Nutcracker Madness!

Yep, it's time to play catch-up. To quote the words of an anonymous reader (cough-mom!-cough), "I know you are a busy lady but I'm getting pretty grumpy about your blog..." So since we're all home sick from church (except for Ryan, who was probably the worst but couldn't afford to take the day off with two speaking assignments and a lesson), I thought I'd give it a go.

So, Nutcracker. First, on a Friday night, Cami and I went with another mom and daughter to a professional production of the Nutcracker. It was wonderful! Cami did great--she was a little tired towards the end, seeing as it started at her bedtime--but we both really enjoyed it.

I'm not sure if the girls had more fun watching the ballet or scampering up and down the many flights of stairs at the auditorium before and after the show. There was also an area set up where you could pay for a professional photo with Clara or the Sugar Plum Fairy, but we just took a couple snapshots before the show. Of course, I forgot my camera, so I was left with my camera phone--no flash. Cami's didn't turn out at all, but Mimi looked cute.

The next day after our first Nutcracker adventure, Lily (as well as Mimi, the friend above) were in the local production of the Nutcracker with their ballet classes. Mimi was a soldier, and Lily was one of the party children doing the doll dance.

Below is our little girl with makeup. Once she got on stage, you could definitely see why they needed it to emphasize their features from a distance, but up close in the dressing room it was very strange. Beautiful and wrong at the same time.

Lily got to bring a baby as part of the dance, so she brought her favorite baby, Brianna. She couldn't choose just one way to pose with her once we got outside.

Silly face

Serene

Demonstrating her dance for us--I wish I would have got a pic of her in costume!

Lily is lucky enough to have Aunt Jill and Jesselah, who drove an hour to watch her dance for 30 seconds. It was a lot of fun for her that they came while she was actually "on stage!" She kept saying, "Now I'm a real ballerina because I did ballet ON STAGE!" and wondered if she was now famous. Of course, the baby had to be in the picture as well.

Cami was there in the audience, so she and Mimi had to pose for us. I call this picture "Mimi's Revenge" (see the picture of Cami doing rabbit ears to Mimi on Friday night above).

Last and least (size-wise) are Maya and Mimi's baby brother. Maya always seems like such a baby until I get her around a real baby. Then she starts acting like the mom. We actually left the ballet early because Maya was throwing such a fit. It was naptime, though, so I understood. I hate it when I miss my nap. ;)