Big weekend! Sea World & The Nutcracker

What a fun weekend for Claire and I! We spent a lot of time together while Neil spent some one on one time with sicky, Eden. First it was off to Sea World to catch the Christmas shows. The Christmas music was pumping, the decorations were beautiful and it was COLD at first but turned into a beautiful day. The Shamu show was a usual hit but Claire was too excited to stay for the whole thing because she wanted to get to the Sesame Street show as soon as possible. So... we got there 30 minutes early but got a great seat! Ironically, we sat right behind Kate's sister's family and soon Kate and Abbey showed up too! Claire was so excited to see SS with her friend and she was so brave. She went right up to the stage with all the other crazy kiddos. It was a SS mosh pit! The story was cute and the best part was the falling "snow" at the end.

Claire's in the middle looking back at me

Abbey, Claire and Abbey's cousin, Emily. Claire LOVED having an older girl around =) This picture is SOO darn cute.
The next day it was off to The Nutcracker with Grandma and Mimi. I can't even describe how incredible it was to take Claire to The Nutcracker. This was something that my mom would take me to when I was little all the way into my college years. To share it with MY little girl... it was a priceless memory. I had gotten the DVD a while ago to see if she would like the ballet and she was more than hooked. Her favorite was the "magician" or Clara's uncle. Isn't that funny?! Anyway, we pretended ballet everyday, all day so she was more than ready when the day finally arrived!

The day of, she loved getting dressed up and had to bring her little Cinderella purse for the special occasion. We had decent seats but she sat on my lap the whole time being as still and quiet as a mouse, clapping in all the right places (of course, the lollipop Mimi brought helped when we got to the second half!) She already can't wait to go back next year!

Mimi, Claire and Grandma
What a big girl going to the ballet!
I had to get on one too!
I bought this little nutcracker as a momento. It's sitting up by her stocking!
Afterwards, we went to eat on the riverwalk. It was Claire's first time and she was mesmerized by the river boats and ducks. She stayed looking over the railing any time she wasn't eating her bean and cheese taco. We were there long enough to see the lights come on which made Grandma's evening!

Love this girl!
Wow! What a great time! Claire's discovery stage is so overwhelming at times. It makes me experience things all over with her and everything is just so magical. There is so much pleasure in the simple, small things. What a blessing it is to be a mommy!