ex(PR)essed

Sweet Natalie, the first child of my dear friends Robert and Allyson, made her debut as Mary last night at her preschool Christmas paegent. And, let me tell you, I was so proud to be there as a chief member of her fan club! Natalie is a wonderfully sweet, nurturing little girl, and she seemed perfectly authentic as Mary — unassuming, quiet, thoughtful, and obedient.

Overall, the paegent was…well, noisy! And a little chaotic. And a lot cute!

My favorite moment of the evening was when, just before the paegent started, Natalie was sitting on my lap and suddenly and very discretely reached over to hold her mom’s hand. She just needed that little bit of reassurance that her mom was right there to support her. It was a dear gesture.

And, though Natalie was the star of the show last night, it was certainly a joy to see Emma too! Unfortunately, she’s been a bit under the weather, so she wasn’t quite her normally joyous self. But, she managed a smile or two for me. Tomorrow night we get to see the girls again to celebrate Emma’s birthday!