Riley the Ballerina

I am realizing the need to catch up on my first two kids before my third comes!


SO... this past September we decided to try out Ballet with Riley. We were excited to get the tutu and shoes and and try to get the little bob back in a bun. The only thing I hadn't thought about was taking a class clown to BALLET!!

First Day of Ballet

Although these faces look serious- Riley was nothing but.





She really had a ton of fun. As I sat outside the classroom and listened to her goofing off, I couldn't help but laugh. When I was little I wanted sooooo badly to be a ballerina. I thought it was so beautiful and graceful--- it took a long time to realize that elegant and graceful and peaceful are NOT ME! Ballet is an art of discipline and grace and form... also NOT ME! I can't say what Riley will be like as she grows up... but listening to her being goofy and the teacher trying to get her to concentrate reminded me so much of myself that I had to love her even more!!

We finished off The First Day of Ballet as a Girl's Day with Ice Cream at McDonalds. Doesn't get much better than that!!





FAST FORWARD to the recital in December!!

I woke up so anxious trying to get us all ready and out the door to be ON TIME. (what crazy Nelson gene makes me feel like being late when someone is expecting me is the WORST offense possible?!) JT worked the night before and was asleep so he couldn't help me out. The end result was this:



A little Ballerina with mascara on her face from a HUGE tantrum at the Recital!! And me feeling like a Beauty Pageant Stage Mom forcing their child to perform to live their own dreams!! aaaaggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!





But with the help of some animal crackers and her daddy- she was soon happy to be dancing and getting ready for her performance!




Of Course-- I was too busy with the Video Camera to even think about taking pictures of the recital itself. And unfortunately my video skills were so bad that I didn't catch the part where Riley realizes that there is an AUDIENCE watching her and that doing an arabesque would be a perfect opportunity to show off a SILLY FACE with fingers in mouth and tongue out for all to enjoy!!! Grace? Elegance? Discipline? Julliard, Here we come!!

Here is the bow at the end, a little bored and distracted by the final curtain call.




My mom scored extra points by bringing flowers for the little performer. (Which is something I always dreamed of when I was little... but I pictured the entire audience throwing the bouquets to me while I curtsied on stage, blowing kisses!)




And of course, Flowers from Daddy are the Best.



So after the excitement, the drama, the tears... it was a wonderful experience and she still loved me!



I am so happy to be her mom, and I hope the creepy Stage Mom never comes out in me again!!