Santa!

Charlie lives in the middle of a world of fantasy. She is a princess and mean dragons, mean monsters, and mean polar bears are real threats. She has all the Disney princess and speed dial. Belle and Beast visit us frequently, and a trip to Disneyland for a tea party is a daily occurrence. You can see how Santa Clause fits perfectly into her daily routine.

The first time we talked about Santa this year is on Thanksgiving. We were listening to Christmas music and I said something like, "Charlie, did you know Santa says Ho, Ho, Ho.?" She responded, "No, Santa says Bwa, Ah, Ah, Ah! And has mean eyes and mean teeth." She obviously thought that Santa was a vampire...she had no idea who he was.

Fast forward to the Monday after Thanksgiving. We were at the mall and I decided to just point out Santa to Charlie. I didn't really want to stand in line or go into details on who he is. We hadn't really talked about him and I wasn't sure how much I wanted to tell her. But when she laid eyes on the pudgy old man she fell in love. "Santa! See him. See him!" I told Charlie that we were just about to leave and we would have to stand in line to see him. "Stand in line! Stand in line!" So we did. (There were only about three kids before us.) She waited patiently and then sprinted to him when it has her turn. She was in heaven. He asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She said, "presents." And right there and then she knew that Santa was real and he was bringing her presents. I mean, she believes in mean polar bears and she has never sat on one's lap. How could she not believe in Santa?

So I decided to use this belief to my advantage. Santa is taking Charlie's diapers when he comes to leave her presents. I think Santa is going to leave some panties and some potty treats in place of all those diapers. So I get to blame all the hard potty training on Santa! I think it is only fair he gets to be the mean guy this once since he takes so much credit for leaving presents. Don't you?