Angelo chuckled, grabbing one of her many stim toys and carefully replacing the phone with it. "As if she doesn't have enough of her own things to chew on, she wants Daddy’s phone, too."
Noelle didn't notice the toy was replaced. She happily gnawed on her baby-safe plastic reindeer. Angelo nearly died from excitement when we found that at the store. The poor thing was now perpetually coated in baby slobber.
I placed the last present beneath the tree. As I rustled the lowest branch, the scent of fir filled the air.
"Done," I announced.
"It looks amazing, Karl," Angelo said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Now, are we ready to go outside?"
I glanced outside. The sun was just about to set—and I was about to transform into my true form.
"You bet. I'm already dressed, but I'll help put on Noelle's snow suit."
Angelo smiled at my cheesy joke. Obviously as Krampus, I didn'tneedto get dressed. My fur did a pretty good job at keeping me warm. But our baby was still human, as far as we knew, so in cold weather she wore a snow suit that made her look like a giant marshmallow.
Once dressed, we headed out the front door. The late December snowfall created untouched banks of snow outside my cabin. The brilliant lights strung up along the roof reflected off the snow, creating a warm and festive atmosphere. Fresh flakes descended from the twilight sky, landing on our heads.
Noelle was all bundled up in her pink suit, while Angelo wore his thick coat. They gazed up at the sky and tried to catch snowflakes on their tongues.
As the sun disappeared, I transformed. First my hooves crunched in the snow. Then my tail and horns popped out, followed by streaks of fur along my skin.
Noelle giggled and reached for my flicking tail. She always loved my transformations. I wiggled it in her direction.
"Ready to make snow angels, Noelle?" Angelo asked, clutching our daughter close to his chest. "One... two... three!"
He gently fell backwards into a pile of snow. Noelle cried out happily, her face lighting up. She loved making snow angels. I was sure if she could speak, she'd yell "again, again!"
"Okay, my turn," I said, scooping up Noelle. "One... two..."
I thumped backwards into the snow, landing next to Angelo. Noelle shrieked with laughter. She kicked and punched her little limbs inside her snowsuit.
Angelo smiled at me, his pink cheeks standing out among the white snow. He looked so damn cute that I had to kiss him.
Noelle's first ever Christmas morning was finally here.
Angelo got up early to take care of Noelle's morning routine while I got ready. I took out my familiar Santa costume from the closet and smiled. It was like seeing an old friend again.
After getting dressed, I poked my head out into the hallway and called, "Ho ho ho!"
Angelo and Noelle sat in the kitchen enjoying breakfast. When Angelo heard me, he gasped and said, "Who's that, Noelle?"
She blinked and looked around, then got bored and stuck her hand into a bowl of mashed fruit. Angelo chuckled.
"Come on out, Karl. You've really got to sell it."
I sauntered into the kitchen with a jolly smile. When Noelle saw me, her jaw fell open. She didn't know what was going on, of course. She was too young to know any Santa lore. This fun scenario was mostly for us dads.
Noelle blinked at me and said, "Goo."
"That's Santa. Can you say Santa?" Angelo encouraged.
"Gaago."
I grinned. "Close enough." Pulling out a small red box from my coat, I handed it to Noelle. "Here you go. Merry Christmas, Noelle!"
Angelo played along, taking the box and putting it on the table. "Wow, Santa got you a gift! Let's see what it is. Can you help Daddy unwrap it?"
Angelo gently took Noelle's hand and put it on the box. She curled her fingers but wasn't strong enough to rip the paper, so Angelo helped. When it was time to lift the lid, daddy and daughter did it together. When Angelo saw what was inside, he gasped.
