Tiny Dancer

I've been promising my dad these photos for over a week now. Here they finally are. Sorry, Dad!

First day of big girl ballet! Ballet shoes are in her ballet bag.

Her bun. Which she LOVES!

Our little ballerina moved up to the "big girl" dance class three weeks ago. It's a combo ballet and tap class. I wish I had captured the look on Ava's face the first time she put her tap shoes on and heard the sounds they make. The excitement just oozed out of her. She also got new ballet shoes. She quickly grew out of her old pink ones and opted for blacks ones this time around. She loves both pair of shoes and is so careful with them, always putting them back in her dance bag as soon as she's done. We've made a rule that dance shoes are to only be worn at dance. I've heard far too many stories about shoes in the pool, missing tap shoes, etc. So, she keeps them in her bag, although, occasionally, she'll tell me that Daddy wants to see her tap so I allow her to put her tap shoes on and do a little routine for Daddy on the kitchen floor (the tappiest floor in our home). As soon as she's done, she promptly returns the shoes to her bag... even though she'd wear them all day every day if I let her.

Ava is the youngest in the class of 3-5 year-olds, but can definitely hold her own. The class is much more structured than her last, which was a Mommy & Me class. This time around, Mommy sits in a room and watches through a window. There is more technique and discipline involved, not to mention, the girls have a dress code: black leotard and pink tights (skirt is optional). Ava's teacher, Miss Michelle says she's impressed with how well Ava has done thus far. I wanted to say "DUH!" and tell her that I knew Ava would jump right in and continually improve, but didn't for fear of sounding like one of "those" mom. I simply said, "Well, she loves it!" Which is true. She does. She looks forward to Wednesdays, even telling me Tuesday nights, "When I wake up it's ballet day!"

I'm excited to watch her as she progresses in this class. It's hard to believe that when we moved here a year ago she could barely spin without falling. Now, she's doing arabesques, plies and twirling on her toes.