First Dance Recital!

The girls waiting to get their pictures taken

after dress rehearsal.

So...Rachel danced in her very first "June" Dance Recital on June 15th and 16th! We are so proud of our little ballerina girl. They were both 7pm shows which concerned me a bit. Fortunately, she still will nap for us, so we made sure to get one in both days to help prepare her for the extended evenings. Two or three days before recital day she started getting a runny nose and froggy voice. More Mommy concerns:). I kept her home, alternated a little Tylenol and Highland's Honey Cough syrup, had her take naps, made chicken noodle soup and kept her hydrated. She was fine for her performances. The first night, Friday, I worked backstage "babysitting" her little group with another Mom while Frank watched the performance. He said she did well with a few distractions. She gets a little awestruck up on stage. The nice thing about working backstage, having a very small group, and being the 8th dance in the first half of the show...we were able to take our little peanut home during Intermission. Well, actually we took her to Applebee's for some appetizers and dessert then home to bed!

The two little performers from the first night...

The second night, I accompanied her to the cafeteria, dressed her in her costume, and got her all set up and ready to go...snack, water, fairy wings, Clifford books etc...Frank and two friends of ours found us seats...then I slipped out right before the show to join them. Does it get any easier to walk away? Right as I'm getting ready to leave, she turns that beautiful, little face up towards me...with those big brown eyes and she says, "You're going to stay with me, right, Mommy?" Ughhhh...it is so stinkin' hard to walk away from that! Every darn time! I said I'd stay as long as they'd let me but that I really wanted to watch her dance from the audience etc...She seemed fine, but my heart hurt. Oh, and there was one small (BIG!) problem...Daddy and friends found us good seats, put me on the aisle and everything. He had seen the show the evening before, knew they were in a straight line and approximately where Rachel would be standing and all. We were set! Well...they CHANGED their positions! My sweet, little ballerina danced BEHIND two teachers AND another little girl the same height as her. I could only catch GLIMPSES of my little dancer...the one I had been attending classes with, practicing the dance with, taking to rehearsal, and just attending to every detail to get ready for her big night! I was beyond angry!

Rachel getting a "special delivery"

after her first night of dancing.

They had a table set up in the hall

near the auditorium

where you could buy a rose

and fill out a

special message

on a card and have it delivered

to your little dancer backstage...

It took everything I had for me to stay in my seat and not walk down that aisle to get a look at my baby dancing! (I knew as soon as she spotted me she'd stop dancing, wave and exclaim, "Hi, Mommy!") Honestly, when you have four, tiny dancers ages 3 and 4 years old...they should ALL be in one straight line so everyone can see them! Right?! There was plenty of room even with their grown-up dance partners. I think it would have even been okay had the OWNER of the dance studio not felt the need to stand in front of everyone and do their dance as though she was teaching it to them. Really???! We know she can do it! She has been dancing all her life. We want to see our little ones do it...the ones we pay for lessons for, bring to lessons each week, practice with etc...They weren't watching her anyway as they each had a "big girl" or dance teacher partner leading them through the steps like I did with her in class. Honestly, she never should have been standing in front of these tiny dancers that she should have been showcasing as her "up and comings". I held my tongue that night as we are just one little part of it all, but I truly wish there was a way to let her know without being "that mom!" or a pain of a parent or whatever. Maybe I should post a comment on their FB page and attach my blog link? No, too overt:).

A shot I was able to snap
during dress rehearsal.

Unfortunately, the guy running the lights
chose to turn them off
during their number.

Really?!

Anyway...vent over...our girl looked precious, did a great job, and I thank God I bought the recital pics and DVD! I WILL see my baby dance...providing the videographer had a better view than I did:). I did go get her during Intermission...almost ran as I could not wait to scoop her up in my arms and give her the yellow roses we had brought for her. I took her back into the auditorium and let her watch the rest of the show with us. She was pretty good, but it was LONG. It was so hot in there too. To be honest, I was getting whiney and impatient for it to be over...plus I was still a bit upset about the "big grown-ups blocking my little dancer" from the first half! Afterwards, despite the fact that it was almost 10pm, we all headed over to Applebee's for dessert! Fun! A big "thank you" to Timmarie and Timmi for joining us! It's hard sometimes with no family nearby or traveling out for such events. We truly appreciate having friends here who adore Rachel and want to celebrate all her special moments. ((hugs)) I only wish I had taken my camera out of my purse to snap a few photos of all of us with Rachel! Momma should have napped when Rachel did those two days:)...

"I love my flowers, Mommy!

Yellow is my favorite color...

in the whole, wide world!"