Dancing

A couple weeks ago, Annika had her first dance class. At first I was reluctant to sign her up...rock climbing or gymnastics seemed way cooler and less likely to push her down the ultra-girly path. Annika is very athletic & coordinated. She loves physical challenges and is always scaring me to death on the playgrounds. When she is figuring out how to climb something new on a playground she gets this gleam in her eye and you can tell she loves it. And she'll practice it over and over until she has it down.

So dance....well I wasn't even sure if she'd like it. But in the end I thought "oh why not" and went for it.

First we had to find soft shoes, so I hit the consignment stores. When I found the first pair of shoes that were the right size (9.5) for only $6, I was excited, but most suprisingly....my heart melted at how ADORABLE the little shoes were. Suddenly I wanted to buy her the full get up and couldn't wait to see her dance in them. Unfortunately the 9.5 didn't fit, but we managed to find a 10.5 at another store and that one fit about right, tad big. (did I mention my daughter has giant feet? And wears a 4T already?)

The directions had said kids were welcome to wear leotards & tights but that any comfortable clothing was fine. So, thinking myself the savvy thrifty mom, setting aside my suprising impulses to see my daughter dressed as an adorable little ballerina, I sent annika to class wearing some stretch pants and a shirt. Big mistake.

Every other girl on our first day was wearing a leotard and tutu. Luckily the class had tutus to borrow, but Annika was still very, very unhappy. She desperately begged me to take her pants off. And by beg, I mean screamed and kicked on the floor. I figured a little girl dancing in a tutu and underwear wasn't quite appropriate so she kept them on.

To be honest, the first class was fun, but sort of a nightmare. It was annika's first time in any sort of formal class (other than library story time) and she didn't listen super well. Riley was there so of course they wanted to run & goof off. Plus she kept throwing fits about her dancewear. But the outfits...all the little girls were so darned cute. I realize now that moms sign their girls up for dance, just so they get to buy the cute little skirts.

Our next class went 100x smoother and I've realized this is a pattern for annika. On the first day of something new, she is nearly impossible. By the second day, she is doing just fine. We only have had two lessons so far because we've been doing swimming lessons the last two weeks. She did the exact same thing (cried the entire first lesson) with swimming. But that is another story.....