Ellie's First Dance Class

Look, I wasn't expecting to take ten thousand photos. I wasn't expecting to totally freak out and tear up. But y'all, something happened when I put her in those pink tights, that black leotard, and the tiny little ballet shoes. And then I put her hair up in a bun. And I LOST MY EVER LOVING MIND WITH THE PICTURE TAKING.

Before we even left the house, I went a little nuts. I was literally squealing as I took these:

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure how the actual dance class was going to go down. Ellie loves to dance and has been talking about this for months and months, but sometimes when she is faced with some kind of forced participation activity, my girl shuts down. I totally would not have been surprised if she got to the dance studio and decided that she'd rather play a game on my iPhone.

Thankfully, we got there, walked into the studio, and she saw all the mirrors. And this pleased her very much.

Checking herself out in the mirrors....

I took more pictures and then showed her where I would be sitting. I could see her through a window, and she could see me. Class began, and she sat with the other girls and alternated between listening to her teacher and making faces at herself in the mirror.

Sidenote:

Please note that there are probably 85 pictures from this blessed event. I have majorly sorted through them for the purpose of simplicity while blogging and for the sheer fact that I understand a little thing called overkill. There is a line and I have crossed it. 

Also, I don't know these other little girls or their mamas very well yet and I suspect they wouldn't be too thrilled to find 35 pictures of their precious angels on some stranger's blog. 

End of sidenote. 

She's the one jumping....

 Hi, Mom!

Throughout the class, she would look for me in the window and give me a thumbs up. She was super into it. Her teacher was great with them and I was seriously shocked at how much the teacher was able to get these 3 year olds to do on their first day. I'm not saying they were dancing well, but they were following basic instructions and that was just more than I could have imagined.

They played this little hula hoop game. Each girl was given a hula hoop. While the music was playing, they would dance around the outside of the hoop. When the music stopped, they jumped in and stood still. It was a big hit. (Follow me on Instagram to see a video of this little game!)

They jumped across the floor, one at a time. Ellie didn't exactly stay along the line, but she did it. Then, the door flew open and all the little girls came running to their mamas, screaming for their tap shoes. I couldn't get them on her fast enough. I hardly had the left shoe on before she was off my lap, stomping her way back into the studio.

Each girl was given a pink sticker for her right shoe and a blue sticker for her left. I watched her look at herself in the mirror, making funny faces as she stomp, stomp, stomped her little tiny feet.

I could not handle this entire experience. I was seriously emotional. I have no idea why.

After the 45 minute class was over, she got a sticker on her hand from her teacher and came running out, loudly exclaiming to me, "I WANNA DO THAT AGAIN!"

It could not have been a bigger hit.

I'm very excited that dance class will be a part of our lives!