Santa came to town!

Today was the day...Santa Claus parade day. We took J for the first time when she was 2 1/2 and we took her again last year. She's been talking about the parade since some time in September, so we knew we pretty much had to go again this year.

We woke up to disgusting rain that turned to sun and then back to rain. It was grey, but not raining when we left the house and miraculously the rain held off until after we got home again.

Our preferred spot is at the very end of the parade route - the last block is best. We got there just as the parade was starting at the other end of town and had our pick of sidewalk spaces.

We packed a fleece blanket backed with waterproof backing to sit on and at the last minute I threw in a second fleece blanket and I'm glad I did. It was a bit of a cold wait for J - we were dressed for the rain, but the wind was blowing so she stayed cozy cuddled next to us, wrapped in a double layer of blanket. Of course, once the parade started she was nice and warm from jumping up and down and dancing around.

J got a foam Rudolph nose that she decided worked better on Daddy (her nose is a tad bit small for it now...maybe next Christmas it will stay on!)

J liked the miniature horses, but she thought they were super stinky (they didn't really smell bad, just like wet horse)

This is J's favourite "float" and it has been every year since we started going to the parade. We actually saw this bus on the street the other day - it was stopped at the bus stop and we got to walk by it, which was soooooo exciting! Maybe one day we'll get to ride on it...who knows!

And the man we were all there to see - St. Nicholas! J was pretty excited to see him; she wants to be his elf one year though. She was a bit upset that she didn't get to talk to him today. But she will have that chance before Christmas for sure!