Finale?

So...because our winters get pretty looooong around here and I had no clue that spring was going to come on so fast and furious (and LOVELY!) this year -
I enrolled both of the kids in a community center 'dance' class... High Reach Steppers... A six week evening class in a neighboring 'burb where they were going to get to move it...shake it... basically - meet a few new kids, burn off some energy and have a little fun...
(We have to go to a neighboring city because for some reason - OUR city community programs cater to the families that can do things during weekday daytime hours ~ grrr)

We did this last year with H and she had an ok time but wasn't excited about doing another session so we waited...

Now I wonder if she wasn't on to something...

This time around - parents weren't allowed to stay - Good for us I figured! Actually, GREAT for H to be on her own and know that we were coming back...although one week I DID try to leave to do an errand while the kids were at dance and found out really quickly that a person barely has time to get TO said errand much less finish it and get back in time to pick up the kids -

so...Tuesday nights became my clean out my purse while the kids did their top secret 'routine' night - The last five weeks lead up to last night...Week # 6... The finale... You do remember last year's finale right? Pretty cute - I bet a good 30+ people crowded into that little room to watch the kids do some dancing last year... And last night's finale... Well, there were five kids *dancing* and this folks...this is what I got...




Well sure, there may have been a little stage fright - but maybe if the finale was only going to be like 45 seconds long they could have done it a half a dozen times?

I dunno...Hardly seems something to complain about - we told the kids were were immensly proud of them and then took them out for ice cream...

but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in the program....

Dancin' Poodles Finale!

Well, we made it to the end of the six week dance session, relatively unscathed...

She enjoyed herself but I think we are all glad it's over - none of us like to be indoors when it's nice outside - That was sure proven by D's inability to sit still for even one minute during the recital. The hubs and I had to divide and conquer and take turns taking him out into the hallway. There is a second session starting up next week but...I think we'll take the warm weather months off and if she wants to join back up again next fall/winter, then we will.

Hails finally donned a tutu - albeit over her two different kinds of purple striped clothes - but that's ok - cuz this recital was the day that we all wore purple in honor of little Maddie Spohr




Here is a little video action - sorry for the video quality - I had to use the point n shoot camera to capture the video - I DID have the regular video camera running while placed on my knee...again, with said 2 year old not interested in a dance recital - things got a little tricky for these rookie recital parents!















For the two minutes he DID sit still he enjoyed a juice bag behind our chairs!

Chip off the Old Block...

So the other night at dance class I was there alone with the kids & D just wasn't into sitting and watching...over and over he kept insisting "I dance with girls!" "I dance with girls!"
He kept 'sneaking' over to join in the girls - I let him sit with the girls (he's actually sitting in between Hails legs) while they were sitting along the wall waiting their turn for tumbling - and managed to grab a couple of pics before spending the rest of the session chasing him and holding him while he tried to fight me off to be with the girls...

Talk about a chip off the old block!

More Dancin' Poodles!

Back by popular demand... (See video 1 here!)

The 'dancin' poodles!

Still can't convince her to wear any 'dance attire' ~ tonight she actually wore PJ's but at least they weren't the footed PJ's that she wore the night before AND all day long... Only two dance sessions left now... She didn't really want to go tonight but once we got there - she seemed to have fun... See??

Dancin' Queen

Well, we survived our first *official* night of dance class...We barely got there - but we did...and we survived. (Pictures to come later...) I've been hard pressed to find a dance class that fit MY needs...Most around these parts are very structured, competitive, scheduled for the stay-at-home parent variety AND expensive...

Plus, I don't even know how much H will enjoy a real dance class - sure, she loves to shake her booty and mimic the dancers she sees on tv...but in real life it might be different - and I don't want to find out to the tune of $20/hour x a 12 week committment that she doesn't like it!

It took a lot of convincing for her to even GET in the car to go - she just kept saying 'I'M NOT GOING!' you'd of seriously thought she was 13 not three - and that we were making her go scrub toilets or something...Even when we got there - she took a seat on the sidelines and enjoyed a blueberry muffin I had packed while the other little girls ran around excitedly. It turns out, that she was nervous about going 'up the rope' ~ we had gone to that gymnastics open house a few weeks ago and the older girls were all crazy swinging from the ropes on the ceiling - and while it was cool to watch - H thought she was going back to the same place and would be climbing the rope!!

As soon as all the girls joined hands in a circle in the middle of the room - she was in. She took off like a flash of lightning and enjoyed the first 30 minutes of class...and then...when Miss Lauren got out the tumbling mats and asked who knew how to do somersaults...we had a little scare.
H pipes up..."oh I do I do I do! My brother and me do!" She then hurried and tried to get the little brother - only to realize for the first time - that he wasn't there with us (he and Daddy were off doing their own thing) "Mommy! WHERE. IS. DEREK?" she demanded to know from across the room. "He's fine honey - he's with Daddy" I told her...took me a few minutes to convince her and then she was on her merry way...
When Daddy and D showed up to watch the end of her dance class - she excitedly ran to greet them and in her best little mommy/big sister voice ask him if he'd like to join in with her!
ACK it was so cute I could just eat her up! Of course, after the 45 minute class was over she DID NOT want to leave - I hope things go a little more smoothly next week in terms of getting out the door, etc etc ... but it sure was fun - chaos and all!
Thank goodness we don't have to try and wrangle her into a little tutu (yet!) as it's just a very casual dancing/jumping around class...But I wonder if it would be overkill to have her wear her red pettiskirt that I just love love love??