Henry and Mudge

I took Ian and Chase to see their first play today. I'm hoping that a little of my drama dorkiness has been passed down to them.

By chance, my friend from high school (Fadi) is in a touring show of Henry and Mudge, and they came within 2 hours of our home. So, I started preparing for the trip at 5am this morning. Chase had therapy at 9:15 (she came a little early) and by 10:15 we were in the car ready to go. We drove all the way to Middle of Nowhere, NC (and I didn't get lost!) and arrived at the theatre with 20 minutes to spare! Unbelievable.

I don't think Ian knew exactly what to expect. He loves Henry and Mudge books, and he's been to the movies before, but trying to describe a musical production of the story just wasn't easy.

He kept asking for popcorn to eat when the movie started.

But as soon as the first actor stepped out on stage, I think he got it. He turned to me with this enormous goofy grin on his face when they started singing. It made me want to cry (those happy, hormonal Mommy tears- yes, the same ones that surfaced at the Rennaisance Festival and the Thanksgiving Day parade last year). I told him to clap when he liked something, and he kept giving little Ian rounds-of-applause. He also laughed 5 seconds after everyone else did at the funny parts (he's still developing his sense of humor, I gather :)

The show was an hour long, and Ian sat, completely entranced, for a full 50 minutes before announcing "I don't yike this anymore" during the only quiet pause in the entire show. Luckily, we were in box seats, so he could get out of his chair and wander a bit without bothering anyone.

And Chase? The perfect theatre baby. He smiled at everyone as we came in, flirted with all the elementary school girls (this was apparently a BIG field trip destination) and the grandma-usher ladies. He nursed a little, watched the show, and quietly drifted off to sleep.

After the show, we met up with Fadi at the local podunk McDonald's. Ian ate one chicken nugget and an entire hot fudge sundae, then played with a little southern girl on the playground while I caught up with Fadi (and Chase slept). I wish we had more time to chat. It's hard to catch up on 3 years in an hour. Hopefully he'll be able to swing by the L&B B&B sometime.

The ride home was uneventful except that we had to stop on the side of the road so that Chase could eat. Both boys fell asleep (ah, the peace!) and I sat in traffic for a while without hollering at anyone to stop throwing peanut shells from the backseat (note to self: although peanuts in shells may keep Ian busy for snack in the car, they make for many small missiles later on).

Good times :)