Friend: You have got to be kidding! You're seriously thinking of taking your 17 month old to the ballet?

Me: (puzzled) Why not? I took her last year and she slept through the entire ballet.

Friend: That was last year! She's a toddler now. You've got to be crazy! (giggling) I'd never even think of taking my kids to anything like that. They wouldn't sit through it. It would be a disaster.

Me: Well, my niece is expecting us to be there to see her perform. She's playing Peter Pan in the ballet "Peter Pan". It's a pretty big thing! Family events like this are very important to us.

Friend: You wouldn't think of leaving her with your parents for this?

Me: Well, I'm sure she'd have a blast with Lola and Grampy! We just wouldn't think of leaving her unless we absolutely had to. We don't go anywhere without our daughter if we can help it.

Friend: You'd enjoy it a lot more if you didn't have to worry about her having a meltdown in public or behaving badly.

Me: She's actually pretty good when we're out. Hasn't had a meltdown or behaved "badly" in public. Sure, she sometimes makes a little noise if she's tired. Other than that, she does what a toddler is supposed to do. She does enjoy music and dance though. We'll see. Plus, I don't think Hubby or I would enjoy a family outing without our daughter.

Friend: Consider it a date or some time just the two of you.

Me: Nah. We're going to take her to the ballet. I think it's important to give her the opportunity to enjoy the arts and learn how to behave in public. She needs to learn that going to functions like these are things that are normal for us and hopefully she'll enjoy it and learn to appreciate it.

Friend: Call me tonight and let me know how it goes. Good luck!

Actually, I do realize that Little One is older now and doesn't sleep through concerts, movies, church, or other social events anymore. This was sort of a trial run though. Hubby, Little One, my Mom, my friends, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and nieces are coming to see the musical I'm in this summer. I wanted to see how Little One would fare at the ballet before Hubby brings her to the play. If she totally couldn't handle being still or quiet for the ballet, maybe my Dad could babysit her and Hubby could enjoy the play.

We were sort of (but not totally) surprised that Little One was amazing during the ballet. She was a bit "bouncy" (she kept jumping up and down with the music) and our arms got a good workout. All in all, she was really well behaved for a 17 month old at the ballet! She was mesmerized by the music and dancing. We were in the front row and she had a great view of all the dancers. She didn't even make any noise. Not even a peep!

Little One clapped at the end of each act and for the standing ovation. It was so cute! She saw that everyone was clapping, so she clapped too. Hubby and I are really proud of our little girlie. Okay, relieved too. Very relieved.

Poor kid went to bed way before her normal bedtime! We were out late last night because we spent time with Hubby's family. We were out all day today with church this morning, lunch with friends, and then family time and the ballet in the afternoon. Hubby keeps reminding me how very blessed we are. We do have a pretty good kid. I have to remember this every time she throws all our clean and folded laundry all over our house or shreds all the Kleenex and newspaper in Hubby's office.
Have a listen to some songs that have been entered in the Manitoulin Tourism Association song contest. They reflect how truly beautiful "the Island" is.

If you haven't entered the "Read to your Bunny" contest yet, there's still time. The contest closes tomorrow and the winner will be announced on Tuesday!

The deadline for the Iams ProActive Health contest is still open. If you've got a special four-legged family member of the canine variety, enter for your chance to win a free bag of dog food!