Michelle Obama reads Twas The Night Before Christmas to sick children in hospital but Bo steals the show

First Lady Michelle Obama recently read Twas The Night Before Christmas at a Washington area children’s hospital.

As she sat down on stage to begin reading the classic tale to the tiny tots, Bo the First Dog jumped right up on his mother’s lap.

He seemed quite comfy as well, since he didn’t move from the position throughout the seven minute session.

Bo is significantly larger than the former First Dog, Barney, who was a small Scottish terrier, and Portuguese Water Dogs can weigh up to 55 pounds.

That was no matter for Michelle Obama, however, as she gamefully played along and even jokingly held the book out so that the 4-year-old pup could “read” along.

Though the First Lady visited the Children’s National Medical Center on December 14, the video was not released until Christmas Eve, in keeping with the theme of the story.

Bo is a part of many of the White House traditions during the holidays, as he served as a sort of “Waldo” figure throughout the decorations, with mini figurines in his likeness scattered throughout the many displays and 54 live trees.

Michelle Obama explained the reason why they used Bo repeatedly is because it was an easy theme for young visitors to catch on to during their tours and they can be given the task of spotting Bo in each of the rooms.

He also kept up the tradition- started by President George Bush’s pet Barney- of doing a video tour of the decorations throughout the White House that is then posted online for people to view in case they are not among the lucky thousands who tour it in person.

This is definitely not the first year that the holiday spotlight turned to Bo, as he has been the sole subject of each of the first family’s Christmas cards since Barack Obama took office in 2009.