Tikes Gift Shoppe

After the backstage tour, we took the girls to the Tikes Gift Shoppe at the Schuster. The girls thought it was really neat to be able to shop for us by themselves and they even got to wrap the gifts. One funny side note: Claire decided it would be a great idea to buy a couple little gifts for herself while she was shopping. The little sixteen year old girl that helped her said, "She told me she didn't need to wrap the gifts she bought for herself because she already knows what they are." WHAT?!?! Grammy and I were laughing so hard! Hey, I guess when I am Christmas shopping, I buy something for myself every once in awhile!!! 

Claire with her bag of gifts!

Anna was a super QUICK shopper! She was in and out in no time!

Claire on the other hand, was in there forever. I guess she couldn't decide what she wanted to buy for herself! Ha!

So neat that we got to see Santa while we were there!

After we got home, I gave Claire a sugar plum nutcracker as a momento from her Nutcracker experience!

She LOVES her!

Backstage Tour

Backstage passes were included in Claire's winning package. It was really interesting to see and hear how they run the production. So much is involved behind the scenes!

 Claire with one of the Dayton Ballet representatives who also helped judge the coloring contest. She told us that the decision to make Claire the winner was unanimous!

 Cookies and punch! 

 I was able to sneak a photo of the girls on one of the sets! 

 The girls dancing around on the stage! 

 We got to meet and get autographs from a couple of the cast members.

  Claire especially liked meeting this ballerina!

The Nutcracker

We were able to use the tickets that Claire won to see The Nutcracker last weekend. We had great seats and the girls loved the production (well we ALL did!). It was really such a special time and a memory I'll always keep with me!

 Claire's winning picture was displayed on the plasma screens as you go into the Schuster!

 So neat seeing her name up on that screen!

 She liked seeing her name, too!

 A sweet moment between Grammy & Claire.

 Anna & Nuna waiting for the Nutcracker to start!

 Claire holding her program and ticket!

 We had fun looking at all the old Christmas window displays. My mom remembers going to Downtown Dayton when she was little to look at these. How neat!

 Before the show!

 These pictures are out of order, but this is as we were going into the theatre!

My big girls!

Coloring Contest

Grammy found a neat coloring contest sponsored by the Dayton Ballet. The winner would receive four tickets to see The Nutcracker at the Schuster Center with backstage passes. So, Grammy printed off the coloring sheet of the sugar plum fairy and had Claire color her using all sorts of art supplies including markers, pens, water colors, glitter and more! Claire really did a great job and her attention to detail paid off! She was the 1st place winner of the contest and went up against kids as old as 10 years old. We were all ecstatic when they called to tell us that she won. We were jumping up and down and screaming.... such an exciting moment and one that I will always remember! I am so proud of Claire and all her hard work! 

The "Masterpiece" as we now call it!

Our little artist!

Christmas Tea

One of my favorite Christmas traditions that we started three years ago, is our Christmas tea at Edith Mae's Tea Room. It makes it extra special that both grandmothers are able to go with us! Such a fun time!!! 

 The girls really love putting on all the hats and other fun accessories!

 The BIRTHDAY girl! Anna's 4th birthday was less than a week away!!

 Mmmm! The homemade food is delicious!

 So proper!

 The grandmothers!

 Group photo! 

Can't wait to go back next year!

Brookhaven Christmas

I was so excited that all the McDowells were able to make it to my Grandma's Christmas open house at her retirement community! I know she was so happy to have all of us there and show off her family to her friends! We had a delicious lunch in the dining room, got to listen to Christmas carolers, the kids were able to do crafts and decorate Christmas cookies, meet Santa, and just spend time together!

 Anna is still not sure of Santa (and we definitely don't encourage the love of Santa), but this is much better than years past when she screamed her head off!

Flag Bearer

So, Anna was picked to hold a flag at Cubbies in early October and since then Claire has been asking (more like pleading) to hold the flag. I kept telling her that she needs to sit quietly and raise her hand and soon she'd be picked. Well, yesterday was her big night! She got to hold the American flag and she was very pleased with herself! It doesn't take much, folks!

Special Times

We spent the day with Grandma McDowell yesterday! We especially enjoyed touring Brookhaven looking at the fabulous Christmas decorations they put up. The amount of decorations there was impressive. And of course, we love spending time with Grandma!

SNOW!!!

We had our first snow last week and the girls were ecstatic as they watched the snow flurries coming down (it was so cute to watch them!). So, I couldn't say no when they asked to go outside to play in it... even though it was a slushy mess out there and past their bedtime. Oh well, they're only little once and soon the snow won't be so magical for them!