Meeting Santa

Earlier in December, we ventured out to the mall for Nolan to meet Santa this year. We switched up malls from last year since I wasn't crazy about the HUGE Santa and the beat up couch at the King of Prussia mall last year. We went to the smaller Springfield mall this year and I was happier with the set-up. 

Santa's set-up in Springfield Mall

There was a line, but it didn't seem that long so we decided to wait. It ended up moving so incredibly slow and taking forever, but it was because the Santa actually talked to the kids after the photo and didn't rush them away, which you can't really be upset about. Maybe Nolan will actually be able to hold a conversation with Santa next year!

Nolan's been learning lots of Christmas vocabulary this month - Tree "Twee", Santa "Danda", etc so he was excited to see the set-up while we waited. He did insist on walking around the Santa set-up a million times with me while Joe held our spot in line though - you didn't think a toddler can sit still and wait did you?

Getting ready to meet "Danda"!

In a good mood during our wait.

We had no idea what to expect as far as the photo. It seemed that everyone we knew with 1-2 year old kids ended up with screaming/crying photos. Nolan shocked us all though - he acted mostly unsure/no emotion for almost all the photos and then at the very end cracked a smile that the photographer was able to capture! No fussing at all! What a trooper, and a brave boy!

A smiling Santa picture - Nolan at 20 months

Besides the long wait, it was a really great experience! We were so proud of our big boy, and throughout December Nolan has gotten more and more into "Danda" and excitedly points out any pictures he saw of Santa during the holiday season. It is so cute and so fun to see him so excited!

A look back at last year's photo with a calm, but unsure looking Nolan at 8 months old. It'll be so cute to collect these throughout the years!