I’m pretty sure we didn’t take Anneliese to see a Santa Claus last year, but this year the family resource center in Hanford had a photo-with-Santa event, and I heard he was a good Santa with a real beard and everything, so we signed up.

Anneliese has been to the resource center lots of times, since it’s where La Leche League of Hanford, and now Natural Parenting for Non-Hippies meet. So she was comfortable enough.

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She is wearing a sweet little smocked dress that my mother made for me when I was a baby. I probably should have let out the hem to make it longer, but I think the shortness gives it a cute Shirley Temple look too.

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Everything was peachy until our number was called, and we went in to meet Santa Claus. Even though I had just given her dinner before going to the resource center, the first thing she did when she walked into the room was ask Santa (with sign language) for cheese and water. When, instead, she got a cuddle from a stranger with facial hair (remember, she is mostly around military men with very little facial hair at all), the wailing began. Santa was very sweet and let me snap a few pictures, despite her wailing, and I feel lucky to have a “classic” screaming-baby-in-Santa’s-lap photo of Anneliese.

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Don’t worry. The trauma was short-lived. Soon our turn was over, and we went back into the play area to wait for our photo to be printed out (which has me in it too… they said they’d email it to me soon, but if not, I’ll have to scan it in). I assured Anneliese that we would get more food (maybe even cheese and water!!!) soon, and after we were finished, we went out to eat and she ate an impressive second dinner – an entire chicken breast, and some broccoli.

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All in all, I’d say Anneliese’s first visit with Santa Claus was a roaring (wailing?) success.