Santa Baby!

We went to the mall today to get the kids picture taken with Santa. I did not have high hopes for this excursion. Avalyn has had major stranger anxiety since November of last year and while it's gotten better, it certainly isn't gone. In April we managed to get her to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap and smile, but the bunny was a giant stuffed animal (she had no clue there was a human person under there), and stuffed animals are awesome! But Santa? Santa is a man, a real human man. A real human man that Avalyn has never ever met. So while she was calling the stuffed reindeer "horsies" and waving to Santa happily, I knew as soon as it was our turn Keith would flash his fake smile and Avalyn would scream loud enough for everyone in the mall to think there was a fire.

Here's the outcome:

Oh dear. And Avalyn was clinging to me for the rest of our little trip to the big, scary mall.

Maybe next year she'll want to be a "big girl" for her baby brother or sister and smile with Santa. We'll see.