Cinder-Ella

My daughters loves to dance.

Sometimes, right when she gets home from school, she asks that I turn the music on so she can dance.

At night, she asks that we turn music on so she can watch her reflection in our sliding glass door while she twirls around.

A day does not pass that she doesn't dance.

She's always yelling out, "Mommy, watch! Daddy, watch!" and seems to learn new exciting moves everyday! I would definitely say dancing is her #1 passion.

Dressing up (or anything related to clothes) is a close second. So, naturally, before she begins dancing, she dresses herself up.

Well, this day, Ella decided she needed a Prince Charming to dance with, so she asked Daddy if she would be her Prince Charming and dance with her. Aaron took the role very seriously, and after being in the bedroom for awhile, came out in slacks, a dress-up shirt and tie. Ella was so excited! She then adorned him in jewelry and a crown, and they began to dance.

And, of course, I couldn't help but play "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman for them to dance to. How could I not? The opportunity perfectly presented itself.

I cried (and you'll hear it in my voice) while watching the two of them dance. And, I can't help but tear up a bit every time I watch this video. I am just so lucky.

Here's the video...

Without Further Adieu...

...Ella's tap performance at her dance recital last month.

For those who can't tell, Ella is third from the right. :)

What's Been Keeping Me Busy

This past week has been busy for me. Busy doing what?

Rehearsals and recitals for Ella's dance!

This was the first time Ella took a ballet/tap class through an actual dance studio (her two previous classes were 10-week programs offered through the City). I never knew how big of an endeavor the performing week is, so I went into it blindly. But, boy, my eyes are opened now.

I volunteered to help with the girls for the dress rehearsal and the first recital, which was a lot of fun, but also exhausting. Dealing with seven 4-5 year olds while pregnant took all my energy, but I'm glad I was there for Ella. She definitely has her spurts of shyness that I feel the need to mend to. After all, if Aaron and I try to open her up and try new things, we need to be soft with her when she feels a little uncomfortable. We can't expect too much from her. Plus, if she has half of me in her (the queen of shyness), I know how she feels and I want to be there for her. Be her anchor of confidence to let her know she can do it!

And, she proved that over and over again this past week! She rocked that stage! She tipped and tapped her little heart away, and I couldn't be more proud!

So, I will leave you with some pictures of my little dancing cutie pie!

All ready for her dress rehearsal!

Posing for some pictures Thursday evening before that night's recital.

Pictures from Thursday night's recital.

All ready for Saturday's recital!

Pictures from Saturday's recital.

And, last but not least, a couple pictures taken after Saturday's recital.

Last week was busy, but simply wonderful. Ella shines, pure and simple, and I am just the proudest mama. I am so proud of the little girl she is becoming.

Now, to decide what dance class to enroll her in for the Fall! :)

Not Much to Report Here

There isn't much to report here. Taking each day as it comes, as far as my pregnancy goes. I feel with each subsequent day, my nausea gets worse. I love the constant reminder that I'm pregnant, though. I'd rather have all symptoms, than no symptoms!

Plus, I've been praying for this pregnancy for so long that I'm soaking in every minute of it...throw up and all. :)

Aside from my pregnancy, things have been going well. Aaron's gearing up for his Spring break next week (lucky duck!) and plans on doing yard work in our front yard. Our front yard has been needing major attention since we moved to this house four years ago, but the only thing we have managed to do up until this point is take everything out the prior owner put in. It was an absolute, overgrown mess! Aaron's been itching to put in some new shrubs and set up planter areas alongside our house, so he's having at it next week. Hopefully the weather will stay cool enough for him. :)

Plan Nursery is underway, with what little we can commit to at this point in the pregnancy. We moved our iMac from the former office / future nursery to our bedroom. I didn't think it'd look that good in there, since our bedroom set is dark (click HERE to see pictures of our master bedroom), and our computer desk is a light maple, but it looks just fine sitting in the corner (after moving some things around a bit, of course). Aaron didn't see the point in moving the computer and felt it could stay in the nursery, but with the longing anticipation this pregnancy has come with, I want to create a budgeted masterpiece of a nursery, and a big ol' desk and computer aren't a part of my Plan Nursery. Hormonal pregnant woman has spoken! :)

Ella's been doing wonderful in her ballet/tap class. I haven't posted many pictures this time around because her classes are in an actual studio. Meaning, the parents sit behind a glass window (allowing us to see in, but not for the kiddos to see out). Every picture is either blurry because there is no flash or blinded out with a flash on the window. I just need some of Aaron's photograph magic. :)

Sorry for the rambling post. Like I said in my title...not much to report here, so I figured I'd leave you with a few updates on our going-ons. Hope you are all having a wonderful week in preparation of Easter!

Last Day

Today is my last day. My last shot-free day for a long time! This is the last day where I can go throughout the entire day without the impending night-time shots looming over my head.

Tomorrow begins this new "phase" of my IVF journey. I'm only giving myself the little Lupron shots to start off with. I don't start the bad boys until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, if all goes as planned.

I know I should just suck it up and "be a man" about all of this, but seriously, the thought of stabbing myself with a needle, regardless of the size, freaks me out a little bit. This is our only means of having another child, though, so I'm going for it! As the saying goes, GO BIG or GO HOME! I guess that doesn't really apply here, but you get the picture. I just need to grit and bear it. :)

On another note, we officially signed Ella up at a dance studio! Her last two ballet classes have been through a City of Turlock program, with each class lasting 10 weeks ending with a recital. There is a couple month break between classes. The last break wasn't so bad, but now that Ella is a little bit older and much more enthusiastic about ballet, we figured it was time to look into dance classes at an actual studio.

I made some calls this afternoon to find out if there were any openings, and sure enough, there were a couple openings at Backstage Dance Academy here in town. We went to check the place out after Ella's dress rehearsal tonight and Ella went from window to window, checking out each age group and each style of dance, saying, "I want to do that! Can I go do that right now?" If we had told her she could, she would've run right into a class of 13-year olds doing a hip-hop routine. Our fearless little girl loves to dance. :)

Because of the Nutcracker performances and other holiday recitals, Ella's first day of class won't officially be until the first Tuesday of January, but boy, will she be ready.

The class we enrolled her in is half ballet and half tap. Coming from only ballet experience, I hope she's able to jump right into tap with ease. I'm sure she will!

How Ella Spent Her Birthday

Ella's 4th week of ballet landed on her birthday! And, it so happens, that a child had to reach 4 years of age by the 4th session. It was clearly meant to be! :)

All of the girls stretching. See Ella?

Ella wasn't too into this exercise. Her instructor playfully kept calling her a chicken!

With each week that passes, Ella proves to grow in her confidence and ability to follow instruction. She really is getting to be so good and I couldn't be more proud!

Checking out her form. Point your toe, Ella!

Look at her hands! It's so cute to see how hard she tries to catch every last detail. :)

Grandma surprised Ella and showed up to watch her dance. It was unexpected (since she had to miss work to be there) and so very sweet!

And...she came with a balloon! Ella was so excited. And even though the balloon was awesome, I think she was most excited to see Grandma there.

After ballet and dinner, we let Ella open up one present (with the rest to be opened at her party, which was tonight). Of course, she chose the biggest one to open!

What is it???

"A skateboard!" (as Ella says).

Of course, we went outside and let Ella take her new toy for a ride, but not for long because Ella and I had to get ready for AWANA.

But, rain or shine, time or no time, we always manage to get some cute shots of our sweetheart. Look at Ella's sandal tan!!! (That is the side of our house in the background).

Zooming back to the front door.

All in all, despite her birthday being very busy with school, ballet and AWANA, I truly don't think Ella would've wanted to spend it any other way. All of her buddies at school, ballet and AWANA kept telling her "Happy Birthday," and from the look on her face, I know she appreciated all the love and soaked in every last drop.

Tonight was her actual party (if you want to call it that seeing as how it was just me, Aaron and my parents!), and I'll likely post some pictures of that at a later time.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Ballet (Take 2)

Ella started her 4-year old ballet class last week, but we forgot the camera (shocking, I know!). But, thankfully, we remembered the camera this week, especially since Ella was sporting her new tutu and hair band courtesy of Danielle. (Thanks, Danielle!).

All ready to go, with Rex dressed up to join her for the car ride!

Doing "The Frog," as the instructor calls it. I think it's to stretch out the girls' ankles.

After the girls do their stretches, they tiptoe over to the wall for roll call.

The girl in the black on the far left and the girl in the pink standing second from right are twins. The girl in the black leotard and tights is Brooklin and she is one of the pastor's daughters from our church and goes to AWANA with Ella, along with the girl in the blue leotard, Addison. 

Skipping buddies.

Our little jumping jellybean!

Ella practicing her arabesque.

All lined up for the bow at the end of practice.

Ella's Ballet Recital

I'm sorry to say, but Ella and the rest of her dance class were pretty much the worst 3-year old performance of the evening. The girls did pretty good during practices, and we all figured there'd be a few bumps in the road, but tonight was a M-E-S-S! The audience applauded afterwards with full adoration and recognition of the attempt. I guess with an audience filled with mostly parents, they all know the hard work that goes into a performance like that first hand...even with an unpleasant outcome. :)

In Ella's defense, she didn't notice her teacher in stage right leading them until halfway through the performance. Until then, she seemed pretty lost without a leader to guide her through her moves.

Also, the teacher instilled in those girls how important their dots were. Ella was to skip to a blue dot and stay on it while dancing. If you watch the video, she backtracks to where she's supposed to be, losing focus on the dance steps she's to be performing at that time!

Sometime during the performance, the girls are to twirl to a front dot, and surprisingly, Ella was the only one who did it! That was the hardest part of the routine for her to get down and I was ecstatic that she actually did it! I was videotaping with the proudest grin on my face! But, as soon as she noticed none of the other girls did as they were supposed to, she went back to the original line. Good job, though, Ella! You rock!

All in all, though, I give the girls' attempt a standing ovation. They all enjoyed each other (parents included) and the past 10 weeks have been a lot of fun for us all. Ella grew a lot with this experience, and even if the performance tonight stunk, the lessons she learned will stick with her for quite some time.

When I told Ella today was her last day of ballet, I asked her if that makes her happy or sad. She made a pouty face and said that it made her sad. So, I asked her if she'd want to do a different ballet class. Her response was an excited, "Yes!"

So, I'm looking into dance studios as we speak! Even though it seems classes will be about $45.00/month (plus cost of shoes, leotards and costumes), you can't put a price on a child's happiness. And, since she has shown great interest in continuing ballet (unlike soccer!!!), we have to support her passion and keep it going until she tells us otherwise.

Okay, everybody...enjoy the performance! If you choose to leave a comment...be nice! :)

"Miracles Happen"

Ella's ballet instructor has repeatedly told us parents that "miracles happen." She's, of course, referring to tomorrow's recital. Having 3-year olds follow any sort of instructions, let alone an entire dance routine in front of an audience, is terrifying to think about. There is no predictability in what will happen! But, Ella's instructor, who has been teaching ballet for many, many years, is hopeful and confident. She said that even if the dancers forget the entire routine and simply twirl around in circles or skip from left to right, it is still an exciting time. I am definitely excited to see how well Ella does tomorrow, but as a mom, I'm nervous too!

Today was her dress rehearsal. Ella's costume is the best kind...free! She and her fellow dancers are to wear yellow sundresses and, luckily, we had one hanging in her closet.

Got an itch there, Ella? :)

All lined up for their routine. Ella is the back leader! (The young lady standing with them is the instructor's assistant).

Such form!

"It's the truth! It's actual! Everything is satisfactual!"

Swaying.

"Plenty of sunshine heading my way!"

Ella's dance partner, Alyssa. They are so cute together!

With all the painting we've been doing with our kitchen cabinet remodel, Ella naturally wanted to feel included. So, I went to Michael's and bought her some new paint and paint brushes. She's painted some beautiful paintings, all of which she's wanted to give to Grandma and Grandpa. Hopefully she'll make me one. :)

That's her "I'm a ham" smile! Love it!

This painting is now hanging above Grandma's desk at her work.

What would a post be without a picture of our beloved Bob? This shot was taken tonight. I was in the bathroom giving Ella a bath. I look down the hall and I see these big brown eyes spying on me.

Tomorrow is Friday, everybody! T.G.I.F.!!!