"I like the dress, but not the hat..."

That is what I heard when I had Kate try on the costume that she'd be wearing for her dance recital this year. She LOVES to dance. She can't get enough of it. She dances everywhere she goes. She was even dancing today in the mirror to keep herself occupied as she listened to the station playing while I was getting my braces tightened. Anyway, I couldn't agree more. I didn't like the hat either. But I promised she'd only have to wear it once and then she could do whatever she wanted with it.

So, way back in the middle of June (is it really almost August?!!!!), Kate had her dance recital. All of the girls were backstage waiting to perform, crowded around a little DVD player trying to get a view of the movie playing for them.While up in the nosebleeds, sat my dad, Chris, mom, Joe and Jake. Don't mind that mohawk behind us!!! Yes, that is the back wall behind the mohawk kid. There were only 2 more rows behind us in the balcony of this place...Who knew that these type of things sell out on the first day of ticket purchasing???

Thanks to my dad's AMAZING photography skills and his even more amazing telephoto lense, he was able to capture the following sequence while I tried to video. You don't even need to hear the music when you see that smile on her face, those knobby knees and her stellar moves: Yes, she caught air as she was waving goodbye to all of her fans.

Celebrating afterwards with her good friend Elise!

Jake happily held Kate's ribbon for her while she showed off her flowers...as soon as that shot was taken, the hat came off and then next thing we knew, Jake had taken the fabric off and placed the now white hat on his head. He looked like one of those wind up monkeys that needed symbols in his hands to clap together. Priceless. Glad one of us liked it.

So proud of you, Kate! I LOVED every ounce of sass and smile in your

"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" performance.

Curlers

June 27, 2009...8AM. It's a miracle. Kate made it through the entire night sleeping in the pink "soft" curlers. She hates the things. The first time I showed them to her she was thrilled. 7 minutes after we put her to bed, I had to undo everything I had just done! So, how was I going to get her to sleep in the things the night before her recital?! Her dance teacher requested "high, curly, ponies." Thankfully I have an incredibly creative husband who took over when I was ready to throw in the towel. He told Kate that he wanted her to imagine she was a princess (easy to do), sleeping on a bed of flowers...I didn't hear the entire story, but apparently it worked! Because here we are, the morning of. And all of those darn curlers are still in her hair :) Yahoo! Thanks, Joe.

The Big Day

The Big Day. We've been practicing this dance since January. Personally, I think it was a little too early to introduce it to the girls, because I think they were getting bored of it by the time June hit! But when the Big Day arrived and she put her costume on, she transformed into little miss ballerina! I went to grab my camera and when I came back into her room, she was already doing dance poses and all sorts of moves that I had never seen before! I couldn't help but take a few pictures and try not to laugh!

The recital was at the Livermore High School Theater. What a great setting!

Posing once again for Grandma and Grandpa

All Smiles after the performance and a kiss from Kate's good friend, Elise. I did video that you can see below during the dance. I'm still awaiting pictures from my dad, who took about 1000 shots during her 2 minute number. They're gonna be great. I can feel it :)

Cousins Hugh and Ethan were there to watch! I think Kate really felt like a princess! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Momo and BG, Maryanne and Dave and Uncle Chris for coming. It was a blast having you there!

Kate is the 2nd one from the left-- the opposite side of the teacher. When I played this little video back at home, Kate was watching and said, "Who's laughing?" I couldn't bear to tell her it was Momo, because I didn't want her to think that Momo was laughing AT her. But then she looked at me and said, "Is that Momo?" Can't fool a kid. I think this is hysterical. I laugh at it every time I watch it. I can't quite come up with a good word to describe Kate's dance moves... any ideas?!!!!

The Dress Rehearsal

The dress rehearsal...we got in trouble because Kate had fingernail polish on her nails. Oh yes... I didn't realize how serious dance instructors could be! I thought we were just in this for fun and to meet a few new friends :)

Before going into the rehearsal, Kate shows off her new teddy bear

While watching from the window, I was slightly terrified. Why? Well, because for most of the 2 minute dance, Kate stood there with her finger in her nose! Sad to say, I was just like that when I was little! My mom used to get so mad at me because anytime a camera appeared, my finger went in my nose.
Thankfully, when we got to go into the studio and act as the audience, she danced her little heart out!

Attempting the Dance Routine

This clip cracked me up. I was trying to get Kate doing her routine at dance class so her family members that can't be there could watch her. There were a few in the class that day who weren't particularly aware that the teacher was standing right in front of them, showing them their moves. Twirling and running back and forth were MUCH more important. Enjoy :)

Little Ballerina

We had parent observation day in Kate's dance class last week. That means that instead of 8 mothers peering into the studio, laughing and waving to their daughters from the windows, we actually got to be inside the studio while they "danced." Jake was all over having such a slick floor to army crawl, and Kate, as usual, was very serious as she practiced her moves. It was a free dress day--hence the princess dresses.

The girls waiting for their dancing stickers at the end of class

Nice toe point!

Waiting for my turn

Time for the dancing train

There's a little smile...