Nutcracker, 2012

Clara with "Clara" , "Franz", and a Snow Fairy

My little girl and I made our second annual trip to the Nutcracker yesterday. I love live theater and I am thoroughly enjoying fostering this love in Clara. The community theater in Elizabethtown is the perfect place to start. The Nutcracker performed by local dance groups and "Clara's Tea Party" just before the show are a highlight of our holiday season.

Clara just loves the tea party. She can meet and talk to the dancers and take pictures with them. There was such a difference  in her personality from last year. Last year she wouldn't approach any of the dancers on her own, but desperately wanted to take pictures with them like the other girls were. This year, she could have cared less about eating; she only wanted to go talk to all the dancers and take picture, after picture, after picture, with them all! She confidently approached them, introduced herself, asked questions, and posed beautifully. I was so proud of her.

Me and my girl

As I expected, she was enthralled with the performance. I loved watching her sitting on the edge of her seat with an ear to ear smile on her face. I absolutely love taking her to shows. Now that she's getting bigger and understanding that she needs to be quiet and sit still, we'll start finding more shows to go to together. It will be fun to explore the local theaters in North Carolina when we move there.