Ho Ho Ho!

this the awesome Santa that the baby got to see on tuesday evening.

he's my all time favorite mall Santa. and he's lovely and diplomatic, telling each and every child who asks for something wonderful for Christmas, "I'll see what I can do." as a mom, i have to love it. Rock on Santa.

she loved it too... dancing with the Happy Feet penguins, waiting in line and being excited, using the static of wool coats and too much little kid energy to get most of her baby-duck-down hair to stand nearly on end (i.e. making mama a wreck about how she's going to look in the actual photo), seeing Santa and conspiratorially whispering to him he longing for a deer...

best of all, dinner that night was a trip to Olga's Kitchen (a treat for me, really) where i ate too much and loved every minute of it. if i would have thought for a second that i'd have room for it, i would have ordered soup, dessert, and some snacks too!

in other news - good news! - our flooring came in about a half a week earlier than we expected, so we'll be installing our new floors this weekend (instead of next!) and i couldn't be more giddy. tonight i'm painting the trim downstairs (the last step before we can install the floor!) and tomorrow morning we'll be getting the house into a truly livable state. wowzy!