss the chance to meet the man himself?

Santa Claus was about as authentic as you could imagine...very fancy suit, real beard, spectacles, jingle bells, etc. No doubt that he was the real thing!! After a little speech/talk from Mr. C about life at the North Pole and answering a few questions, the kids were lined up - youngest class to oldest - to go up and meet Santa, get a candy cane, etc. Since he is in the morning class, Hudson was in the 1st group of kids up there. No question about whether he was comfortable or not:

Then there was Claire. The principal came to me and said that they had plenty of time and candy canes and that the younger siblings were welcome to go up and see Mr. C. She even went so far as to find the perfect spot for us to cut in line. Awesome! Claire wasn't too sure about the whole waiting thing but she really wanted a candy cane and I really wanted to get a picture of her with Santa Claus. So we waited our turn and initially, the prospect of getting her much desired stick of minty sugar was enough for Claire. But I'm afraid that the combination of her being tired and her semi- but sometimes ultra-shy personality (and possibly my forcing her to stand there?) resulted in this:

Maybe next year I can explain the naughty/nice list to her and she'll be a little more friendly.