Arden, like any 2 year old, is quite fond of Elmo. Whatever subliminal messages Sesame sends out in their plethora of Elmo marketing works like a charm. So need less to say, we were thrilled at the opportunity to go see Elmo live with our friends at the RBC Center. And on Arden's actual birthday no less! Thanks to my friend, Ellen, who used to be Elmo in the live show we got the hookup with a meet & greet and front row seats! Thanks Ellen! Now I had a feeling that Arden was not going to be down with discovering how big Elmo is in person and was going to freak out. She wasn't too fond of seeing a life sized cow or horse a couple of months ago, which was my indicator. Like predicted she saw Elmo walking down the hallway towards us, said "Elmo" then realized how big he was, and that he was getting bigger as he got closer. She clung to me with a death grip and buried her face in my neck. No worries, I'm not going to force her to hug and get her pic taken with Elmo, so we backed away and watch Oscar, Sutton, and Killian enjoy Elmo and the Count all to themselves. The RBC center is also where the NC State basketball team plays so there are NCSU logos everywhere and Arden looked over my shoulder and made her wolf howl. I hate to tell her there's a giant wolf too ;-) 
The show was great, especially from the front row! The characters come down of the stage, which still freaked Arden out, but the other kids loved it. Arden was totally enamored by everything to take in as long as they stayed on the stage 10 feet in front of her. At least she then wanted to stay in my lap the whole time. She danced and clapped along and had snacks with her friends. It was a great birthday treat and a good kick off to her Elmo themed birthday!
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