I wanted to make this whole day special, so we started with specialized pancakes for each kid.
Bee loves flowers.
Gracie asked for a heart with arms and legs.
This picture perfectly captures my life. Gracie is finally the center of attention, so Bee is trying desperately to hoard in on it, and Jerry's screaming, thinking he's forgotten.
Jerry got a green car with purple wheels.
Enjoying their special pancakes-this was the last two minutes of peace I got until bedtime.
Trying (in vain) to get the girls' hair to curl.
I gave up on curls.
We came equipped with a backpack full of things to entertain them during the show. Note to self, no beads next time!
Bee listened so well, she forgot to turn to the audience after the teacher showed her to her spot!
This year was Gracie's second dance recital, and Bee's first. Every night at bedtime, Bee would ask "is tomorrow my dance day?" I think she lived for Thursdays! Gracie was not quite as into it. She was disappointed because her teacher changed on the first day. She was supposed to have the same teacher as last year (who she loves) and we were never told it was changing so she had a big surprise on the first day of class. Some days she'd be excited to go and others she would ask to skip it. We are not allowed to video tape at the actual recital, so I record all the numbers at dress rehearsal so I don't have to spend $30 on the professional video and this way I only have my own kids!
All ready for rehearsal, on our front step.
We have arrived!
They practiced the finale first so we could leave once the kids did their dances.
Bee's first time on stage!
Tap; We Are Dancers
Gracie's whole class.
Bee's class only did one song, ballet to The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Picture day is very emotional for me. Stressful, crazy, exciting, and full of proud momma moments. This year was as bad as last year, stress wise. While I knew more of what to expect from last year, I now had two girls to set situated. Luckily, I was assigned the same day for both girls and they were an hour apart. Grandma came with so that one of us could entertain the girl that wasn't getting photographed. Gracie went first.
"Posing" for momma.
Her group shot. My camera took a really dark photo, so there was a lot of editing to get it presentable.
Bee and Gracie got a sisters shot together. I can't wait to see it!
Waiting for Bee's turn.
Bee's class. Quite possibly the cutest thing ever.
Every year the girls' dance studio has a video tape week, when parents can record their child's dance to practice to at home to prepare for the recital. It was last week.
Gracie's ballet dance:
Gracie's tap dance:
Bee was upset that Gracie got recorded and she didn't, so she put on her own show in the lobby. Her class is on Thursdays and Gracie's is on Mondays.
Yesterday was Gracie's dress rehearsal for her first recital. I was really nervous. She tends to run around a lot during her weekly classes and I wasn't sure what she would do up on stage. We had such a great time together, and she did amazing up on stage! I think she knew more steps than any of the other kids in her class! Of course, it helps that her teacher stands off to the side doing the steps, but as soon as Miss Jordan started a step Gracie would do it without watching. I made a huge deal about how great she did, and how proud I am of how happy she looked on stage. She just lit up. She went on and on afterwards about how fun it was to be on a real stage. I think she's just gotten the dance bug!
Found a feather from someone else's costume.
Posing for Momma.
All the kiddos in our rehearsal time getting ready to rehearse the finale dance.
There are many things I don't appreciate about our studio. The one I was in growing up was much smaller so things are very different here. However, I love how they did rehearsal. It was very smooth and quick~I was anticipating being there all night (as I remember being growing up), but we were in and out in a little over an hour! They had all the students rehearse the finale first, then their tap number. Once they were done with tap they changed to ballet shoes and went right back up. While shoes were being changed, another group was doing one of their numbers. I did get a little frustrated that some older kids were called up before Gracie's 3 and 4-year-old group, but I can't complain about being out of there so quickly!
Disclaimer: That's NOT me giggling in the background. A lady sitting next to me had a case of the giggles when all those cute little pumpkins started jamming. I was busy crying~So proud my sweet girl was participating!
We arrived about ten minutes early, so Gracie gave Bee a pre-dance class lesson on some of her favorite moves from her class.
They started with a song and then horsies!
The last year and a half of watching Gracie danced paid off for Bee. She instantly put the bean bag on her head and started walking around with it without any prompting from the teacher!
If only I'd captured the giggle that went with this picture!
She loved the ribbon dancing. She started as soon as they were in her hands, regardless of music.
All tuckered out after a fun dance class. As soon as they were dismissed she threw herself dramatically on the floor and declared "Again! Another one dance class!" She continued that fit all. the. way. home. I think it's safe to say she loved it.
We put our big Christmas tree last night! First the girls made a couple more ornaments. They painted some puzzle pieces that I hot glued together to look like snowflakes.
After washing up, the girls used markers to color a wooden baby cradle ornament that we got at Jo-Ann's when we bought the tree.
Gracie's snowflake dried enough to add glitter glue, but Bee's was still too wet. We'll finish those tonight.
