No Momma... No Santa!!!

We have been hyping up Christmas around here since before Thanksgiving mainly because we love Christmas and partly because Abby is totally fascinated with Halloween still.  This is the first year that she actually 'gets' the holidays which is super fun to be a part of.

However, we did not anticipate that she would fear Santa.  It's something I really wish I would have known prior to going to a tree lighting and standing in line freezing my buns off for an hour.  All was good until we had an 'accident'.  You know, the 'I've been doing so good at potty training that my parents forgot to remind me to use the potty before we stood in line for an hour' type of accident.  Here we are, in line, just me and the girls and Abby announces "I have to go pee pee momma."

I try to quickly think where, in this crowd of hundreds of people, I could take her and Lilly who is in a stroller.  I am quietly cursing my husband and dad for going to get food at the worst time because clearly they should have known this would happen.  I try to ask her if she can hold it for a minute and she panics while screaming, "I HAVE TO GO PEE PEE!"  By the time the words came out of her mouth, she was already going.  AWESOME!

The nice people in line ahead of us tell me that they'll hold our place in line but, more importantly, let my husband know where I went since I (of course) forgot my cell phone.  Not that it matters because Dan never carries his phone anyway, but that's a whole other story.

We try to maneuver as quickly as possible to the nearest bathroom.  Big clunky stroller, hysterical toddler, and crowds do not mix!  We make our way to the nearest coffee shop and are second in line, thanks for nothing lady who wouldn't let us go first!!!

So, we clean up and go back to line.  I'm sweating but Abby seems happy again so we're good, or so I thought.  We get back in line a few minutes before the parade starts and the excitement of seeing Santa starts to build.

Well, for all the kids but mine.  Abby becomes hysterical again.  "No Mama, No Santa.  I no like Santa!"

What?!?  Who doesn't like Santa? Totally crazy!  We thought that she would eventually come around but no such luck.  She was begging us to take her home.  She wouldn't even glance at the parade.  She wrapped herself around whoever would hold her with a death grip.  I felt like I was literally torturing her with every extra minute we stood there.

Needless to say, after an hour in line and a pee pee fiasco behind us, we had to leave without seeing Jolly Old St. Nick because Abby doesn't like him.

You would think that this would mean that we could go ahead and skip the whole present thing but apparently the big guy is good enough to bring her gifts because she has requested:

• Lightning McQueen
• Beast (from Beauty and the Beast but I think she means Belle)
• A Horse (black one and a brown one)
• Snacks
• Snow White
• Pooh Bear Movie
• Mickey Mouse
• Water
• Puddles
• Doll house
• Doodle Bear
• Jessie Doll

Does anyone know how to gift wrap puddles?