Tiny toes take a bow

Well all our hard work paid off last night at Alyssa’s dance recital. I have basically lived my life to this point to make this happen. If anyone is guilty of living vicariously through their children, it’s me. I must say…TOTALLY worth it. She loved the whole experience, but as any helicopter parent would, I enjoyed it even more than she did.

She has been going to Ballet/Tap class once a week since August 2009. We had a Christmas recital which ended up being sort of an over-crowded nightmare. This one was at the Sandy Amphitheater, a perfect venue for a dance recital. She felt like such a star on the big stage.

Our preparation for the recital began the night before when we began the transformation into baby beauty queen. She has very long straight hair which doesn’t take kindly to curls. So separated her hair into three sections and made three “ballerina hairs” (buns). We left them in all night and all day until we got to the recital venue.

We had a non-dress rehearsal that morning at the venue where they practiced getting on and off the stage and performed one of their dances. Then it was off to Costco to get flowers. Several weeks ago she informed me that after her recital she would get and arm full of flowers. I decided to make that happen. She and Sunny even got to pick out the flowers.

We took them home and wrapped them up thanks to some good diagrams my florist-sister-in-law Jacquelynn provided me with over e-mail. We also wrapped some bouquets for her three cousins who were also dancing in this recital. I thought they all deserved an arm full of flowers (that’s why I’m the favorite Auntie).

Before we left our house I covered her already beautiful face with make-up which was so much fun for her (and me). After she got her blush, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow, lipstick, liquid eyeliner and mascara, she looked at herself in the mirror and said… “Wow my eyes look just like yours mom!”

We then headed over to pick up Daddy at the train station in Sandy. We ate a quick bite at Chick-da-lay where we also changed her into her costume and hustled over to the venue.

Once we arrived I took her into the bathroom and freshened up her make-up and took her buns out to reveal the curls. And the curls didn’t disappoint! They were amazing. I must admit that with a face full of make-up and big-texas hair, she looked a little more like Jonbenet Ramsey than I care to admit.
She was stunning though, and I’m not just saying that because I am her mom.

We found her cousins and snapped a cute picture. How much fun is this?
Especially if you grew up with five brothers and never had access to this kind of stuff.

Then we showed Alyssa to her class section and she sat with them.


We found our seats next to Rick and Laura and new grandma (Steve’s mom). Regular grandma (my mom) was sick and couldn’t be there. Bummer.

They announced the show was about to begin and asked the mom’s of little girls to remember to come and change the girls shoes between the two numbers they would be performing in. Then it hit me that I never put Alyssa in her ballet slippers at all. I ran down to see if someone else did, but she was already gone backstage. Her shoe bag was still there and I glanced inside to see her slippers still there. So I grabbed them and found my way back stage just in the nick of time to get them on her before she danced. She just about danced in her sneakers.

Then her class took the stage.
Their dance was so stinking cute. You could have just cried about it. I did.
She looked a little shell shocked at first when she saw the crowd, but once she spotted her teacher in the front middle, she followed her prompts and danced away. Not always with the right moves, but who cares.
They were all so cute. Grr..I just loved it.

Then we waited through 20 or so other numbers which were all fun to see especially the ones with my nieces in. My little neice Hailey ended up being a real super star. She joined her class just a few months ago, and she lead her class in the dance. She knew all the moves and executed them expertly.

Then it was time for Alyssa’s second number. I was up front for the first one taking pictures, but stayed back to watch the second number and I’m glad I did. It was so cute. Steve and I just beamed as brightly as any parents could beam watching my life’s work dance away. So much parental pride, I have never felt anything like it.

At the end all the dancers when back on stage for one final bow.


I got these shots of Alyssa and Alayna right after it ended.
They were both so beautiful and so proud of themselves.


I found all the cousins and presented them their arm full of flowers and gathered them together for a picture with thier teacher Miss Tiffany.

Her teacher gave each girl a candy necklace. Alyssa was in heaven.


What a fun memory.
I’ll always remember this night. I’m not sure why it’s such a big deal to me, but it is.