Santa Breakfast and the Tree Lighting Ceremony

Olivia has been talking for weeks about meeting Santa. Every year Chris’s work throws a Santa breakfast and with the exception of last year because she was sick, we’ve taken her when she was a year and when she was two. So I guess in her tiny life only makes… two years. But still. It’s an event I look forward to. Olivia, as well, as it was appearing.

She couldn’t WAIT to see Santa. She planned to sit on his lap. She planned to ask him about the North Pole. She planned to bring carrots along for his reindeer, an idea her parents squashed immediately. Makeup, she announced to us more than once, she was going to ask Santa for makeup.

Where she got this idea to ask for makeup is beyond me, but I can only assume someone in daycare or preschool talked about it because while she loves watching me do mine and therefore pretends to get hers done, I have no influence in that area. Since I was pregnant with Emelia, I’ve taken a hard dive south in the self-appearances section and rarely do I now venture outside with makeup. So I don’t know where she got it, but makeup, much to my dismay, is what she asked Santa for this year. Frozen makeup to be exact. She can’t give me a clear answer as to why she wants it, but… there’s no way I’m allowing this little fantasy to actually come about.

I did happen to get a Frozen mirror and lip balm set off of Zulily a few weeks ago, and when she started talking about this whole makeup thing, I remembered this was shipping to me in time for Christmas. So she’ll still get her wish answered, just modified.

So Santa was a big deal in our household starting the day after Thanksgiving when we put the tree up, and I had no idea what she would actually do when the time came to see him. Sure enough, in true Olivia fashion —

— Homegirl was terrified of him.

Seriously. We got off the elevator to Chris’s floor a few Saturdays ago and she immediately announced—loudly—“Where’s SANTA!?” We made our way through the crowd and down the hall and there he was. And she choked.

Finger in the mouth. Looking down at the floor. My normally loud-mouthed kid suddenly struck silent. She did tell him what she wanted and he gave a quick glance up at me before asking her why she wanted makeup because she was so pretty already. Finger in the mouth. She mumbled something. As much as I was rolling my eyes about the whole thing over the last few weeks, in that moment I felt a surge of pity for her because she wanted that makeup so damn bad.

Don’t you fret my perfect baby girl! Mama’s got you covered! I’ll give you All Of The Makeup you want!!!!!!

We had our picture taken and Emelia got hers alone with Santa (Olivia told Santa her little sister wanted some baby toys), but Olivia REFUSED to get a picture alone with him. Not even with her sister. Which of course would have made the cuuuuutest photo ever, but no. It was not meant to be.

It didn’t go any better with Olaf. She was stoked he was there and waved frantically to him while in line with Santa, but when it came time to go up to him she clammed up. I practically had to push her up there as she clung to my leg. The girl who can talk to anyone anywhere can put on this spectacular display of shyness like nobody’s business when she wants to.

We ate crepes and fruit with eggs and sausages and there was the hot chocolate bar that was there last year. Olivia got a balloon duck (her first request was “Elsa” which I was going to give the balloon guy major props if he could have pulled that off) and her face painted (her first request was SURPRISE! Elsa, but she settled for an Elsa crown). We decorated gingerbread cookies and made an ornament.

Later that evening, we went to our first Tree Lighting Ceremony and met up with our friends.

While the weather could, and has been worse, for this event, it was still freezing and we left soon after the tree was lit because the lines were way too long for Santa or the free carriage rides. Instead, we walked to one of my favorite dessert and coffee shops for a fruit tart in which Olivia and I fought savagely for the strawberries, and hot cocoa.

Emelia, as usual slept through almost all of it, save for the occasional nursing session. In fact, the only reason for making the pit stop into the coffee shop was to nurse her before we went back to the car for the drive home. I forgot how much of my life consists of nursing the baby.

It was a long day. Olivia was a bit exasperating at times, but hey, it’s the Christmas season and I get to spend it with this pretty amazing little family of mine.