Dance with The Nutcracker

I have had the loveliest afternoon and evening with my sweet Ava. A few weeks ago, I got an advertisement in the mail from BalletMet about the upcoming season's performances of The Nutcracker. Eric and I were able to see it a few years ago, and we loved it, and I have enjoyed playing arrangements of Tchaikovsky's most beloved ballet since I was able to move my fingers that quickly (somewhere in mid-high school). I could listen to Tchaikovsky every day, all day long. Sharing him with my daughter was a blast! 

On a side note, I discovered in the past two weeks that both my children can sing themes from The Nutcracker when asked! Lukas saw a billboard and started singing it, and Ava did the same thing a few days later. I can't tell you how happy that made me.

Dancing with the Nutcracker was a sweet event for young dancers to attend. My friend, J'Nessa, and her little girl, Triniti, who is Ava's dearest friend, went with us. There were tons of people there, which neither of us expected, but it was worth it to see how much fun the girls had.  

BalletMet had some of their teachers telling the story of the ballet beginning with the party at which Clara is given the Nutcracker. As they progressed through the story, they would introduce some of the characters from the ballet and then the children would have an opportunity to dance with them. The girls were a little timid at first, but, as the story unfolded, they really started to get into it more and more. 

When the Arabian dancers were introduced and did their number from the ballet, the girls were thrilled, but their favorite moment by far was watching the Sugar Plum Fairy dance. She was beautiful and graceful, and, when they introduced her by her real name, we discovered that she is from New York. Ava thought it was pretty funny to tell Eric that the Sugar Plum Fairy is from New York. For those of you who don't know, Ava is technically "from" New York even though we moved from there when she was 8 months old.

We made some great memories yesterday. After J'Nessa dropped us at home, we found a creative way to get into our house (someone didn't think to grab the keys since she wasn't driving...uh-hem). Ava did some crafting, and I took a short nap before we went to dinner together. Eric and Lukas were gone for the evening at an event for church, so Ava and I had dinner together at Olive Garden, a big splurge for us. I have to tell you, doting on just one child for an afternoon and evening is a sweet treat for me. I love spending time with them together, but getting to enjoy just one of them for a little while with no interruptions is a gift. I cherish it. We had so much fun together sharing a meal (I love that she prefers to share). She is a joy to be with. I love that girl.

Take time to check out the photos I posted if you're my Facebook friend. If not, here are a few for you to enjoy in the meantime!