Nora's First Santa Visit

Yesterday we went to the mall with Billy's family to do a little Christmas shopping and take Nora to visit Santa.  We didn't take her last year because she was so young and colicky, but it was fun to see her taking in the whole experience this time around.  She loves running loose in big open areas, so walking around the mall appeared to be her favorite part of the experience.  I waited in line and eavesdropped as other people gushed over how adorable they found "that baby in the leopard print" and debated with one another about how old she might be.  "She's so small!" "But look at all that hair!"  When do you pipe into these conversations to say "Oh, she's mine, she's thirteen months old"?  The women in question this time were facing away from me, so saying something felt too awkward.  However, that just postponed the awkwardness until I reached the front of the line and Billy handed her over to me, at which point I assume they started wondering how much I had heard while they told me "You had the right idea keeping her out of line!"

Thankfully, Patti snapped a few photos.  Nora was excited by all the people in line, and although she left her own reindeer clip in her hair for a surprisingly long time, she helped out a little girl behind her by trying to pull out her ponytail.  She was mesmerized and amused by Santa until I set her on his lap, at which point she became quite unsure.  I was planning to fork over the ridiculous fee for the official picture, but as soon as the lady yelled Nora's name to get her attention, she burst into tears.  This seems like such a right of passage, though, that now I'm wondering if I should have gotten the picture anyway.