The MAN.

So Santa is the man. We built him up for a good month or so with Luke to get him stoked and willing to work towards staying on the "nice" list.

Todd and Great-Grandpa were installing a new faucet, so, thinking that I am a brave, strong "mom" type, I declared that I would single-handedly take Luke to see Santa.

I'd like to review that statement again:

I thought that I, by myself, would take Luke, by myself, to see Santa, by myself.

*sigh*

I am nutso.

So I called my parents. I needed backup. Luke is not a bad kid, he is just intense. Like, super, textbook "active" child intense.

We even arrived early, but there was still a huge line. My parents were able to swing by the mall and we all took turns standing in line and taking Luke for walks. Yikes.

But when Santa Claus arrived, it was like the Beatles landing in America. Or like Will Ferrell in "Elf." Luke's arms shot out and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "SANTA CLAUS IS HERE!!" It was pretty epic.

But when the moment came, the time to approach SANTA CLAUS, he actually became a little gunshy, which is terribly unlike him. But Santa, bless his heart, raised his hand and said, "High Five!" And then Santa was speaking Luke's language and all was well.

I put him on Santa's lap and asked Luke if he was on the "nice" list or the "naughty" list. Let's just say there was a really long pause and a really deep breath and some staring at the ceiling and eventually declared "the nice list." Santa, being the awesome Santa he was, said that he was sure that Luke was on the nice list. *ahem*

Luke told Santa that he wanted tools for Christmas:
"A-saw-and-a-hammer-and-a-wrench-and-a-pliers . . ."

The pictures were not awesome, mostly Luke looked like he was in some serious pain. Oh well, he wasn't having a tantrum, so we're good.

After getting off Santa's lap, Santa whispered to me, asking if he could give Luke a mini candy cane. After saying yes, Santa gave Luke the candy cane. Luke was absolutely shocked (free candy! I can't blame him . . .) and adoringly looked at Santa and said, "Thank you Santa. Thank you for the candy cane."

Mommy was proud.

The candy cane was gone by the time I paid for pictures. Good job, Luke.