Dance Like Nobody's Watching*

Abbey's birthday is in February, which means that she is a little young for most preschool programs in our area.  Not to mention that we weren't sure about sending her yet, anyway.  Those of you who spend time with our girl know that she can be slow to warm up to new situations.  Once she opens up, she is a chatterbox and a sparkling ball of hilarity (in my opinion of course!), but it can take a while for her to get there.  Like so many things in parenting, this presents a bit of a dilemma - would school be beneficial or traumatic?

We're dodging that decision for another year, but Ryan and I agreed that it could be helpful for all of us if she took some sort of class, on her own.  Like so many toddlers, she doesn't particularly like to listen to her father or me, so we thought we would see what would happen if she had another adult teaching her about listening and following directions.  Of course, there aren't tons of options for classes for little ones, especially since I didn't want to do a parent-tot class.  (I don't have anything against those sorts of classes; we did one when Abbey was littler.  However, I know how she acts when I'm in the room; I wanted her to have a chance to do something without me.)

So what to do?

Trying to keep her interests in mind, we found a dance studio that has a preschool class without a three-year-old age limit.  Abbey and I went to the studio, met the teacher, saw the classroom, and had several conversations about how I would not be coming into the class with her.  She seemed excited and prepared. 

I was excited.  Not prepared. 

When she put on the little leotard and tights, I was absolutely astounded by how grown up she suddenly looked.  Somehow, without any warning, she has morphed from our snuggly little baby to an independent little girl.  I walked her back to the classroom, and she calmly stayed with Miss Amanda.  If she cried, she didn't do it in front of me, and she didn't do it enough for them to come and get me!

Since that class, she has shown me what she learned multiple times and seems excited about her new adventure.  I've asked her about it so many times I'm beginning to annoy her.  The last time I asked, she said, "Mommy, I told you I liked my dancing.  Now I want to draw a lion."  I haven't quite relaxed about it one hundred percent, but I was able to breathe a little better after that.  We'll see how it goes this week!

we read an Angelina Ballerina book before bed about five nights a week

she LOVES Angelina

luckily Angelina has a little cousin, Henry, or she would already have Dylan in a tutu

Angelina again?

dressed up and ready for her first class

her little arms are blurry because she wouldn't stop dancing

still dancing in her clickity click shoes

checking to make sure her bow is straight

finally still

getting ready to go into class

*The quote is Satchel Paige - words to live by