St. Patty's Day

Top of the mornin'! Today was a day for wearin' green, which ye best be sporting on a day like today, or else ye might get pinched!

Aye! Madison dressed up in a fanciful St. Patrick's Day outfit that had everyone turning their heads. Even Daddy has his new Irish ballcap on, so the two of us were ready for a day out on the town - without having to worry about getting pinched!

This morning's first stop was music class, which is always fun. Madison was learning "do" a few weeks ago, and then "ra" last week. So today we hit "me" in class - literally. There's a song where we find these keys on the piano ("me" is to the right of the two black keys), and Madison had a great time pounding the keyboards like a dignified pianist. The class is always great because of the mix of instruments, drawing notes, finding notes, and interaction. The other kids love it too, and the teacher has been great at keeping the flow moving forward.

After piano lessons, it was time for lunch! There's this new Irish restaurant in Gainesville, the "Irish Bred Pub," which was fun. Everyone wore green in that restaurant, patrons and employees. Irish music played overhead, and the food was good too. Mommy got corn beef and cabbage, while Daddy got shepherd's pie. There was so much food that we couldn't finish it! Then it was time to head home for some rest.

Here's a few leprechauns we caught on our last trip to Gatlinburg. We let them roam about the kitchen table for a festive atmosphere, along with an Irish flower arrangement Ye-Ye created a few years ago. After a bowl of Lucky Charms and a watching of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," Madison will be really feeling her Irish heritage strong!

This evening, we began our ballet classes, and as you can tell from this photo, Madison was having a wonderful time. Simply dressing up as a ballerina was very special for her, and soon enough there were fourteen other tiny dancers, all dressed in pink just as Madison was. Our first class went well, with Madison able to imitate everything her teacher instructed - for the most part. It was an hour long class, and with fourteen toddlers, the teacher was quite patient. You could tell that all the children wanted to be there than anywhere else on earth. They all had a splendid time. And, of course, Mommy and Daddy did too. We were delighted, watching Madison do turns, leaps and work with her toes. If you'd like to see her perform, by the way, you're welcome to join us soon: she's going to have her first ballet recital!