A milestone maybe? A moment? A memory? I say all three and maybe even an opportunity. I want my kids to experience a lot of things, different things. I want them to see different ways of life. Yesterday was one of those moments to share something new with Nora. Gammie and I took her to see Beauty and the Beast. This was Nora's first trip to the theater, first Broadway, first girls-day-out-to the city, another glimpse at the big world around her. I wanted to show her something bigger.
We had an extraordinary day. We went to Lidia's for brunch. We got all dressed up, girlie. She was a beautiful little girl, dancing, skipping, feeling pretty in her dress. She was a sweet little girl, using manners when she remembered, telling us her observations along the way, using her three-year old vocabulary. She told Gammie at brunch about her drink and food: "the water is fabulous", the chocolate chip scone was "delicious" and that her gourmet grilled cheese was "ginormous". Well, the last one is a Mommy word (giant-enormous=ginormous) but still. It was.
She asked LOTS of questions about the city, driving around, the parking garage, when we would see Belle, would we be late? She was patient. She listened. She applauded during the show with the audience, she learned what "intermission" was and why it is important [it is for potty time]. She learned how to wear a wrist corsage [late in the day]. She complemented a little girl behind us in a costume Belle gown, she told her, "Your dress is pretty and I like your shoes." [Proud Mommy moment - she was genuine, sincere and not at all jealous]. She appreciated the humor of some of the jokes and expressed fear and even dislike of the scary parts [some of the beast's early role is scary, said that she liked it when he was a nice guy and she very much disliked the wolves].
I was proud of her, in awe of her wonderment and ability to drink it all in. I was also intrigued to see her wiggle in her chair at brunch. There were many pats under the table on her leg or bum to reminder her to sit. It was a joy to see her watch herself in the mirror beside her chair that was a divider between our table and the next. Then she really was three. I laughed a little to see her sit in her theater seat and struggle to keep the seat down and not fold her up in the chair. Her 40 or so lbs wasn't enough when she would sit all the way back. I cried when she stood up to see "Be our Guest". Her eyes were wide, her mouth was open, she pointed a few times, her feet danced along with the silverware, plates and cups and objects. She smiled wide as the song culminated. She jumped a little while she clapped. I loved that she was sleepy when it all began. Normally the beginning of nap time. No complaining, no whining [except a little when the Byham Theater director was talking to us about next year's theater series - "Uh, when will Belle start?", she asked], just quiet watching. Tough to be excited when you're tired. She got a second wind with intermission and she hasn't slowed down since. I was sad to see her sad to not be able to speak to Belle. I was amused to see and hear her talk about Gaston and that he was silly, funny and not the one that Belle loved. So many things happened for Nora in the 6 short hours away from home and our normal routine. I was just glad to be there to see it all unfold.
She didn't make it out of downtown before falling asleep in the car on the way home. But not before asking me as I buckled her in her car seat, "Mommy, can we watch Belle movie when we get home?".
We had an extraordinary day. We went to Lidia's for brunch. We got all dressed up, girlie. She was a beautiful little girl, dancing, skipping, feeling pretty in her dress. She was a sweet little girl, using manners when she remembered, telling us her observations along the way, using her three-year old vocabulary. She told Gammie at brunch about her drink and food: "the water is fabulous", the chocolate chip scone was "delicious" and that her gourmet grilled cheese was "ginormous". Well, the last one is a Mommy word (giant-enormous=ginormous) but still. It was. She asked LOTS of questions about the city, driving around, the parking garage, when we would see Belle, would we be late? She was patient. She listened. She applauded during the show with the audience, she learned what "intermission" was and why it is important [it is for potty time]. She learned how to wear a wrist corsage [late in the day]. She complemented a little girl behind us in a costume Belle gown, she told her, "Your dress is pretty and I like your shoes." [Proud Mommy moment - she was genuine, sincere and not at all jealous]. She appreciated the humor of some of the jokes and expressed fear and even dislike of the scary parts [some of the beast's early role is scary, said that she liked it when he was a nice guy and she very much disliked the wolves].
I was proud of her, in awe of her wonderment and ability to drink it all in. I was also intrigued to see her wiggle in her chair at brunch. There were many pats under the table on her leg or bum to reminder her to sit. It was a joy to see her watch herself in the mirror beside her chair that was a divider between our table and the next. Then she really was three. I laughed a little to see her sit in her theater seat and struggle to keep the seat down and not fold her up in the chair. Her 40 or so lbs wasn't enough when she would sit all the way back. I cried when she stood up to see "Be our Guest". Her eyes were wide, her mouth was open, she pointed a few times, her feet danced along with the silverware, plates and cups and objects. She smiled wide as the song culminated. She jumped a little while she clapped. I loved that she was sleepy when it all began. Normally the beginning of nap time. No complaining, no whining [except a little when the Byham Theater director was talking to us about next year's theater series - "Uh, when will Belle start?", she asked], just quiet watching. Tough to be excited when you're tired. She got a second wind with intermission and she hasn't slowed down since. I was sad to see her sad to not be able to speak to Belle. I was amused to see and hear her talk about Gaston and that he was silly, funny and not the one that Belle loved. So many things happened for Nora in the 6 short hours away from home and our normal routine. I was just glad to be there to see it all unfold.
She didn't make it out of downtown before falling asleep in the car on the way home. But not before asking me as I buckled her in her car seat, "Mommy, can we watch Belle movie when we get home?".
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