Dance Recital...Priceless

C performed in her first dance recital this evening. It's been quite the undertaking, and more expensive a prospect than I truly expected. Dance lessons, costume, recital fees, DVD of the performance, t-shirt, pictures... Oh my. But tonight, it was all worth it. C's class was one of the two youngest to perform, and I thought they stole the show. The theme was "Tropical Journey" and all the groups had costumes and song choices that (sort of) fit into a water or beach idea. C's class were the Mermaids, and they were delightful. All the little girls remembered their parts, and even though I know the teachers were offstage coaching them, it wasn't obvious. Not only did the onstage portion go well, but C handled the backstage wait like a champ. They were back there for 2 hours and parents were asked not to bring any personal items...so I don't know how they were kept busy, but they were still happy when they were all done. I am so proud of her! After the recital, we followed up with a family tradition. When I was little, my sister and I took dance lessons and every year my grandparents would come from out of town to see our recital. Afterwards, they always took us for ice cream at Dairy Queen. So, we did the same. My parents came to watch the recital, and we had dinner at DQ after the show. It's neat seeing it come full circle. Here we are, getting ready and posing in her costume before the show.

You know she's a Dora addict when... (part 2)

you're singing Dora songs while you walk somewhere and SHE corrects YOU when you get the words wrong. (Also, when she insists on going back so she can hear the song again because she wants to learn the words correctly.)

You know she's a Dora addict when... (part 1)

your 3 year old daughter bugs you for hours to make ice cream, excitedly helps you make it, and but when it comes time to eat it, says "I can't eat my ice cream now...Dora needs me!" even though the episode is on "pause."

Such a Girl

C is turning into such a "girl". She has discovered jewelry, but thankfully is still happy with the child-like and homemade pieces. In fact, she really enjoys making her own bracelets and necklaces. She even paints some of her own beads! I'm really glad the weather is finally warm enough for the summer dresses we had in the closet. For some reason, all the dresses are either for really cold weather (worn with tights) or really warm weather (tanks, worn with sandals). Nothing in between. Convincing her to wear pants and shirts every day was becoming quite tiresome. Here she is in her "totally C" getup. Mouse ears, dressup skirt, necklaces, purse (with ponies, ballet shoes and toy cell phone" inside) with dressup heels. And yes, she is trying to convince Mommy to put makeup on her when Mommy does makeup in the morning. Do I stand a chance?

Do I Get a Coin?

It's a few days after the 1-year mark, but I'm celebrating one-year being soda-free. Last year at this time I decided to give up sodas, soft-drinks, colas, whatever-you-want-to-call-them. I don't really know what led to the decision, except for noticing that my then-2-year-old was trying to drink my soda and I didn't want her to start the habit yet. I'm sure there were other factors, but I don't really remember them a year later. I gave my neighbors my two 12-packs of my Coke Zero from my pantry and determined that if I was giving away that much money in soda, I was going to follow-through, by-gosh-and-by-golly! Aside from a little Ginger Ale to soothe an upset stomach, I have succeeded. I've switched to tea--both hot and iced--and drink a lot more water than I used to. I did have a sip at an event about a month ago, and ended up pouring the rest of the cup I'd been poured down the drain. The taste no longer appealed!