The Greatest Show On Earth

Today we had a big surprise waiting for Emily.  We had tickets to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey circus.  We had show tickets for 3:30 which worked out perfectly.  We put Em down a little early for her nap and she woke up on her own around 2:00.  We headed down to the AAC around 2:30 and were in our seats around 3:15.  We had really good seats and Em just couldn't stop looking around.  I tried several times to take her picture, but she wouldn't look at me.  There was too much other stuff to see.

Shawn got Em some churros.  I had never heard of these before, but they were yummy!

This was the first event like this that we've ever taken Em to, so we weren't quite sure what to expect from her.  Overall, I think she did great!  We didn't have to buy her a ticket since she was under 2, so she just sat on Shawn's lap the whole time.  She alternated between sitting and standing on his lap.  She loved the elephants, tigers, and the acrobats.  It's been a long, long time since I have been to the circus.  It was much more of a show then I expected.  I was expecting 3 small rings and performers to be in each ring.  Instead, there were a ton of performers out at all times.  There was just so much going on.  It was neat seeing how they could train the elephants and tigers to do the things they did.  But most of all, I loved watching Em's reaction to the circus more than actually watching the circus.  She couldn't stop clapping for all the performers.  I love seeing things through her eyes now. 

We made it about an hour into the circus and Em started getting a little antsy.  Shawn and I both knew we were probably starting to press our luck at this point, so we asked her if she was ready to leave and she said yes.  Even though we only made it an hour, we both walked out feeling like it was a successful trip.  Em loved it!  I'm glad that we got tickets and now I'm looking forward to taking her to more things like this!