Visiting Santa

Ah... the talent of jolly old St. Nick! He can melt the stubborn will of even the orneriest of toddlers. Exactly one week after Sydney refused to even stand next to Santa unless Daddy was holding her, guess who was sitting (and even smiling) on the big guy's knee.

Standing in line at the Armory's Christmas party on Saturday, Sydney firmly stated she didn't want to sit on Santa's lap. I suggested a compromise: AJ could sit on Santa's lap, and Sydney could stand next to AJ and hold his hand. Sydney shot down that suggestion as well.

When it was our turn to step up, I asked Sydney to just give Santa a high-five. I figured that would at least put her close enough to him for me to snap a quick picture.

And that's when Santa demonstrated just how smooth he can be when dealing with hesitant youngsters who still need convincing that he's one of the good guys.

"You're going to give me a high five?" He asked Sydney. "Why don't you just shake my hand. Oh that's good. Now can you just turn and let Mommy take a picture? Oh that's really good. Let me just lift you up right here while Mommy takes your picture."

And just like that she was on his lap, outsmarted by the expert.

I imagine her thought process went something like this, "Well, as long as I'm up here, I guess I should tell you I want a Diego with a backpack, and Baby Jaguar."

So with the Sydney/Santa score now even at 1-1, I guess the tiebreaker will come next Saturday when Santa shows up at the LeVahn Christmas. Will she or won't she go near him?