Magical Mystery Tour

So now that my little girl is a BIG girl, we are doing all kinds of grown up things... Last night, I went by myself to see a dear old friend, Chris, performing in Naples with his group "Classical Mystery Tour".  They perform the music of the Beatles, backed up by the local Philharmonic Orchestra!  It's a fantastic show & Chris & his band mates do a wonderful job! We had a nice time catching up after the show, and Chris offered me 2 more tickets for the next night!  Since Rachel LOVES the Beatles so much (yeah, she is definitely MY kid! LOL) I decided to take her to her first concert!  She had a TERRIFIC time and was SUCH a good girl! People sitting around us stopped me to say how much they enjoyed watching her having such fun.  She sang along with the songs she knew, she danced in her seat, and of course got REALLY excited when "Uncle Chris" sang Yellow Submarine! (Which has now become our "Lullabye" before bed every SINGLE NIGHT since the show!)
Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures during the show, but I DID get some good shots of her in the lobby

The first couple of pictures are from the lobby of the Naples Philharmonic.

These are from the Naples Hilton, where Uncle Chris & the rest of the band were staying... They had a Christmas Village around the tree and one of the bellmen came over and turned on the train for Rachel.  She loved it since trains are her latest obsession.

Then I asked her if I could take a picture of her without her making a funny face.. this is what I got! LOL...

And here was our little Princess with her Uncle Chris.  She LOVES the fact that he plays drums!  And what a good Uncle!  Despite how obviously ExHAUSTed he was, he still played "TAG" with her (just for a little while) and laughed at her knock-knock joke!
All in all, her first grown up concert was a complete success!  Thank you Uncle Chris & the Classical Mystery Tour gang!  Can't wait till you come back down for another show!

Happy 4th Birthday to my beautiful Hunan Princess!

This year, we decided to just keep the birthday really simple.  She wanted to make cupcakes to bring into school, so on Thursday evening, that's what we did!  We made enough for the whole class (with a few left over for daddy, of course!)

 Friday morning, she brought in all the cupcakes & they celebrated her birthday in her classroom!  She had a great time.
After school, I picked her up and we headed out to the theater to see her very first "big girl" movie!  We went to see the new Muppets movie, and she was terrific in the theater!  She was a little scared of all the loud previews (I now know NOT to stay in the seats for so long before the show begins.. next time, we can hang out by the games)

After the movie was over, I asked her what her favorite part was.... her answer?

THE POPCORN!!!

I shoulda known!  LOL.  All in all, her birthday was a success!

The day AFTER her birthday wasn't too shabby either!!!  We went out for dinner with Nana & Papa, and Aunt Margie & Uncle Charlie... she got some really cool presents, (Can't believe Margie found her a Sit & Spin!!! how COOL).

Then when we got home from dinner, there was yet ANOTHER present waiting outside the door!  She got a package from cousins Mary & Sue, with something she has been asking for for the longest time!  A Thomas the Train set, including a fire truck & water tank!!!  She was SO excited!

She also got an adorable Dora nightgown with slippers that she insisted on putting on IMMEDIATELY!