We took Zack to see Santa after work tonight. He was very excited. He kept telling us "Yachary sit on Santa Clause lap". Steve took him up to Santa this year and and he sat right on his lap. He did not look very excited once he was there but Daddy only had to briefly sit by Santa with him. Zack clung to his Frosty the Snowman book the entire time. He never did cry but he didn't smile either. We were able to get one picture with both Zack and Santa looking at the camera even though Zack wouldn't smile. Zack still loved the idea of Santa and as soon as he was done he was asking to sit on Santa's lap again.

He is really getting into Christmas this year. I got him a Frosty the Snowman book (basically puts pictures to the words of the song) and he loves it. He can sing a lot of the words to the song including "Frossy Snowman jolly happy soul". If you ask him what Santa Clause says he responds "Ho Ho Ho Merry Kiss-mas". He loves the Christmas tree and the train under the tree. Each night when we get home we have to turn the tree on and play with the train. He knows how to make the train move forward, backward, stop and blow the whistle.

He is talking so much now. It is almost like we have real conversations. Each morning when we get to day care he says (mimicking Dora the Explorer) "We did it! Yea Mommy truck". He didn't want to come home with me tonight as he wanted to stay at "work" and play with his friends. He knows that we have been going shopping to buy presents so I can't wait to see his face when he sees the presents under the tree on Christmas morning and realizes that they are for him.

As he knows that Christmas day is Jesus' birthday, he wants to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas. We plan on doing this with him and I hope that this is just the stepping stone that we need to make Christmas about so much more than how many presents he gets. I know that presents will always be part of Zack's Christmas and we are both looking forward to sharing/continuing the magic of Santa Clause with him but it is just as important to us that the Christmas season becomes about so much more than material things. As he gets older we are going to find ways each year to help others so he can truly see the joy of the season. Now, if we can only get everyone else to buy into this so he doesn't get a truckload of presents each year.