Christmas, Part I- "Seeka, Five!"

This is Isaac in his Christmas duds-- I didn't get a great shot of his shirt and tie, but he looked pretty adorable in it!

This was the Sunday before Christmas when we went to the "Santa Party" at the Warners' house. The Danielsons have been friends with the Warners, who both work with David, since Zach and Josh were little, and Isaac was the first of the next generation to go to their annual shindig. Each year they hire the same guy to play Santa, all the parents bring a little present to stash in Santa's bag, and then Santa comes and gives each kid a gift. You may recall Isaac's last encounter with Santa wasn't very pleasant ("Seeka, sad"), so we tried to really talk up how great Santa can be.

Of course my in-laws thought it would be hilarious to stash gifts for Zach and I in the bag, too, so we both had to sit on his lap as well. Zach went first and even though Spike was okay waving to Santa from a distance, he was none to thrilled to see Daddy on the strange man's lap. Then it was his turn. He cried, but not quite as dramatically as he did for the mall Santa. Later, though, Santa held out his hand to give Isaac a five. Isaac cautiously approached, slapped a quick five, and then ran away. A bunch of people clapped for his brave feat, so he clapped for himself too and did it again. On the way home from the party, "Seeka, sad" changed into "Seeka, five." It's been more than a week since the party and I still hear about "Seeka, five."

There were a ton of kids there, and a few college-aged kids as well. Josh was talking to one such young woman and said something about Isaac. She said, "Oh, is he the little chubby one running around? He's so cute I just want to roll him in butter!"

He was a real charmer at the party and literally ran laps around the Warner house. I know Zach and his parents loved getting to show him off.