It's Christmas Eve in Washington...

Well the suburbs of Washington anyway, and as we spent the day making our traditional holiday cookies I decided I would share a few more December moments.

Each year we get our pictures taken with Santa. Santa, of course, being my Dad. I really love that he is still able to do this. It is such a wonderful set of memories and photos for my children to be able to have. Them sitting on pop-pop's lap, dressed up as Santa and discussing what they want for Christmas. If I had any question as to whether or not my son was on to us last year, I no longer do. He is four years old and has already got it figured out.

After last year's fiasco with Mason refusing to sit on Santa's lap, I went into this knowing it would be an uphill battle, but was pleasantly surprised when he hopped right up onto his lap and starting pointing out all the cars he wanted from the MatchBox catalog.

Sophia on the other hand was little miss attitude and had to be bribed with the musical hallmark ornament she was playing with earlier, in order to sit on Santa's lap. But once there, she managed to sit still and show off how cute she can really be.

All in all I think the photo shoot went well. I wanted to include a photo with Santa in the card this year and my Dad graciously agreed to take the photos earlier than normal. Successfully, I got a few different shots to choose from.

Mostly I really like seeing the progression of the kids as they grow older. How they interact with Santa and how willing they are to believe. Mason, as I said earlier, was pretty sure he figured it out. He Insisted that Santa was Pop-Pop. Here is how the conversation went:

Mason: You're Pop-Pop turned into Santa.

Mommy: He's Santa.

Mason: No.

Daddy: Who is he normally?

Mason: He's normally Pop-Pop.

Mommy: No, he's Santa.

Mason: No! He's Pop-pop. [A pause as he thinks for a moment] Are you Pop-Pop?

Santa: I'm Santa Clause!

Mason: No, you're Pop-Pop.

*Sigh*

By the end of the conversation we gathered that he thinks it was Pop-Pop but he still believes in Santa, and that Pop-Pop knows Santa. So maybe not all is lost. At least he still believes there is a Santa after all. I really wonder what next year will bring, he is getting too smart for his own good. And he better not spill the beans to Sophie either.

Oh well, we got the photos and all is good. And just for fun I sat on Santa's lap too.

I'm really going to miss this when, hopefully many years from now, the kids will have out grown Santa or my Dad can no longer do this.