a visit with santa

i was hoping this year’s visit with santa would be different than the years prior. hahaha! nope. olive was not buying it. the moment we arrived and she saw the big panda bear by the entrance, she started to whimper. gah! this babe is so afraid sometimes!

while we were waiting inside the room to enter into the adventure of santa, olive didn’t have a meltdown like she did last year…thank goodness! she still wasn’t comfortable but she was being cooperative and patient. another family finally joined us and we were on our way to see santa!

we first met up with panda and he told us we were going to go to the north pole to see santa! we then went to a game room and played a few rounds of a snowy, panda sledding adventures on an iPad. olive absolutely loved this part! after a few gaming sessions, we were ready to get on the sleigh and take a journey to the north pole! olive was sooooooo freaking scared! i had to hold her so she wouldn’t freak out. she whimpered through most of the show and cried a bit when it became too loud. oh girl. she cracks me up!

we were finally to the north pole and waiting inside a room before we saw santa. they had more interactive iPads where you dressed the panda in festive clothes and of course, olive was having a blast doing so. they then called our name and said it was time to see santa! oh boy…i was not sure how olive was going to react, but i was so ready to do this!

we walked into the room and olive started screaming! hahaha! they shut the door behind us and that really freaked her out. she felt trapped. she ran in circles screaming, trying to get away from santa. oh my goodness. well santa decided to stand behind the chair and let us sit down to snap a few photos. olive’s glum face is priceless. she kept cranking her head behind us to see if santa was still standing there. um, yes, he’s still there baby girl.

i am so shocked she was so against santa! i prepped her all day. we watched santa movies throughout the morning and i kept asking if she wanted to see santa to let him know what presents she wanted for christmas and she flat out told me no. ha! oh girl.

well, ellie did very well! we wanted photos with santa for her first christmas and they turned out so cute. no crying, no meltdown, but more so a blank stare. she’s so good with that though! she’s infamous for that blank stare…it’s very daddy like {she does look a lot like her dad!}. i love her little face and surprised expressions all the time!

that was it, our successful(?) santa trip this year! it’s always worth it and honestly, so much fun despite olive’s meltdowns. hey, tis the season to get cray cray! i can’t wait until next year and see how olive reacts!