Last minute visit with Santa

We have been talking about it all month, we have seen him from a distance, we have thoroughly prepared for this ultimate Christmas Eve visit with Santa. Jacks and I talked about what he planned to tell Santa he wanted (a bicycle), and he felt that he was ready. We stood in line for about 10 minutes gearing up. Jacks showed no fear, and he even attempted to climb out of his stroller several times while waiting (I stuck, Mommy, I stuck!). Then, our turn came. The stroller turned a corner, and Santa was in full view. Jacks became red faced and nervous, and he proceeded to have a complete melt-down. He clenched down in his stroller begging me to not pull him out. I unbuckled his leg straps, and he frantically worked to re-buckle them! I finally managed to yank him out and carry him toward Santa. As soon as he reached the little Santa tableau, he stopped crying and attempted strained politeness. He managed to get out a, "Hey!" I tried to touch Santa's arm to show Jacks that he was okay, and Jacks was clearly skeptical. But, he is always the perfect gentleman (to an extent), and he was determined not to look like a damn fool in front of Santa in the flesh!
We planted him on Santa's lap, and he refused to smile. The "smile" you see in the picture is the best we could do. He scowled most of the time, but we forced him to say, "cheese," over and over again, so we managed to capture this uncomfortable, strained, borderline evil smile that comes off more like a smarmy smirk. But I am so proud of his valiant efforts to be nice and non-yelly when associating with a known celebrity like Santa!
Enjoy the pic. We were kind of expecting a red faced, screaming picture, but this strange smile is so much better. Merry Christmas, everyone! Our morning is going beautifully. :):)