Sesame Street Live

Hanging out with Oscar the Grouch.

So excited to see Abby Cadabby!

Playing in Big Bird's nest

My girl loves her some Elmo! Sesame Street Live was a huge success and worth every penny. We bought the tickets knowing we may have to leave early in case Claire got scared of the characters or being in a dark, loud room was too much for her. With babies, you just never know. But, fortunately, she did so well. I braced myself all week for the crowds, the screaming kids everywhere, and the other high-anxiety parents (just like me) trying to keep track of them, but the place was empty. No lines to bathrooms. Empty seats all around. Only took us 3 minutes to get popcorn, a hotdog and some drinks. You could still buy tickets at the door. Maybe the early showing on Sunday is a less popular time but it totally rocked for us. I was relaxed, calm and stress free. We had fabulous seats - seven rows back from the stage and about an arm's length from the mini stage where characters would come out and dance periodically throughout the show.

Claire in her popcorn-induced coma.

We were so close to the characters!

She had to push all the buttons to make them talk!

Not too amused with the Sesame Street stoop.

My little music lover cried when she had to leave the tiny piano.

Claire loved seeing them up close. Ernie stopped to shake Claire's hand during the show and she was smitten. The only character she didn't seem to fond of was Count Dracula. The closer he got to her, the closer she got to papa. And I don't blame her - that dude is creepy with the pointy-dark features, vampire fangs and arched eye brows. My girl has got a good sense of stranger danger. She made it thru the first half of the show in a trance - I'm not even sure she blinked. She sat there and didn't take her eyes of the stage, clapping, smiling, dancing. We let her run around a bit during intermission and, while she did well, the second half she was a little more antsy. Switching from mama to papa's laps and wanting to be snuggled. I definitely think an hour and a half show was a bit too long but we did make it to the end. Overall, it was so much fun. Definitely a different way than we had ever celebrated Cinco de Mayo in the past but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Plus, we got out of there without purchasing the $10 Elmo balloon, a $15 t-shirt or any of the other memorabilia. Score! Can't wait for next year. I'll leave you with the best photo we got of the three of us: