Dad..who's the fat guy with the beard?

  Last year we abstained from taking our one-month-old down to the mall to have his portrait taken with Santa Claus. First of all, it wasn't because we feared germs or long term psychological scaring on Benjamin. It was selfish actually. We just wanted to get some frickin' sleep.

  So this year we thought it would be nice to get his picture taken with Santa so we could torture him with embarrassment for years to come. We chose to do it on a weekday at the Altamonte Mall figuring no one would be there. We were actually right this time on our assumption.

  Catherine and I met up at the Santa stand around 1 o'clock on her lunch break. We thought this would be a great chance for her to spend the middle of the day with her son and make a nice memory in the process.

  "Wait a minute. Where's Santa going," I thought.

  "Oh, I'm sorry sir Santa takes lunch from 1-2 pm," the helpful elf told us.

  What? When the heck did Santa join a union? I mean I know he has to keep his signature physique and all but come on can't he just eat in between kids? It's not like they had a line full of parents trying to contain their children or anything.

  So we walked around the mall for the next hour killing time in stores we had no intention of purchasing any items. (Side note: I found the Yankee Candle Store an excellent place to go if you have to break wind.)

  Finally it was time for Santa to punch back in from lunch. We were first in line, of course. We opted for the CD instead of the prints. (I mean come on. I need this in jpeg form so I can blog about it, import it into my Benjamin folder in Aperture for future uses, and other foolish reasons.)

  I sat Benjamin on the big man's lap and he just gazed magically into his eyes trying to figure out who this man was and why on earth would his parents leave him in the lap of a stranger. He couldn't stop looking at Santa. I think it was the white beard and hair that drew his attention.

  Meanwhile Dad is off to the the side saying his name in a prepubescent, high-pitched voice in the hopes of drawing his attention towards the camera. But he just kept staring up at Santa.

  We shot three images right away but I wasn't happy with them. (Look I'm not a typical parent. I know what my child is capable of doing in front of the camera and that wasn't it. KEEP SHOOTING ELF!!!)

  The second batch of three went better mainly because I resorted to tickling Benjamin on the foot and quickly jumping out of the frame. And so instead of turning into one of those parents I conceded that the fourth of his six was the one.

  I grabbed Mino off Santa's lap while Cathy paid for the CD. I have to say I was proud that Benjamin wasn't ever scared like some kids with Santa. He's a very curious kid. Now elevators... that's scary but a jolly fat man with a big, white beard in red velvet. That's interesting to Benjamin.