The Toy Prince

The obsession in our household right now is with the "Toy Prince" ..... Thanks to her favorite television show called the "Little Einstein's," Carolyn referes to the "Nutcracker" as the "Toy Prince." She sings the songs from the Nutrcacker suite, she dances, she can't think of anything other than the Toy Prince (well, other than the color pink and wearing dresses -- she's obsessed with those right now too. Ugh.)

Given this obsession, we really wanted to take Carolyn to see the Nutcracker, but we did not think she would have the patience to sit through a 2-hour ballet. Then, I found a version hosted by the Children's Ballet Theater. They do a show called "Molly Mouse's Sugar Plum Debut." All of the dancers are between the ages of 4 and 18. All are dressed up like mice. The lead is a young mouse named Molly who daydreams about dancing the lead in the Nutrcracker ballet. It was cute. It had all of the music that Carolyn loves. The costuming was bright and colorful. And, the best part, was they did a 30-minute half, followed by a 15-minute intermission, then a 30-minute finale. It was perfect for a squirmy little toddler who does not have much of an attention span.

Here we are at Carolyn's introduction to the ballet. After the show, we stopped at a bakery where she go to pick out a special treat .... she chose a chocolate "pup-cake"

What a fun way to start the holiday as a family!