Mommy-Daughter Date

When Brad and Amalie came back from their annual Daddy-daughter date at Jumpin' Jacks (pictured above), I had to admit I was a little envious. I think it is awesome that they have an event scheduled every year (on each child's half birthday). I wondered how I could do the same. It would be so much easier to remember if it were the same day or weekend every year. After deliberating for some time, I still did not have a great date picked out. I would just have to remember each year to set aside the time, since it is so important to me to have time alone with each child.

Fast forward a few months later: I was looking for events. I saw that a lot of Dance schools were having their end of the year recitals in May. I adore dance, but alas, it is not something Brad appreciates. However, Amalie loves it. The Dance Conservatory- a dance school for children 3-18 was having a concert, "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub". The pictures looked darling, so I decided Amalie and I had to have a Mommy-Daughter night.

I figured since it was free, if we had to leave early it would not be a big deal. To my surprise, Amalie was CAPTIVATED. I was impressed as well and thoroughly enjoyed it. We had perfect seats and she gave a most excellent commentary. She would say "Is it over?" every time the stage lights would turn down. Then she couldn't stop saying how silly King Bidgood was because he refused to get out of the bathtub. Then she was completely confused when she saw a man doing ballet. She kept saying "He's not supposed to do ballet!" It was quite funny! I am so thrilled I found a perfect companion to enjoy ballet with.

Afterwards, we walked over to a hamburger joint and shared an order of fries. I ordered Amalie a kids cone and when I asked for a bite, she refused. I was a little saddened by that, so finally I said, "Amalie, do you think if I had an ice cream cone, I would share with you?" She answered in the affirmative. Then I said, "How do you think you would feel if I said 'NO! NO!' like you did when I asked you for ice cream?" She answered that she would feel sad. I didn't say anything after that and a short time later, she allowed me the tiniest of licks. (Paper Punch-hole sized) Soon, she started giving me every other lick. She started to grin and said "We like to share, don't we?" Her face was glowing with happiness. She felt incredible. Now, that's the power of giving.

I was thrilled that our little teaching moment had been so successful. She felt so good that she shared! It was wonderful to see. What a fun date we had! Let's do it again, Amalie!