It's the Most Wonderful Time...

Gearing up for Christmas, Maryanne, Jon and I thought it would be fun to take the kids to Riverpark Square for Santa's arrival Nov. 20th. George was at work still, so I'm sure we looked like some polygamous crowd with 3 kids and two pregnant women following behind one man. :) LOL Soooo not the case.

Anyway, the kids had a great time, as did the adults. Here are some of the pics!

Madeleine didn't want a pic with the polar bear without Kambria, so here they are! Cute as can be!

Madeleine was telling Santa that she wants Barbie for Christmas. He was so patient in listening to her.

Smiling for the camera with Santa! He was such a good Santa this year! We waited in line forever, which we finally understood when our kids' turns were up. He spent quality time with them, listening to them.

Looking pretty on the presents!

I like the illusion in this one. Madeleine was looking in a giant Christmas ball decoration on the tree, so I took her picture.

So pretty!

I love Eli's face in this one! I just wish it hadn't come out so blurry!

Squishy face!

Such a beautiful tree!

Madeleine's hair is ALWAYS in her face! But, I love this picture. It shows her in true form. :)

Up on Uncle Jon's shoulders. It gave me a nice break, since I had her on my shoulders for a good portion of the night!

She was so excited that Santa shook her hand!

Santa mingling with the crowd.

Mrs. Claus leaving on the escalator after reading "The Polar Express" to everyone. All of the kids and adults received bells to ring if they still "BELIEVE". We do, so we did!

Mrs. Claus reading the story to the crowd.

Madeleine's happy as a clam to be there! She was soooo excited to see Santa!

All in all, it was a great evening out of the house and having fun with the kiddos. I was sad that George wasn't there, but we all met up together at Shari's after he got off work. Since Maryanne and I are both pregnant, we were both starving! Maryanne had two coupons for Shari's, so we saved quite a bit on our meals. :) Can't complain about that! Then Madeleine wanted to show her daddy all of the pictures with Santa, so I gave her the camera, and he got to live vicariously through the lens. :)

I love this time of year, and I love it even more being a mother. I could have never imagined how much joy there is in seeing your child squeal at the sight of Santa, or a Christmas tree, or Christmas lights, for that matter. I used to think I knew why Christmas was so important. But year after year, I'm taught more valuable lessons. I love being a mother and a wife. It's not easy, but so worth it. And I love seeing my little girl happy at the smallest things.