Santa! I Know Him!

Kyle, Lane and I came into town on December 20th for a long stay to celebrate the holidays.  Our favorite Santa came to Mums' house for a visit on the 21st, and this year Evin got to meet him too!  We have used this Santa since Lane's first Christmas and I just love him!  It is so nice to have him come by for his 30 minute visit with just OUR kids, rather than standing in a long line and paying for an expensive photo package of a rushed picture.  Last year Lane did GREAT!  He had a permanent smile on his face and talked and played with Santa the whole time.  In true Lane fashion, he decided to act differently this year.  It started off well.  Santa walked in, Lane got big happy eyes and sweetly waved to him saying "Hi, Santa!"  And then it pretty much went downhill from there.

Evin was intrigued at first...

She was cool and collected...

Until she got a good look at old St. Nick and lost it!

Lane kept saying "I'm shy" and refused to go near Santa.  Santa ended up luring him over to take a look in his bag and Lane finally agreed.

He got a smile out of Lane when he pulled out a soft, brown teddy bear just like Lane had asked him for in his letter.

 

Trying for a family picture with Santa...

The old stiff legs.  I couldn't believe he was acting this way!!!

We ended up getting this shot, which was about as good as it was going to get this time around.

 

Being "shy."

Even though both kids weren't really into it, we tried HARD for a picture of the 3 of them.

This was the shot of the day!!!  Evin screaming and Lane covering his ears!  Kori sent this picture in to the channel 5 news and they ended up broadcasting it!  Pretty priceless!

 

We made one last desperate attempt to get Lane to sit with Santa by sending him over to share some cookies with him.  Lane wouldn't even make eye contact when he handed over the bag!

Santa shared a cookie with Lane, but it still didn't do the trick.  Lane just kept his distance.

  

Maybe next year?!?!

Posing with their stuffed toys that Santa brought both of them.  Lane was all smiles after Santa left.

And because I love a good yearly look-back...

Santa and Lane years 1-4.

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Christmas Attire

I love finding holiday shirts for Lane to wear.  I usually hit the same usual spots and try to find shirts on sale and buy ahead for upcoming holidays.  In years past I was able to get lots of good pictures of Lane wearing his Christmas shirts leading up to the holidays, but this year has been "different."  He can't stand having his picture taken anymore and gets a huge attitude about it!  I have to bribe like crazy, or make sure the pictures aren't rushed and forced in order to get any good shots.  I was happy he posed for me in his Grinch shirt in front of my mom's Christmas tree, and I got some cute ones!

 

Evin agreed to model for me too!

He also was happy to play on the porch one day while I took some pics of him in his bulldog reindeer shirt.  This was the day of his Christmas party at school. 

 

He was having a good time jumping off of the door frame and ended up slipping on the porch tile!  This picture was right after he fell straight on his bottom!  It didn't seem to hurt him too much!

  

Christmas Card Pics 2013

Back in November we had our family pictures taken for our Christmas card.  I found a photographer through an Austin friend that was holding mini sessions at the park by our house, so I signed us up!  It ended up being 85 degrees the day of our pictures, so we were pretty toasty in the outfits I had already decided we would wear!  The pictures turned out well, so I guess the heat was worth it!

I was worried about how Lane would do since he is at a tough age right now and pretty much refuses posed pictures.  With lots of marshmallows in between shots and plenty of bribing, we ended up getting some good ones!  Some have a forced smile from our little stinker, but it's better than a frown or scowl!

Photos by: J. Noel Photography

 

 

 

I wasn't brave enough to bring Scout along for the professional pics, but didn't want to leave her out of the card.  I took these two cuties back to the same location a few days later, and surprisingly got some really good pictures!  I had low expectations, but Lane surprised me, and Scout was a good girl!