Grabbing Santa by the Bells

I've been getting a few emails from people who've followed my blog over the past three years and wanted to hear/see more about the kiddos. Many of those people are those who are adopting or have adopted, wondering how life goes after bringing home a toddler. I know when we were working toward bringing Lucy home, I would Google day and night, searching for families who have been on the same road we were heading down.

So for those who've wondered "how's Lucy" over the past several months, this picture is for you, the epitome of Lucy dominance. While the mall photographer was confused as to why I would choose the photo where my beautiful girl wasn't actually smiling (since there were other options where she was flashing her adorable little grin), I couldn't help but pick the one where she was wielding her mighty Lucy powers over Santa. I couldn't help but chuckle while watching her direct the Santa situation, she climbed up on his lap, informed him that a Hello Kitty bike would be in her future and grabbed the bells around his neck like she was going to steer him back to the North Pole to start on her gift.

My 27 pound firecracker never let go until after he agreed to her demands. Of course, while putting her down, Santa gushed over how cute she is.

God help her future spouse.