Who's got a beard that's long and white?

Even before Anabelle was born Mom and I had a tradition of going to Macy's on State Street, eating lunch at either the Walnut Room or Berghoff's, and going to the Christkindl market. It was a trip that we both looked forward to every year.

Last year Anabelle joined in and we added a visit to Santa to our itinerary, she was pretty young (at only 3 months old) and wasn't really impressed with the big man.

When it came time to plan our trip this year we decided that we needed to cut out our visit to the Christkindl Market. If you have ever been there before you know that it is not a good place for a 1 year old. Lots of crowded, non-stroller friendly places, and lots of breakable and expensive glass ornaments. Maybe next year Anabelle can check it out, this year we had our hands full with just seeing Santa.

We arrived at Macy's and headed to the Walnut Room to get a pager and get on the list for lunch. They are very accommodating, you can get a pager and then go anywhere in all of Macy's and when your pager goes off you head to lunch. If you are in line for Santa and your pager goes off they will just seat you when you are done. With that done we headed to the line for Santa. The line is long and winds through a maze filled with elaborate decorations and toy displays. All in all it was about 1 hour, we spent that time....

running around Macy's,

being carried around by either Mommy or Grandma,

eating crackers,

checking out all of the decorations,

playing with lots of toys,

looking at our reflection in ornaments,

and sitting under Christmas trees.

Now Anabelle was really pretty good during the whole wait, but right at the end just before we went in to see Santa she appeared to have reached her limit and was just about ready to freak out. Thankfully we were able to keep her in good spirits with some "patty cake". Finally it was time to see Santa!! She did a great job, she wasn't afraid, and she seemed to enjoy sitting and listening to him.

After Santa we looked at the tree for a bit and then it was time for lunch in the Walnut Room. It was very busy and we were seated pretty far from the tree today. Oh well, we still had a delicious lunch and lots of fun.

Mac and Cheese-yum!

Hey guys I am pretty tired, when is nap time?

The tree was very pretty this year, you can't tell from my pictures, but it had lights that moved, it looked pretty cool.

After lunch, it was time to head home to tell Daddy and Grandpa about our adventures. Anabelle needed a nap and we were pretty tired too. What a fun day, thanks Mom!

PS-Notice Anabelle's cute outfit? It's her dress from last year worn as a top! I tried it on her and it fit for a shirt, you gotta love getting 2 years out of something she only wore once or twice. And it looks jut as cute as a shirt as it did as a dress =)