Princess, Frogs and Parties

Quick recap on our weekend before we rush headlong into Christmas...

On Saturday afternoon we went to see a children's play, the Princess and the Frog, down near Universal Studios. The Prince/Frog was played by Iain, Melanie's boyfriend of a couple of months. They met while acting in the same college play, and funny enough, Iain is also from England.

Cora enjoyed the show, and it was ideal for her because there was no "bad guy" or "naughty lady" to scare her.

At the beginning, she kept asking to go up on stage, since she's now used to singing and dancing on stage at the beginning of Pioneer Club. About halfway through the show, the children were all invited up to sing along and dance to one of the numbers. Cora at first refused to go, and then walked up very s-l-o-w-l-y, and then stood in the front and picked her nose with an unhappy look on her face. Classic! (And, classy!) Finally, about halfway through, she started dancing around with a big grin on her face.

After the show, she bravely went up to the cast members to ask for autographs, though she mostly refused to pose for photos with them.

On Sunday afternoon, we went to our friends' house for a Christmas/engagement party.

For years, Steve and Linda have hosted a nearly annual Christmas gathering for their closest friends. This year, we had the added pleasure of celebrating the engagement of their daughter Casey to Bradley, her long-time boyfriend.

Casey and Bradley have asked Cora to be their flower girl next July, so it will be very neat to have a part of the big day.

The party was really fun, with great food and an entertaining White Elephant gift exchange.

Cora had a few real gifts to open - in the fourth photo, I'm holding a Santa set with a little plate, mug and notepad and pen for leaving a Christmas Eve message and snack for St. Nick. We tried to have Cora pose with us, but you can just see her escaping up the stairs.

Cora was very well-behaved, and every time I lost track of her, I'd find Casey walking around with Cora on her hip. They should get along very well at the wedding!