Santa Claus 2008.

So this year's visit went slightly better than last year. As you'll recall, the last time Julia saw Santa she was a screaming wreck. This year we prepped her and had no concerns. She WANTED to go see Santa, as she now has a firm grip on the Santa-brings-presents concept. Well, after a ten minute wait to think it over in line, she lost it again when we placed her on Santa's lap. However, we were able to get her to reign it in enough for a picture, as you can see. Yes, that is Shannon's hand she is holding. And yes, those are tears streaming down her cheeks. And yes, that is possibly the most strained smile you will ever see on Julia's face. As for Wesley, he did great. The smile on his face is the smile of a four year old boy smiling for a long, long time waiting for his sister to finally cooperate with the photographer.

Shamu.

Back in early October our family went on a little vacation to Sea World for a few days. Given a couple days, we were able to see all of the shows at the park, including the ever-popular Shamu show twice. Well, at one point in the Shamu show, the host asks the audience to repeat after him a chant of "Shamu" over and over. A very little detail of the show, but apparently one that stuck with Julia. In the past week or so, out of absolutely nowhere, Julia has begun calling for the chants from her car seat whenever the thought crosses her mind. It goes something like this (written in Juliaspeak)...

Julia: Hey duys, do you want to do Shamu?
Us: Uh, okay.
Julia: SHA-MUU!
Us: Shamu!
Julia: Good dob, duys!

The affirmation at the end is what usually makes me laugh. Julia usually leads the chants 3 or 4 more times before she moves on. One last thing - Wesley has no patience for this game of his sister's. While he has the ability to be fully content sitting in his seat quietly staring out the window, Julia is often a nonstop barrage of chatter from the moment the engine starts until we reach our destination.

Christmas Photos by Adrea.

Just a small selection from the amazing photo shoot by Wesley and Julia's Godmother, Adrea.