Santa

Tonight was our ward Christmas party. Jason had to work, so I wasn't sure it would be worth trying to take the kids by myself. I decided to go, mostly because I didn't want to cook dinner. As we were walking through the door of the church the kids let me know they were supposed to be dressed up for the nativity. Oops. Weston missed his evening nap and was beyond tired. He cried for at least 45 minutes before he finally fell asleep. I found out Ben really likes ham. He must of eaten 5 slices before I finally convinced him to stop. I felt bad for letting him eat so much after hearing that they ran out of food.

The real fun started when Santa came. Ben was standing in the aisle when Santa headed his way. He literally dove into the nearest chair and started crying. One of our friends picked him up and held him at the back of the room. He was terrified, to the point of shaking. We tried telling him that Santa was nice and gives out candy, but he wanted nothing to do him. He didn't take his eyes off him the whole time he was there and refused to be put down until Santa had clearly left the building.

When we got home, Spencer decided to show Ben what a nice guy Santa is. He got all dressed up and brought his bag of toys. Ben looked a little startled at first, but quickly recovered and climbed on "Santa's" lap. I think he suspected that it was Spencer. I'm not sure what gave it away. Maybe he recognized his size 2T pants that Santa didn't quite fit into.

I think this was helpful for him. Seeing the thing you fear the most dressed in pants five sizes too small has to help you overcome that fear.

(Whoops! Santa shouldn't bend over while wearing size 2T pants.)