Holiday Family Fun

Today was such a nice family day together. The moms club that I belong to was able to snag tickets at a discounted group rate for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's holiday concert. The picture shown is of David and Madeline at Kleinhan's Music Hall before the concert began. As you can see, we had good seats.

Good News/Bad News......The good news is that I am thinking that Madeline is pretty much potty trained. The bad news is that Madeline announces *loudly* when she needs to use the potty. Luckily Madeline is developing her performing arts audience etiquette and waits to make her announcements in between songs so as not to disturb the musicians/audience. Of course, this time is also when all those around us hear Madeline exclaim, "POOPIE!" or "On the Potty!" Aside from the two trips to the bathroom, Madeline really enjoyed herself. She liked watching and listening to the Orchestra. Also, the performance included The Greater Buffalo Youth Ballet, a Bell Choir and a special sing-along led by Santa. Her favorite part of the performance was the dancers.

After the performance, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner out. We don't get a chance to dine in Buffalo that often. Usually when we go out now we are in the suburbs closer to our home. We ate at an old favorite of my mom's in the Elmwood district, Toro Tapas. This was a favorite of my mom's because tapas are small dishes that are meant to be shared. Being the "foodie" that she was she was able to sample various dishes. Mom also stayed on top of the dining scene by reading the restaurant reviews each week. I must say, mom was pretty hip on the trendy new restaurants and she actually introduced this place to me. Anyway, this is a nicer restaurant but since it was Sunday at their opening time the restaurant was quieter that usual. Regardless, Madeline was on her absolute best behavior which made the dining experience even more enjoyable for David and me. Yep, Madeline is a great eater. Tonight she brought tapas into the next generation. She learned the wonders of crunchy baguettes in Balsamic dipping oil, a diverse cheese platter that allowed her to graze on various cheeses and several different kinds of fruit, tangerine pulled pork with a corn scallion crepe and best of all (I'll have to send an e-mail to my sister-in-law, Jamie, to gloat)......calamari. That's my girl! Grandma M. would've been so proud of you, Madeline.