In our Christmas-loving house, the days following Dec. 25 can be a sugar-coated letdown. But one member of the family is clearly relieved that the holiday is over. Sophie never really did embrace the Christmas spirit this year — which is weird, considering she’s always been my Santa-believing, carol-singing, present-obsessed kid. But this year she […]

This past weekend, Sophie  performed onstage at the Herberger Theater in downtown Phoenix for the third year in a row. The production is Snow Queen and as far as I know, Sophie’s the only kid with special needs (definitely the only one with Down syndrome) who’s ever been in this show, sort of a Nutcracker […]

I heard a small voice behind me. “Where’s Sophie?” I’d been wondering if anyone would ask. It was almost halfway through the Saturday night performance of the Snow Queen, and the sprites — already covered in green glitter, hair teased in ponytails all over their little heads – were putting on their unitards and wings, getting ready for their […]

Annabelle squeezed out a few tears at bedtime last night. I couldn’t blame her — I wanted to cry, too. Snow Queen was over. This was her third year appearing on a big stage in downtown Phoenix, in the city’s alternative to the Nutcracker. Her second (and almost certainly last) year as a rosebud, which she […]

Lately, I’ve been telling people that Annabelle won’t be going to religious school this year because she’ll be attending the church of dance, instead. I’m not really kidding. This year, Saturday morning class has been joined by Wednesday afternoon class (this time with my mom, who runs the studio — how could I resist?) and […]