the Nutcracker ballet

We took both children to see a matinee performance of the Nutcracker ballet today. We had prepared for it by reading the story and listening to the music, and their Advent calendar present for yesterday were fancy new shoes (Liesl) and a dress-up shirt (Seb) to wear for the occasion.  It was really good. Both children were patient for the whole performance, and Liesl in particular was enraptured - madly clapping and cheering whenever anyone else did. After we tucked her in for bed, she came down the stairs specifically to request that we go back and see the show again. :)  I'm so pleased.