Visit With Santa

We took Owen to the South Hill Mall to see Santa today. We really like the Santa at South Hill because he looks so authentic (ie no fake beard!) and the backdrop is so pretty. Plus, the employees really take their time with each child to get the best shot possible (even when the lines are long). Owen was great and flashed some big smiles for the camera. He did much better than many of the other kids his age (even some who were older). I'm so proud of him! Here are this year's picture as well as last year's, to see how much Owen has grown!
This morning, Owen and I made a surprise visit to see my mom at school. She was presented with a big award (Puyallup School District classified employee of the year for 2009) by the superintendant. My mom definitely deserves the award because she puts her heart and soul into her job and is so good at what she does. I'm proud of her.

After the award was presented, Owen and I hung out at school for a couple hours. We visited Keri's classroom (5th/6th grade) and Owen seemed a little intimidated by all the big kids. We made our way to the school library which was filled with 2nd and 3rd graders, and Owen was much more comfortable with them. In fact, he was pretty interested in all the pretty girls! He couldn't get enough, and they were so good with him. I wouldn't be surprised if he came home with a few phone numbers.