...........We finally took Alina Jayne to the local Children's Wonderland. In our defense, she just did not seem interested at all the last two years. Now she is in pre-school and they celebrate all of the holidays, so she was curious this year. This is an event that her Daddy and I went to as children, so we were happy to be able to take her. It was a perfect night for the trip. We had a fairly severe snow/ice storm during the previous 24 hours, and most events were canceled. We decided to brave the elements, and we were rewarded with a fairly empty exhibit-and NO lineup to see Santa! This was also something she had absolutely NO interest in during the last two years, and we really were not sure she would be open to sitting with Santa this year. However, she surprised both Daddy and I, and decided to sit on his lap (she had said she would sit on Mama's lap while Mama sat on Santa's lap-so I was VERY happy when she decided to fly solo)! She had terrible "hat hair" and Mama was ill-prepared for a photo-op-not a hairbrush to be found! It's okay, I still think she looks beautiful-maybe a tad bit apprehensive, but still beautiful.
There were all kinds of exhibits-traditional gingerbread houses, a Candy Land theme, North Pole, and an exhibit of Christmas around the world. She was so excited to see a display of "Her China." She kept trying to touch the doll's hair-I had to explain that it was just to look at, but she REALLY wanted to touch it. I finally had to tell her that the doll's hair felt just like hers. She finally decided she didn't need to touch it when she realized she could actually ride the North Pole Express!
Due to the bad weather, she missed day two of her school's 2 days of Christmas parties. The teachers were afraid they might be closed on Friday, so they sent home her "gifts" for Mama and Daddy. One was a Christmas ornament with her picture inside, the other was a Christmas card with her picture. What a precious gift.
Only 4 days until Christmas-she keeps asking if it is Christmas today. It is so much fun this year-now that she is actually really excited about the whole thing. I cannot believe Santa would want to travel in this weather. We had to venture out in the frigid weather this AM (and when I say frigid, I mean it is 4 degrees, winds 30-40mph and a wind chill of -20.) The traction control light kept coming on in my car. So I pulled over to consult the owner's manual-and what did I hear from the back seat while I was reading? "Mama, what are you waiting for? Come on, let's get moving, I have a hair appointment!!!"
Brrrrrrrr..........More later :O)
