Baby Steps: Sorting out Jesus and Santa

'Tis the season! It's time for hot cocoa, tinsel, candy canes and, of course, Santa. Santa is as much a staple of Christmas as Jesus is. And if you are at the Pind house, you are in luck, because Santa and Jesus are one and the same!

We first discovered Felicity Kay had a bit of Christmas confusion on Thanksgiving Day. We decorate our house on Thanksgiving morning each year before dinner with our family. We got out all our decorations and, dancing to Christmas music, turned our house into a winter wonderland.

The tree was trimmed, the stockings were hung and the lights were placed on the outside of our house. As Cooper and Max decorated the tree, I hung the stockings and put out some of the more fragile decor. My little shadow, a.k.a. Felicity, followed wherever I went. While I was hanging up a Santa picture, my sweet little baby gave an exclamation of delight and said, "Oh, Jesus! Baby Jesus!"

I laughed and told her no, it was Santa, but all the while she stood there stubbornly and declared "Jesus!" It was cute -- endearing, really. At 22 months old, she already knows the reason for the season.

Thinking she must have Santa and Jesus confused, I showed the Nativity set and said, "Look, baby Jesus." She said, "Yes, baby Jesus, " then walked over to the Santa picture and said, "Jesus, too."

Of course I had to laugh and tell her dad and brother, who both thought it was great. Two weeks later, the Jesus versus Santa rivalry still continues. Cooper will point to a Jesus and say "Santa," while his sister stamps her little feet and yells "Jesus." Then he will go to the Santa and say "Santa," while she gets even angrier and yells "Jesus."

I was curious how this would affect our yearly visit with Santa. I worried she would see her "Jesus" in real life and freak out or just end up hating Jesus and Santa altogether. Last Friday we visited Santa's workshop during the Downtown Christmas Open House. Cooper was so excited, jumping up and down and trying to figure out what to say to Santa. We had been telling Felicity we were going to see Santa and showing her pictures of Cooper in previous years on Santa's lap.

None of our preparation was any help. As we turned the corner and saw Santa, my son ran to him and jumped on the poor man's lap. Felicity, on the other hand, clung to me for dear life. I pulled her off me and tossed her onto Santa's lap, much to her horror.

This year's Santa picture should be interesting. Cooper has a great smile, while Felicity is screaming like a banshee. I do think the shock of seeing "Jesus" in real life helped her realize that Jesus and Santa are two different people. It is a memory we will cherish and use to embarrass her for years to come. Merry Christmas from my circus to yours!

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Kristen Pind, a native of small-town Gower, Missouri, came to Southeast Missouri State University with big dreams of being the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer. She never thought that in her 20s, she'd be married with two kids and living in Cape Girardeau. Keep up with Kristen's adventures as a young mom who's still trying to figure out how her own life fits together. Turns out, she's living a dream she never knew she had, and loving every minute of it. Kristen invites moms of all types to find her "Baby Steps" page on Facebook.