Holden sits on Santa's lap.

Wow, I didn't think I'd see Holden's name anywhere in the same sentence as Santa. When we first started seeing Santa at places like Walmart (back in September mind you!) we began discussing him with Holden. We made sure to say things like "Santa is so nice", "He brings toys to good girls and boys", "He is a good guy!" Trying to instill in Holden to like Santa instead of fear him, which was his initial reaction. He would turn the oppositie way, flail his arms, and yell "SCARY" each time we saw the jolly old man. So needless to say I didn't expect him to ever come in contact with Santa, much less sit on his lap.

On Saturday Walgreens was giving away free pictures with Santa Claus. I thought we would give it a try. We went right after going to the gym. We told Holden "We're going to see Santa". His immediate response was "NO!" This didn't look good at all. We even let him take his beloved Toby in to the Walgreens thinking maybe it could bring him some comfort. We get a few feet from Santa and Holden beelines it down the aisle. He didn't want anything to do with that man. Not really being diappointed, we decided to atleast look around a little. After a few minutes, Holden started saying "Santa Claus". He kept trying to peer down the aisle to catch a glimpse. Finally he wanted to get a closer look. There were no other kids in line so we got right in. He sheepishly smiled and agreed to sit on Santa's lap. He kept looking down as not to make eye contact with Santa. The Santa wasn't the best looking impersonator I've seen...okay he was probably the worst. He looked to be in his 20's and was rather slender. However he was really nice and kept talking to Holden. Asking him what he wanted for Christmas and how old he was. Finally he cracked a smile. Halelujah!

Here is the picture we got: