A Visit from the BIG MAN!!!

A few days before Christmas, we had a couple of visits from the Big Man - Santa Claus! We were not too sure how Logan would react to this - Just a few weeks ago, we were at the mall and Santa walked by shaking his bells, and Logan totally freaked out! He was crying so hard and after that, if we asked him if he would like Santa to come, he would immediately respond with a "No!" Not even if Santa brought presents! He told us he would like gifts from us, but he would not like Santa to bring them! So, we suggested that Santa MIGHT be able to bring him some special toys, such as a Lightning McQueen, and he started to warm up to the idea of Santa. His list for what he wanted Santa to bring got progressively longer and longer - At first it was just Lightning McQueen, but then he added "50 Cars, and the Jungle Book movie and 50 presents!" (For some reason, he reallly likes the number 50!) We tried to see Santa a few different times, but they never worked out. We knew that Santa would be coming to a family party at Darren's parents' house and we didn't want Logan to freak out, so we were trying to get a warm up, but Santa was always gone when we went to visit.

The morning of the Christmas party, Darren's mom and dad had a ward party and Santa made an appearance. We figured this would be a good practice run for Logan. We were a little nervous when Santa came in, but Logan LOVED him! He pushed his way past all the other bigger kids, right up to the front, saying "Sorry" and "Excuse Me" and stood right in front of Santa while he told a story. The problem was all the kids were supposed to be sitting, and they didn't like Logan standing right in front - I think he was waiting to sit on Santa's lap. Anyway, when his turn finally came to sit on Santa's lap, he LOVED it and told Santa that he would like a Lightning McQueen for Christmas. We were quite surprised!

Rylee was a little less sure about Santa....

When Santa appeared at the family party, Logan ran right up and was the first to give him a hug! Who would have known! I guess the idea of presents overcame his fear of the Big Man! He was quite excited to sit on Santa's lap and sing Christmas songs with him. Rylee, on the other hand, was petrified of Santa and screamed most of the time - but she does that when most people hold her so it wasn't too much of a surprise. I guess we should have been more worried about her than Logan! But - every kid needs the screaming with Santa photo, right? All in all, it was a really fun time and was so cute to see Logan so excited about Santa. The only problem is after seeing Santa in person, Logan expected Santa to hand deliver his toys Christmas morning, but I think he got over that when he opened his presents!

Rylee and cousin Madi at the family Christmas party

Madi got her a phoneSANTA!!! Logan couldn't wait to hug him! Singing songs with Santa
I think he might be a little excited...Rylee wasn't as happy...Logan and his present - He was a little disappointed it wasn't Lightning McQueen
Santa and the cousins - Rylee is screaming again.
Logan and Rylee with Santa - Rylee was NOT a fan!