So, we lived in our old neighborhood for about eight years, and by the time we moved, I still couldn't tell you the entire first and last name of the people who lived right. next. door. Sad. So, super sad. And not at all how I would like to live.
Now, granted, part of it was our fault because when we moved into our old neighborhood all those years ago, we were young, childless, and working all the time, so it's not like we made the effort to be proactive about meeting people, but I am SO PLEASED to report that things are so different in this neighborhood! Yay!
We knew some neighbors before we even moved in, we met several others within days of our official move, and we joined in on our first neighborhood event today. Woohoo!
So the official event was a Chili Cook-off/ Santa thing, and here's a little preview pic of the Santa part...
But, I must digress, as I'm getting ahead of myself.
So there was about an hour of socializing and setting up food/chili before it was time for Santa to arrive, but when the time was near for the big, red-suited man to appear, we all made our way outside.
Of course, Chica was more interested in picking up sticks than in sitting quietly by the curb waiting for Santa's arrival, but hey--can you blame the girl?
As we know, she really, really loves her sticks. And though there are a ton of neighborhood kiddoes fairly close in age (like age three and up), she was the youngest there today, so she couldn't really join in on the Simon Says game that kept the rest occupied by the curb while they were waiting.
Luckily, it wasn't too long before Santa arrived--and imagine our surprise when he brought along Mrs. Claus and the two of them rode in on a Harley, hehe :) Of course, they were greeted like the rockstars they are, with chants and cheers from everyone--including Chica, who joined in on the: "San-ta, San-ta, San-ta." Too cute.
I was impressed when Chica let Mrs. Claus get up close and personal, considering our run-in with Mr. Claus a couple of days ago, so I thought it might be a good sign of her warming up to the big man with the tummy that shakes like a bowl full 'o jelly.
Alas...that was not to be the case.
Mrs. Claus was kind enough to gather all the kiddoes in the living room so she could recite a lovely rendition of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. Then came time for Santa to pass out presents to all the kiddoes.
Each child was called up individually to receive their gift, and let's just say that when it was Chica's turn, all her previously-seeded feelings of wariness returned. She clamped onto poor Daddy like a lobster:
She wouldn't even look at poor Santa out of fear Daddy would pass her over:
Luckily, with the temptation of a present thrown into the mix, she at least turned around...
And let Santa kinda-sorta give her a pat before she tried to escape once more...
Here's hoping that by next year she lets go of some of that Santa angst.
In the meantime, she had a blast watching the hostess's dogs through the window:
And I suspect as she ages, she's going to have a few partners in crime within the neighborhood, which makes Mama soooo happy.
So here's to new neighbors, holiday fun, and about a week to go until Christmas!
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