Zoe and Hoot visit Santa

Santa says, "Ho ho ho!"

Hoot says, "Whooo whooo whoooo!"

We took Zozer to see Santa yesterday, and she did great. We practiced while we stood in line, so she was ready when it was her turn. She told him "Ho ho ho!" and he responded in kind, in a much deeper voice of course (to which she responded with wide eyes and a general look of suspicion). He asked her what she wanted for Christmas, and she replied, "Toys!" Then she looked around like, "What now?" and that's when we started telling her to smile for the camera.

What you see above is her "smile." It's definitely not her natural smile, but what she thinks is smiling when you tell her to smile. Regardless, it's adorable, and we went with it. Better than last year when she screamed in abject terror.

Hoot asked Santa for a day off.

His time will come...we've got Hoot Numbers 3 and 4 waiting in the wings, ready to be rotated in. About time, too, as Hoot Number 2 just this weekend was sneezed on, dropped in a wet/dirty parking lot, and lobbed onto various unclean shelves at Target. Hoot Number 1 is still in rehab, but we expect him to make a full recovery.

Merry Christmas to all!