Pinnochio!

As I've written before, for a Christmas present last year Chad got me (what turned out to be) the ULTIMATE gift: tickets for Aly and me to attend The Nutcracker in Atlanta. I've said that since then, Aly wears her ballerina outfit at least 3 days a week, pretends to be Clara everyday ("I'm Clara in the morning and Superman after nap"), counts down the days until her weekly dance class, and wants to listen to nothing but The Nutcracker Suite c.d. in the car. Whether Caroline wanted to our not, the fact that she absolutely looks up to everything that Aly does has made her just as much of a Nutcracker fanatic. So, when Atlanta Ballet called with a ticket deal for three ballets for what we paid for one last year, the Ballerina Daddy jumped on it and presented me with this year's Christmas present: tickets for the girls and me to attend not only the beloved Nutcracker, but also Pinnochio and Cinderella!

With all that said, Saturday was the big day for Pinnochio (and Caroline's first ballet ever!) The girls put on the dresses they've been asking to wear all summer, made the drive to Atlanta, and did a wonderful job. Caroline is still too young to have mastered the art of whispering, but even her questions were all about what she was watching, ("where Pinnochio now?!) which just made me smile. We grabbed a milkshake on the way home at Steak n' Shake (everyone's favorite!), and made it home, excited to tell Chad all about it.

My next goal: weaning The Nutcracker c.d. from every carride... poor Jack will come into this world doing plies and arabesques!

Dressed and ready for the big day

Riding in 'boats' (theatre booster seats) before the show started

Just a couple other pictures from the week...

Sit-and-Spin: the coveted toy of choice

Watching a Superman tribute on YouTube
(yes, two BIG crushes on Christopher Reeve, aka Clark Kent, aka Superman)