Itty Bitty Christmas

This morning our dance studio held their Itty Bitty Christmas program for the kiddos that are in the 6 and under classes with some of the older dancers presenting parts of the Nutcracker.  It is nothing formal, just a sweet and simple little Holiday celebration.

Emma performed in a Jazz routine to "Tis the Season" and they were asked to wear any combination of red and white.  Emma has fallen in love with her Jazz class and was super excited to perform a pom routine with 13 of her jazz-buddies this morning.

Lauren and Emma have been dancing together for 2 years now and they really enjoy each others friendship. 

I could not resist getting a couple of pictures of this sweet face up close this morning while we were waiting for our number.

Emma loves to perform and never appears to be nervous, always excited.  However, this morning when it was showtime and she walked out waiting to go on stage she started bawling LOUDLY where everyone in the crowd could hear, all 300+ of them.  She was squinting and covering her face with her hands, when one of the teachers walked over to her to ask what was wrong.  Loud enough for everyone to hear she loudly says crying hysterically, "the sun is in my eyes and I can not take it, I can not take it."  Yes, the sun was bright and yes it was in her eyes, but really Emma?  By this time I was sitting dead front and center and I was dying of embarrassment while the crowd was laughing.   One of the teachers took her glasses off and gave them to Emma to calm her down.  From that point on, she thought she was super Hollywood COOLNESS and I was hiding.  They were trying to get everyone in place to start the music and I leaned over and asked her teacher, "please take those glasses away from her when you go up there."  Mrs. Christy took the glasses and everything was fine from that point on.

I was so proud of her that I did not take very many pictures because I was so caught up in watching her.  This song was super fast, but she was able to keep up and remember most of the parts, even ended perfectly in the exact spot she was assigned. 

After her Jazz performance we ran home because she did not dance again for a couple of hours.  Instead of flowers this year, we decided to buy her another ballet ornament to add to her collection.

A very PROUD Daddy & Mommy in spite of the meltdown over Mr. Sun.   Emma loved her ornament and thanked me over and over again.  Thank goodness she learned a lesson on gratefulness since the last recital when I made her sell her gift she got because she was not very nice about it, remember?

Emma's Ballet class performed to "Happy Birthday Jesus" and it gets me every time I see her dance so gracefully to this song.  They were asked to wear a Christmas dress for this dance with their Ballet slippers. I loved that we could use things we already had and it was not a huge expense to participate, but gave the kiddos a chance to perform.  If you are a dance Mommy, you know how expensive recitals can be.

I sent the picture above this one out today to family and friends in a text and I got the following back from a dear friend that has been dancing for 35+ years, danced in college, has owned a studio, directed High School drill team and is currently a Principal at a Performing Arts School.

"Precious!!! Laura, she seriously has the prettiest form...her arms are perfectly placed and her little pointed toe makes me giddy." 

Lianna, you made this Mommy smile and it meant so much coming from you.  Thank you sweet friend and I pray daily that God will bless you with a little girl one day soon. 

So many things about today make me so proud of Emma.  I love how committed she is to dance, I love that she is a great student, I love her ability to make new friends immediately, I love the way she admires her teachers, I love that she has fun no matter what she is doing, I love that she is so confident and I love that she sticks her little tongue out constantly when she dances. 

I am not kidding, 70% of the time she dances that little tongue is hanging out like a panting puppy.  Anytime she looks over at me she will pull it back in and smile.  Her teachers think it is the cutest thing ever and are so sweet and loving to Emma.

We are so blessed to dance with such a great group of girls, have such talented teachers, be surrounded by great families and most of all dance in a place that puts God first in everything they do.