... for our annual post which chronicles our evening at the Roper Mountain Holiday Lights. For the third year in a row, we proudly share pictures of our family posed with the same enormous, holiday-themed painted wooden cut-outs (there's just something about putting your child's head through those pre-cut holes that screams, "Take this picture!"). This year was really fun, as Luke was very excited to see "Ho-Ho". I wasn't sure how Luke would react to sitting on Santa's lap (reference to 2009 screaming episodes every time we attempted to approach the jolly guy), but Luke climbed right up into the sleigh with Ho-Ho, and stood very sweetly beside him while the photographer snapped a picture. I was absolutely elated that it was the "same" Santa that Luke has met and been photographed with every year since he was a baby. However, now that it has become such a tradition, if we ever move during Luke's childhood, we may need to return to Greenville during each Christmas season in order to maintain consistency with Luke's annual Santa picture. And this guy is GOOD: extremely authentic with the twinkling eyes, rosy cheeks, laugh that makes his belly shake like a bowl full of jelly... the whole works. Mark and I do speculate every year if Santa hides a flask in his suit somewhere, because his speech is rather slurred, Southern accent pretty thick, and he seems awfully amused by his own jokes, but I think that I'm willing to overlook that possibility for the sake of a good picture (oh yes, and a fun experience for my son!).
Daddy and Luke stand in front of the holiday lights in the same place every year. Mark always looks remarkably unchanged. Luke keeps getting bigger, and looks like he is about 6 years old in this picture.
Toy Soldier
Outdoor Sleigh Ride
Bashful Snowman
Mommy and Luke in Santa's Village
Adorable dimples
And this morning, we all visited what Luke referred to as "Winnie's Ho-Ho", at a nearby pet store. Although the dog-friendly Santa may not have been as chubby and plump as Luke's Ho-Ho, the free cookies for our canine and human kids were enough of a draw to convince them to have a family picture taken. However, we did cause a bit of a scene with our comical chaos of attempting to get everyone positioned and facing the camera:
Oh, and as for Santa (with apologies to Clement C. Moore):
"And we heard him exclaim, ere we drove out of sight,
'What a crazy, happy family; Let's hope their picture's alright!'"
4 comments:
AND next year Sprout adds to the fun and mayhem! JOY! Luke DOES look about 6! Enjoy these special days with your wonderful family! Love from Gammie and Pop Pop Davies
Just adorable as usual.....hope you are feeling well....it could be anytime now Mommy;)!!!XO
Drunk Santa? Not a problem in my eyes, as long as he does the Santa thing well (he certainly LOOKS perfect) and is well-supervised. I am also highly jealous of how un-bundled up you all are in these Holiday pictures, as if it is not 23 degrees outside with a windchill of 14.
Love the pictures.
You guys create such beautiful, meaningful traditions.....what fun these posts will be for Luke to look back on in years to come! Love, Bean
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