Santa Claus (and St. Nick too)

Over the weekend, we went to Lunch with Santa at the YMCA. I'm sure the event would have been fabulous, had we been able to relax and enjoy it. Allie, however, puked in the car right as we were pulling into the parking lot. Of course, she was hysterical when we told her we weren't going to see Santa and would visit with him on another day. So, since we were already there, and she had nothing left in her tummy to throw up, we decided, we'd make it a VERY short visit. Not the best photos, but given the circumstances, I'm just glad she wasn't chucking on Santa. Had that happened, I'm pretty sure she would have been worried he wasn't going to bring her a gift!



In addition to seeing Santa, the girls also received a middle of the night visit from St. Nick on Monday the 6th. St. Nick's Day is a HUGE deal in this area. It seems everyone celebrates it. Although we're not overly thrilled about another day of commercialized gift-giving in December, we also don't want our kids to grow up wondering why St. Nick comes to some houses and not others. Up until this year, I've never really needed to explain the holiday to the kids, so it didn't matter that I had no clue of the differences between Santa and St. Nick. In case you're wondering, and because I'm not up for a lengthy explanation, you can read more about Saint Nicholas here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas

We just told the kids St. Nick was Santa's helper and he came to visit so he could see if they were being "naughty or nice." And, if they were good, he'd leave them a little present and then go back to the North Pole to tell Santa he should make a stop at our house on Christmas Eve.

Apparently, St. Nick felt both our children were "nice" girls (and most days we agree!). Allie received a book and some small Christmas craft projects. Katelyn received a book and a puzzle.