Let's dance!

Dance has officially started and Kate was a little nervous. We signed her up for Creative Dance for 3 and 4 year olds again at the Houston Met and she kept asking me if I had the same teacher as last year. I kept reassuring her that all the teachers there are nice and she will have a fun teacher no matter what. We got there a little early and took some pictures and then checked in and found out our teacher was Ms Marlena instead of Ms Kendra. Ms Marlena is the manager of the Houston Met and we are told she was an awesome teacher. When Kate heard the news she didn't react but I could tell she was still nervous. As the crowd of little girls started to form I smiled when I saw all the little 3 year old girls...they looked so much smaller than Kate! When it was time to go into the classroom there were a few crying girls. Kate started to timidly walk towards the door and she kept turning back at me and waving or giving me a thumbs up. I caught glimpses of her throughout the class and she was having a lot of fun. We are all excited to be dancing again!

dance recital teaser

I'm not sure when I get the official dance video of Kate but I took this video at her final rehearsal before the big night. Can you hear Sawyer whining in the background? Yes, that is why the video is so short. I took more on my real video camera and once I have a husband again he might be able to show me how to get the videos off. Until there, here is a little sneak peek.

She's a dancer!

Tonight was Kate's big night! After months of dance lessons and weeks of talking about how fun dancing on a stage would be (in an attempt to avoid a dance recital meltdown similar to a giving a prayer at the microphone in Primary meltdown) I totally felt like she was ready!
We spent the day running some errands and I bought Kate some glitter for her hair which she carried with her the rest of the day and was so excited to put in her hair. Once I got her hair done and her dress on she kept running back and forth from the mirror to me to "see how beautiful" she was!
We decided not to take Sawyer so we could enjoy the entire performance without distraction which was so nice! We headed downtown and found the swanky Wortham Center where her recital was held. We just so happened to walk in right behind her friend Dillon which was a blessing when I went to drop off Kate at the back door (where she was going to color and eat snacks and wait for her turn...we had prepped her on this many times) and she had a small beginner of a meltdown. Once I told her to take Dillon's hand she did and then meltdown only lasted about 4 seconds. phew. Then Ryan and I walked over to the front door and found our seats in the front row. We weren't allowed to take any pictures or videos in the theater so I just sat back and enjoyed the show.
**side story** When we were in the middle of one of our prepping for the dance recital conversations I told Kate we couldn't take a video camera in and she said, "only Kristens can't take video cameras in?" I laughed.
Kate was the last dance before intermission so we got to see some really cute and really funny dances before it. As each one finished I started to get more and more nervous for Kate. I didn't see a single kid burst into tears in the middle of the stage and I didn't want my daughter to be the first. When the time came I watched her march onto the stage and my heart melted! She did the entire dance and looked adorable doing it! I couldn't have been more proud!
I'm excited to get the recording and rewatch it. Its funny because the entire audience kept laughing really hard and I kept asking Ryan why they were laughing because I didn't see anything funny (I had my eyes on Kate, of course!) and then I saw the cute little youngster that just started in January showing off her really sassy attitude. It was pretty hilarious. Hopefully it didn't ruin the recording though!
After she danced it was intermission and we went to go pick up Kate at the stage door. (They let all the little kids go first so we could leave after intermission.) I had bought some flowers at Target and because I wasn't shopping alone Kate, of course, saw them. I told her they were surprise flowers and we weren't going to talk about it anymore and that got her pretty excited. When we got to the theater and I got them out of the trunk she kept asking me who they were for and I told her I brought them just in case I saw a good dancer at the recital who I wanted to give them too. She was thrilled when she was done and she got her flowers! She told me she was like a princess and like a girl getting married! Once we got outside and I was taking pictures, I snapped the first one and she said, "Did I look like a princess?" She, of course, did!
After the picture taking we walked around downtown and found a place to eat. We sat outside and enjoyed the cool evening weather and the scenic city life while we enjoyed some pizza. It is so funny to see Kate enjoying her time with her parents and without her little brother!
By the time we got home we were all pretty exhausted but it was a fun night. I am very pleasantly surprised and oh so proud that she did as well as she did!

dancing little elf

I have a lot of fun dressing Kate for dance. I love the leg warmers and tutus and her cute little tushie in her leotard. We were feeling extra festive this week. And here is a video of everyone's favorite dance move. It is called "hot hot hot hot...cooooold" and you'll know why when you watch it. She is usually a little more attentive but I was kind of distracting her!

I'm so glad the days of fighting her to go and do are over and we can both just enjoy dance!!

Too cool for school

I'm more behind in blogging than I would like to be, but I wanted to post in the present so here it is.
Presently it is cold. Wonderfully, Christmasy cold. It is currently 48 degrees outside and pouring. We drank hot chocolate tonight and it was delicious. We also busted out Sawyer's winter coat that I bought him oh so long ago for a screaming deal for the first time. To my dismay, the tag reads 12-18 months. What was I thinking? If I was to buy now, it would be 2T. Good thing it was such a screaming deal. Nonetheless, he wore it today and he looked pretty cute in it, walking the halls of Kate's dancing school like he was the star of the football team. And I don't mind the fact that his cute little belly sticks out of it just a little bit! Maybe he'll let me take some decent pictures of him wearing the jacket someday, but for now this is all I could get!
Kate is doing well in dance. She participates in everything and listens to the teacher really well. Today was a little hard because the building is a little ghetto and doesn't have heat so the room was cold. Towards the end she came out and asked for her jacket....and she finished the class looking as "too cool for school" as her brother!

Did you spot the nose picker?

dancing school

I love dancing school! I was so excited this week that I got us there early....again! I guess I just think its further from my house than it is! Luckily I timed it out so we won't be so early next time...but I had a chance to take some pictures before. Do you think I will ever get over how cute she is and how much fun I think this is?!

dancing school!!

Today was the much anticipated first day of dancing school and I think Kate and I were both pretty excited. Ryan even got done at the hospital in time to come over and watch. He got to see her in action a little bit, but Sawyer couldn't stand that a door separated him from all the beautiful dancing women so Ryan took him outside. Poor Sawyer was wishing he was in dancing school too!
My mom was asking me if I thought Kate would be too shy, but I just thought there would be no way with how much she has talked about it! And, sure enough, we put on her shoes and she walked right into the big classroom all by herself while I got to watch through a tiny whole in the door. First they sat on mats and did some stretches and then her teacher, Miss Kendra, went around and asked everyone their names. I waited anxiously to see what Kate would do because we had practiced this.
Me: "What are you going to say when your teacher asks what your name is?"
Kate: "Kate!"
Me: "LOUDER!"
Kate: "KATE!!"
I could see the teacher ask and I held my breath....Kate moved a little.....then the teacher leaned in as if straining to hear....Kate moved again.....and then I saw her teacher mouth, "kate?" SUCCESS!
They skipped and marched and side stepped and it was so fun to watch. Kate watched the teacher and patiently waited her turn. She did everything that was asked of her. And then, at the end, she got a sticker! This is like gold to Kate! She walked out of the room with her other hand on top of it and said, "I have a surprise for Dad!"
So dancing school was terrific and we can't wait to go back!

Kate waiting in the lounge before class. Check out her bun.

How come the kid next to Kate always has a wedgie? remember this? Don't these girls know their bums are ruining my shot?!?...or would you not have even noticed?

I told Kate to go over and stand by Dad so I could get a picture. Check out her hand....yes, she is very proud of that sticker!

I wanna get physical...physical...

Yesterday we drove down the road to the Houston Met Dance Company studio and signed Kate up for a dance class. The 3 and 4 year olds are in "creative dance" and I am so excited for her! We headed straight from there to the store to get her some ballet shoes and dancing clothes. We got her a more traditional pink leotard and skirt, but I bought these tights to go with a handmedown black leotard we already had. I'm planning on making a fun hot pink tutu to go with it, but I just loved watching her run around in this outfit. I was singing Olivia Newton John and giggling as she was running around and watching herself in the mirror at her pretend dancing school!

Can't wait to update you on her progress!