When we received an invite for a birthday party at the Columbus Zoo, I was excited at the possibility of killing four birds with one stone. (Yeah, I’m skilled like that. Two? That’s nothing.) (And those would be proverbial birds. No real birds were harmed in the writing of this post.)

Not only would we celebrate the birthday of two friends, but we’d also be there after sunset, so we could see the Wildlights display. And we’d visit the model trains – an obsession shared by both of my girls. AND we’d see Santa, if Cordy could work up the nerve this year.

We tried to see Santa last year at the zoo, and if you don’t feel like reading the recap, I can sum up: it went poorly. Even though Cordy wanted nothing more than to meet the great giver of all things present-y and peppermint-y, she couldn’t handle the reality of meeting him live.

This year she said she was ready, and promised to sit on his lap so she could get a candy cane.

Too bad we weren’t ready for the Arctic Circle to relocate to Ohio yesterday.

Walking from the parking lot to the front of the zoo was painful. Even though we had probably the closest parking spot ever, the wind was sharp and bitterly cold. In that short walk, both girls sported bright red cheeks, and I could no longer feel my fingers.

Thankfully, the party was just inside the gate. While Cordy made a jingle bell necklace and ate cake, Aaron and I considered the idea of telling her Santa was too busy to visit the zoo this year and bailing out quickly after the party.

When we walked outside again, though, the skies had darkened and the glowing light displays surrounded us. Cordy immediately wanted to visit all of the animals in the zoo and find Santa, despite a wind chill of -10F.

We took her to the train exhibit to distract the girls while we discussed our options. We could 1. Leave and risk the disappointment of one little girl prone to tantrums or 2. Risk freezing our limbs off to go to the back of the zoo where Santa waited. With a sigh we decided to risk frostbite.

I won’t give the full details of the walk to Santa, although I can affirm that statements like, “If you want to see Santa, you need to RUN, Cordy! Santa likes little girls who can keep up!” may have been uttered. A few expletives surrounding statements like “My nose hairs are frozen” and “I think the blood is freezing in my fingers” may have been overheard as well.

After what felt like a glacial eternity, we made it to Santa, and – surprise, surprise! – there was no line! Hear that, parents? If you want to avoid the wait and have Santa all to yourself, you only need visit when it’s not safe for skin to be exposed to the frigid air!

Cordy was a bundle of excitement when she saw Santa. We wound through the path to get to him and when we reached the platform, she hesitated for a moment. Here we go again, I thought. Prepare for her to run.

But she didn’t. Instead, she nervously let him lift her onto his lap. Without waiting for an introduction or the question to be asked, she blurted out, “Santa, I want a candy cane for Christmas!” He then asked her what else she wanted for Christmas, but again she only asked for a candy cane.

I then placed Mira on Santa’s other knee, and as I predicted last year, she started to cry right away. The photographer was trying to get them to look at the camera, and so Aaron and I crouched down beside each child, Aaron trying to focus Cordy’s attention, while I attempted to calm the toddler who thought she was going to be eaten by a giant white beard.

After the snapshot, Santa tried to talk with Cordy some more, but Cordy paid no attention to him and reached for a candy cane in the basket next to him. She did her duty, and now wanted her reward. As she wandered around the platform, Santa looked at me and said with a smile, “I think I’m enjoying myself talk more than she is.” I patted Cordy on the head and replied “Focus is hard for her. But trust me – she’s happy.”

We stopped by the kiosk on the way out to view our photo. I had no plans to buy a photo, but then I saw it on the screen. It’s a memory of the first time Cordy has willingly met with Santa, and only the second time ever that all four of us have been in a photo together. (Seriously, I’m usually the one behind the camera. You’d have a hard time proving we’re a family from photographic evidence alone.)

So we bought the big photo package, with multiple pictures for family members, two photo snowflake ornaments and the silly photo snowglobe. They totally made me fall for the moment of my two girls with Santa, even though Mira was upset, even though we were all in winter parkas, even thought Santa had a fake beard, even though we weren’t all looking at the camera, even though it was painfully cold.

Cordy’s willingness to accept the situation and not freak out was impressive and showed me just how fast she’s growing up. And seeing my entire family together and (relatively) happy on that computer screen brought up a warm, happy feeling in me that dulled the sharp cold for that long walk back to the car. It was worth it.