Santa Photos

From the first time Michael and I ever discussed Santa pictures, I knew I wanted to have them taken in Downtown Seattle, with the Nordstrom Santa. I wanted the whole experience of holding my hubby's hand, while sipping a piping hot cup of Starbucks coffee and peering down at our baby girl all snuggled up in her stroller. We'd stand in line in Santa's Lane (the decorated sidewalk in front of the department store) and wait patiently for our turn with the jolly old man in the red suit. There is something special about the vibe downtown; something that I always loved growing up, and still love today!

So, I was extremely excited when we woke up this morning because I knew it was Picture Day! Despite my enthusiasm, I wasn't really in a rush and we had a nice, laid back morning. Before putting the finishing touches on everyone's outfits, I decided to call downtown to make sure we could bring our own camera and to see how long the wait was. It was then that the chipper woman on the other end of the phone unknowingly crushed my Santa picture dreams. She said "You are welcome to bring your own camera and, let's see...the wait is currently six hours." 

SIX HOURS!?? I knew that even for the "downtown experience", six hours was just ridiculous. Not wanting to reschedule (apparently, if we arrive at 7 AM tomorrow, the wait should be less than three hours), we decided to go to the Nordstrom at Southcenter Mall. When we arrived, there was only one family in front of us and then it was all eyes on Zoey!

Being shy...

The introduction

Peek-a-boo!

It was obvious that Zoey wasn't eager to jump into Santa's arms, so we decided to just hand her off and see what happened. The results were heartbreaking...

Instant tears! :(

My poor child burst into tears and started to scream as if Santa had pinched her! Everyone in the room let out a huge, sympathetic "Awww". After snapping a few pictures (have to have some funny ones, to submit to her high school yearbook!), I quickly scooped her up and tried to calm her down.

Fortunately, Santa was very patient and understanding.

Still not sure about the bright white, curly hair/beard...

We even had Santa read her favorite book

I tried to slowly slide her onto his knee, but she quickly called me out!

Finally, we gave up on "Zoey and Santa" and moved on to the family photo. Considering the fact that Zoey was screaming bloody murder just minutes earlier, I think the picture turned out great! 

Making sure Momma's not leaving her!

Once we were back outside of the studio, Zoey finally began to recover from the whole ordeal. And I use the term "recover", very loosely. She was slightly off for the rest of the day.

For the next little while, she only wanted to be held by me; silly girl.

Starting to relax with Daddy

"We're leaving? Hooray! No more scary Santa!"

Mike was pretty eager to leave, too. 

Although we ended up with an Asian Santa, at Southcenter Mall, and not the "traditional" Santa in Downtown Seattle, we still had a great experience. We laughed, we cried and ultimately, left with a great picture and a funny story :)

"We wish you a Merry Christmas!"