Ballet Recital 2013

 

Kaitlin started ballet up again t in February in the nick of time to be able to participate in the recital.  We did gymnastics the first half of the year and ballet the second.  It worked out great.

The theme of the recital was "A Red Carpet Gala" with movie themed music and costumes.  It was really cute!  Kaitlin's ballet dance was to Cinderella's "Impossible, it's Possible"  (Never heard of it before and we're avid Cinderella fans, but okay) and her tap was to "Singin' In the Rain."  She wore a pink sparkly tutu, sure to be a hit with any 5 year old.

Dan had the opportunity to attend a Mariner game 9 rows off of first base and was going to turn it down because of Kitti's recital.  I told him to go ~ and was so glad.  He took Matthew, Mike and Isaiah with him and they had a fantastic time. It was Matthew's first MLB game and he really enjoyed it!



Matthew and Isaiah ended up on the "Big Screen" and they had a great time.  Kaitlin was thrilled to have Grammie at the recital, dance on stage, and receive flowers.  There were plenty of people in the audience to appease her, so it worked out for all.



They had a cute photo area set up and so we took some photos of the girls.  Kaitlin took ballet with Lila and Kennedy.  Lila is SO petite and Kaitlin is very tall, so it was funny to see them side by side. :)



Sweet ballerinas.




Me and my girl.



Kaitlin's ballet dance was her first performance.  I didn't get many great photos.  The lighting was low and my dinosaur of a camera just couldn't manage it.  I salvaged some through my photo editing software but they're still pretty bad.  I do love this one of Kaitlin and her dainty hands.  She is our most coordinated child and has been since infancy.  Her motor skills have developed much more quickly and easily than the boys'.



And always, always a curtsey. 



A quick removal of the underskirt and change of a hairpiece, add an umbrella and she was ready for tap!






It was such a sweet performance.  I smiled all the way through both dances, it was SO precious.  Just  one of those moments where your heart sort of melts in a puddle.  I loved every moment of it.

I ran back stage to give Kaitlin her flowers and bring her back to the audience so she could watch the rest of the performance with me.  (The small kids were allowed to do this).





We were in the front row and at intermission Kailtin sat on the stage for a photo.  Next thing I knew she was up dancing on the stage.



Her face kills me.

No doubt she was imagining that she was doing something pretty spectacular.

Kaitlin loves to perform.



I was really impressed with how talented the dancers were.  I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and the time just flew by.  This was an interesting "dance" and I couldn't help but wonder how their parents felt watching them do this!  No, thank you!



We were so happy Grammie could come up for the occasion. 



Though it was late when the recital ended, McDonald's was still open and the perfect stop for some celebratory ice cream!

Ballet Observances & Parenting Lessons

 

One thing about Kaitlin...she loves to perform.

So when the time came for the parent viewing day at ballet, she was in full effect.

While other little girls nicely followed the teacher's instruction, Kaitlin was put on a show.

 

The girls start with tap....

 

And here's my girl....



So very Kaitlin.

So glad she's mine.

And then they put on their ballet shoes and had some fun free dancing with ribbons...



And then they move into another room to practice ballet.

Kaitlin and Kennedy were paired for a portion of their dancing and I snapped a couple of cute photos of them.  Love this one. Kennedy's expression is just so sweet.



These two girls have strong personalities and a lot of passion between the two of them.  They can butt heads when they want to go in different directions, but you can't beat the joy when they work together.  This is just so cute.



Notice Kitti's tights?  The hole on her shin?  I'm not exactly sure how a ballerina manages it, but we have now gone through three pairs of ballet tights in 3 months!!  Her knees are dirty from crawling around all over the studio....

 


I love this of Kitti and Miss Amanda....

 

The little girls then danced across the floor choosing whatever they would like to do.  They started on one end and danced to the other.  Everyone, except this little one....

 

Getting ready for her show.

 

She made it to the end and instead of stopping she rounded the corner and kept right on going!

 

And going!

I'm not sure how many laps she did before Miss Amanda asked her to wrap it up.

After it was over the little girls all went to their parents who hugged them and said all sorts of sweet things to their kids....

Except me.

I confess, I had what we call in our house, a "Mommy Dearest" moment.

As the other little girls received hugs, I whispered reprimands in Kaitlin's ear.
 
It was fueled by a lot of things that I needn't go into, only partly by Kaitlin's behavior during the session.  I have not had a lot of patience lately.  And I could have handled it better.  I instantly regretted it as Kaitlin dropped her head in shame & sadness.  After I'm sure what she felt like was a beautiful, joyful performance.

And then it was me that felt shame in my heart.

I could see in that moment how in an attempt to teach a child humility or obedience,  you can easily end up crushing their spirit.  It is such a fine line.

And Kaitlin's' confidence and spirit is one of the things I love most about her.

Parenting is so hard.

I learned an important lesson on this day.

I look forward to the next time when I can do better.  When I can receive my proud little dancer with kisses, hugs and loving words affirmation.  Because I really am so proud of her. 

Father's Day ~ Part 2 ~ The Recital

We arrived to the recital and the pre-schoolers had their own room to wait in back stage.  Guess who was the helper for that room?  Auntie Shannon!!



Kaitlin was delighted.  I think she'd move right in to Shannon's house if I let her.

Here was the bad part.  I was trying to remember so many things when we left the house in the morning before Mike and Michelle's house that I didn't think about a snack for Kaitlin in the afternoon!  I fed her breakfast when she got up and so she wouldn't eat at Mike and Michelle's...so when we arrived at noon for the recital one of the first things kaitlin said in the room was, "I'm hungry."  Oh no!  We were looking at 3 hour stretched ahead with a hungry 4 year old and no food.  Not good.  Shannon had a package of fruit snacks in her purse and the healthiest offering at the concession stand was caramel corn.    So that's what she ate!

 

The girls were waiting in the hall before going out.  Does the Bug look excited, or what?



Then the big moment arrived!  Kaitlin's dance was called "English Country Garden."  The girls were supposed to be flowers. :)



Oh my goodness.  It was so sweet.

Kaitlin was not a bit shy or scared!  I love her self confidence.   I hope she is always so self assured.  The world has a way of making us question ourselves.

At the end of the dance the girls forgot what to do, and Kaitlin was the one to lead the way to the final pose....



Which was a complete disaster in the cutest way possible.  Kaitlin was waving to us in this photo. :)  We ended up leaving at intermission.  She had already been there for 3 hours and though she was supposed to be there for the finale most of the little ones just skipped out.  It was just too long of a day for them.  So we left too.  We had a movie to catch!



Our little ballerina after her recital.  So proud of you, Bugaboo!  Her flowers were her favorite part.  She put them in a vase next to her bed.



And a picture with Nana too.

I loved the recital.  I loved watching Kaitlin.  I so enjoyed watching all the dancers, and getting to see Shannon's daughter, Hannah dance.  It was really fun.  But I have to say, I definitely was relieved and happy when we were done!

One more Father's Day post to come!

Ballet Begins! (And a quick catch up)

Katie has been talking about "dance class" since she was 2. She has been dreaming about this day for a long time. After I put her little outfit on I told her,
"You're a REAL ballerina!"
She smiled and said, "I'm a REAL ballerina?"
"Yes!" She hugged me and said,
"Thank you, Mama!"

Sweetness.

'Course a ballerina outfit presents a photo opportunity in our house.



The Bug had to warm up first with a few plies. Then she struck her poses.







Andrew was so cute. He was standing there watching and then gave a sigh and said, "All right, I'll dance with her."
Like I had been begging him.
I hadn't even thought of it or brought the topic up.
But you can see by his face he enjoyed it. And oh my, it made Kitti's day.



They twirled and twirled.
Andrew is so sweet like that.


I love this.
Look at his face. :)
Fun over. This was right before he declared himself "done." :)



More posing.



I liked the band aid under her tights.



Sweet feet.



I love things that are Pink and fluffy.
Probably why I like peonies.



And then it was time to go!



True to Katie's nature she joined in and was confident from the start. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time and so there wasn't a moment's hesitation.
Just like pre-school, she was ready to go!



Sweet Gracie wasn't so sure at first.  Shannon ended up doing part of the class with her and then she had fun.  She just needed a little warm up time.



I think Katie has observed her middle brother enough to adopt some of his silliness. :)



The class did really well and the instructor said it was a great class. They were very attentive, she said it was very unusual.



There was bar work as well. Being serious ballerinas & all.



More pinkness.



The girls were given balloons. (That Mama accidentally released when I was buckling Katie into her seat. Ooops).



Our pretty ballerinas.
It was a wonderful lesson. The only hiccup is that they do Tap during her class as well (but not the first day), and Katie is emphatic that she does NOT want to do tap. ONLY ballet. We'll see how that goes.....

On to other things.  Matthew is always building, building, building with Legos.  He's really good at it and has such a passion for it.  Here is one of his contraptions.  A mixer!





He made chocolate milk for Andrew and Katie one night.  He builds things from his imagination that are impressive and can definitely read the lego instruction manuals better than I can.  He's very spatially oriented.  He did NOT get that from me. 

And as you read the next part, please know that I'm not trying to complain (though I do find myself complaining in real life sometimes and I had a conversation with myself today about stopping that!  I hate listening to myself complain about something that I can control and made a choice to do.)  But I really do want to record what life is like right now as it continually changes and this is where we're at.   I feel a little like I did the semester in college when I decided to take 18 credits (which being a chem major there was a lab in there that was a one credit class but 3 hours of time ~ I always felt lik that was so unfair).  And I was teaching two quiz sections of Chem 101 which meant teaching two 3 hour lab sections, holding two one hour quiz sections, and holding office hours plus grading two classes of labs/homework each week.  I was crazy busy.  I liked to push myself but I definitely felt maxed that semester.

I'm feeling  a little like that right now. Our fall schedule is ramping up and we add something each week as activities start up. (This week my bible study starts along with volunteering in the boys' classrooms on Friday afternoon ~ trading off one each week). Next week we'll add tennis in for Matthew once a week and we'll officially have something every day of the week including saturday and sunday.  We're taking a great parenting class on Sunday mornings at church that I'm SO glad we're taking it just definitely feels like a sacrifice of time adding in the extra hour at church when our weekdays are so full already.  But it's an important topic (Spiritual Parenting) ~ one that I know very little about and is the highest priority to Dan and I, so we really want to go.  Our whole small group is taking it, so that is really fun.

It is going to be a busy, busy year. By far the busiest we've had. Dan said this will probably be the worst ~ at least for a while...simply because of the 3 different school schedule logistics coupled with the activities. I'm just coming and going throughout the day so my days are very chopped up, and am continually transitioning the kids.  It's a little nuts and I didn't help matters by adding in activities. So please don't read this in a complaining tone ~ I've certainly had a hand in it and I know most parents feel this way. It'll be much better when November starts and Tae Kwon Do, Tennis and Soccer will all be over. It'll help a LOT. I'm just hanging on and trying to be as efficient and organized as possible until then.  I'm pretty much just always in motion right now.  Again, really trying to not sound like I'm complaining I know there are people who are much busier than me with far more responsibility (I always think of single working Moms ~ my hat is off to them!)  Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure out the best way to manage things after a couple more weeks and it'll be better.  That's how it usually goes with each new school year/change.

In other news, Andrew is adjusting so well to school!  I am both surprised and SO happy and proud of him.  I have not heard ONE word from his Kindergarten teacher (since her initial encouraging call)!  This is a first.  :)  I am anxious to go in on Friday and hear/see first hand how he's doing, but Andrew is reporting that he's making good choices!  I think he'd tell me if he was doing otherwise.  He is however, tired.   He has never had so much on his plate before.  He has Kindergarten, Tae Kwon Do twice a week and soccer twice a week (he LOVES it).  I wouldn't normally do two activities at once but the Tae Kwon Do is a 6 mo commitment and Andrew really wanted to try soccer ~ which I'm very glad we did.  It's a lot, but he is managing it so well.  Amazingly well, for our little guy.

I tucked him into the sofa one morning with a movie when we had some time at hom and just let him rest.  I am really, really proud of him.



He looked so snuggly in there.

And now, I need to head to bed as another week starts up tomorrow and Mon/Tues are my busiest days.

'NIght!