What did you say!?!

I took Maudie to go see Sesame Street Live last Friday night. As an adult I have fond memories of the show (as do most adults) however, there are few joys in life greater thanto see the thrill & excitement on a preschoolers face when they are truly deeply happy. Here are some snippets of our evening...

On the way to Menona, where we were meeting Ange & Jaiden for dinner, I don't think she was silent for more than the time it took her to take a drink of water to wet her tongue so she could talk more. She was so excited and she let everyone know.

I have been trying to teach her some simple rules of the road, including what a stop sign is & what the colors on a stop light mean. She gets the stop lights however, the stop sign shape precludes her. She gets "stop" and she gets "sign" however she does not get "stop sign." In the 15min drive across town, she pointed out every street sign, every speed limit posting and every traffic sign as "STOP SIGN", "ANOTHER STOP SIGN", "STOP SIGN!" That was until we hit the interstate, and the signs got really big then it was "WOW, BIG SIGN" "BIG GREEN SIGN" "MOM, DID YOU SEE THAT ONE?"

We met Ange & Jaiden for a carbo loaded dinner at Noodles & Co. which is the perfect spot for a dinner date with a 2-year old. It's quick, yummy and kid friendly. I steered toward the Japanese Pan Noodles while Maudie decided on the Macaroni and Cheese at least a week in advance. When we got to the front of the line she yells to the lady taking the order, "Me want Mac-roni and Cheese, Pleeeeeesssssssseeeeeeeee" We took our soda cups, filled them up and decided on a booth near the window.

When Jaiden arrived he hopped into the booth a declared "Hi, Maudie!" She replied, "Hi, Jaiden!" as if they go on dinner dates together all the time, & it's no big thing. They jabbered back and forth while eating their Mac n cheese (Maudie insisted on using chopsticks) but what they were talking about is beyond me, they had their own little conversation going... just like a little date. They are two peas in a pod. Ange & I kept to ourselves.

Fast forward to the show, and Big Bird is the first to make an on-stage appearance. Maudie yells, "Big Bird, It's Me! I right here". She did the same thing for Elmo, then yelled to him "Come sit my me, Elmo talk to me!" To her, she personally knew the characters and there was nobody else in the venue, but us.

Elmo and the other characters were coming off the stage and dancing and singing with the kids in the front row. Only naturally, she didn't understand why they didn't come up to the nose-bleed seats. So, after intermission Ange & I snuck us down to the front in some of the empty seats. Jaiden & Maudie got so wild in their dancing the ushers shoo-ed them back to their seats, twice. We had flash-forwards to taking them to concerts when they are teenagers and having to peel them off the stage. We're in trouble.
They had an incredible night and by the time we got in the car Maudie was beat. We pulled out of the parking lot and on to the beltline when she said in her sweetest voice, "Mommy, Thank you taking me see Elmo" my heart melted.

Halfway home I turned up the radio to "Dancing Queen" and Maudie said to me. "Mom, turn music off. I too tired to dance anymore." She added a little later, "I go home, put jammies on and go night-night in my bed with Elmo"