friday night fun night

madelyn and i had a girls' night at the local theater to see the little mermaid jr. we had seen signs while driving last week so i looked into it and decided to splurge on the tickets (like $25 for the two of us - yes, i am pretty cheap). i was a little hesitant because the show didn't start until 7:30 since she goes to bed at 8 normally but the plus was that i could nurse manning down first and not have to mess with pumping and a bottle for matt.

we left the house in a sprint because daddy was late getting home and manning was not interested in sleeping - for the first bedtime ever! i wanted to have matt take our picture before heading out but i forgot. and i forgot to bring the camera with us. oh well. madelyn chose to wear her christmas dress and tiara headband. i did snap a picture with my camera to send to matt when we got to our seats.

the night was a surprise for madelyn. she figured it out when we had to go in a back door (there was some parking confusion and we weren't alone in that either) and who held the door for us but a mermaid! we later found out that she was one of ariel's sisters. seeing a mermaid was all madelyn needed to figure out what we were doing. she was SO very excited!

now madelyn's outfit worked in the context of a princess play, but she didn't know that we were going to a princess play - that is just what she wanted to wear on a night out with mommy. and that is just one more reason to love her.

the play was actually really good! i wasn't sure what to expect from a community theater musical, but there were some really tallented people in the show (there were also a few duds). madelyn loved it. she couldn't wait to see what was next even though she knows the story very well. the songs were mainly disney songs but there were a few additional ones that madelyn really liked.

intermission was also a big hit. i treated madelyn to a bag of fruit snacks and chocolate covered pretzel rods. then she wanted to get some chips too. and not just chips, but cheetos. while delicious, cheetos aren't exactly neat. she was so cute dressed in her finest with chocolate and cheetos around her mouth (which was fixed in a huge smile).

afterwords she expressed interest in auditioning for a future show - but only the princess ones. i am going to look into it since this isnt the first time she has asked about acting. i asked her what her favorite part was and she said "the whole thing was my favorite".

matt had sent me a text during intermission that if we rushed home we could probably make it downtown in time to watch the fireworks after the baseball game. so we rushed out. it also worked out well to rush out because i didn't have to draw attention to the fact that i didnt bring the camera for taking her picture with the cast. again - so upset to have missed the photo ops.

this was my first time going to the hospital to watch the fireworks. matt has taken the kids a few times. we went up to matt's conference room which has a great view of the stadium and is the perfect height for watching the fireworks. the neat part is that you can see where they are launched and feel like you are right next to it when it explodes - plus, the noise is greatly reduced because you are inside. so lucky to get to watch them this way. it was even more fun to watch maddux (it was his first time going too - madelyn and mason are usually the only ones who go with daddy because it is so late at night). he kept going "boom, boom" and almost jumping with each one like he was helping them get up into the sky. and mason was giving a non-stop commentary on the whole show. just one of those sweet moments that i will always remember and wish could be bottled.

such a special evening with a special girl. love.