Christmas at Phipps

This past weekend we visited Phipps as we do every holiday season. They have beautiful flowers, a great railroad set up with trains, and a very kind / non-pushy Santa. This year they also had the Pgh Ballet doing 30 min sessions with the kids. So off we went!
Things seemed to be going well at first - we got out the door on time after baths, no traffic getting there, and we even found a close parking space. We watched the trains for a bit then headed off to get a seat for the ballet session.
The ballet session was getting crowded but we found a good spot up front. The kids sat on mats so they could dance when it was time, and the parents had chairs set up behind them. Cori waited really patiently for a good 25 minutes, which is asking a lot for her (or any 3 yr old surrounded by other kids and lots of excitement!)

The ballet spokesperson did ask us to not post any pics of their faces on the internet, so I want to respect that; most the pictures will just be of Cori. But they had an 18 yr old dancer dressed up as the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker; she'd been dancing for 14 years! She read the kids a story about the Nutcracker and talked a little bit about the story. The kids loved it. She then talked about ballet and her shoes and outfit. Then it was time to dance! She explained the 5 ballet positions to the kids and showed them how to do each. She then also showed them some "moves". Finally she turned on the Nutcracker music and they practiced what they learned.After the ballet session was over, we changed Cori into her beautiful new dress from cousin Tracey .
We got in line to see Santa, and it was a really, really long line. Obviously everyone had the same idea of visiting Santa after the ballet, plus Santa had just gotten in from the North Pole. We waited probably for about 45 minutes. Luckily we were near the trains so Cori could watch them, and for the most part, she was good. But we were getting close to both lunch time and nap time, and patience in general was starting to wear thin. Cori was very nice to Benjamin though!
Finally we got to see the big man himself! Both kids did great!
After Santa we played with their produce display. What, you don't shop for produce in a fancy dress?
At this time, we'd all had enough and went to head home. Here's where the wheels fell off the cart and the tantrums started. Too tired, too hungry, and done with it all, Cori just freaked out in the family rest room. Ben was scared of her screaming and chimed in too. I wanted to bang my head off the wall and silently wished I could teleport us all home. The rest of the day was particularly tough and we just couldn't figure out why. The next day we discovered that both kids had a horrible cough and congestion; the doctors trip on Monday showed that their lungs were clear and they both had bad colds. (We also found out that Ben weights almost 17 lbs at 5 months!)

It's been a rough few days with the colds and I've been working at headquarters on a huge project which has meant getting up early to leave earlier (it's farther away) and getting home later. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday, and looking at this very cute picture of the kids (it's one of my favorites) helps me remember them in a non-cranky state.