Mommy Daughter Date to the Nutcracker

I have enjoyed taking first Lia and then Ella and Lia to see a local ballet studio's performance of the Nutcracker since 2012 when Lia was four years old.  It has been something that I have looked forward to doing every holiday season and have loved sharing this special activity with my girls.  When we went for the last time in December 2019, Lia informed me that she found watching the performance 'boring' and that she no longer had any interest in going again.  As sad as this was, I just so grateful that I still had one little girl who absolutely adored going to see this ballet with me.  After all Nutcracker performances in our area were cancelled last year due to the pandemic, I was so happy to be able to purchase tickets for Ella and me when they went on sale last month.  

After spending all day yesterday on my death bed due a severe reaction to getting the Covid booster shot the day before, I woke up feeling about 80% normal this morning which was a good thing as our schedule was packed today.  Both Logan and Ella had 8:40 appointments to get their second Covid vaccine and both of them had basketball practices, too.  Ron and I divided and I took Ella to her practice at 11 a.m. and then ducked out a few minutes early so that we could run home with enough time to eat lunch and get changed before heading out the door to watch the 1:30 matinee performance at the Auburn Performing Arts Center.

Since Ella is the one child of my three older children who absolutely craves one-on-one attention from anyone, it was such a treat to spend the afternoon with her.  As always, she loved picking out a pretty, Christmas-themed dress to wear and looking at all of the pretty and sparkly wares in the gift shop once we arrived.  She was thrilled when I let her pick out a tiara to purchase.  Ella then had such a great time watching the ballet from beginning to end.  Although I totally forgot to reread our children's book of The Nutcracker this week, she totally remembered the storyline and understood everything that was happening on stage.  She was even concerned about missing the beginning of the second half of the performance when the lights blinked in the lobby during intermission and insisted that we return to our seats.  I loved looking over at her several times throughout the show to see Ella sitting on the edge of her seat totally enraptured by the dancers on stage.  Although I think that her ballet days are limited as she seems to enjoy her weekly gymnastics practice more than her ballet lesson, I will treasure the few remaining years that we have together to participate in this holiday tradition.  Thanks for going with me, Ella!  I loved spending this time with you!

Ella posing next to the large nutcracker in the lobby.

Mommy and daughter standing next to the mannequin wearing a sugar plum fairy's tutu.

Waiting in the theater for the show to begin!

Ella taking a 'selfie' with my phone since I am awful at taking these kind of pictures.

Just like Lia when she was younger, Ella LOVES posing with the dancers after the performance once they come out into the lobby.  Here she is with the lead dancers of the Flowers, Spanish, and Marzipan dances from The Land of the Sweets Act.

Ella standing between two of the snowflake dancers.

Ella posing with the two stars of The Land of the Sweets--the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier.

And, last but definitely not least, my little girl stand with the stars of the first act--Clara, the nutcracker, and Herr Drosselmeyer.