In October, Gracie started taking ballet lessons.  Well, the whole truth is both girls started ballet lessons in October.  Abigail lasted about ten minutes - she was in a class all alone.  It's not surprising - little bitty girl probably too young to take dance in the first place in a room she's never been in before with adults she's never laid eyes on before...probably not a recipe for a happy experience.  The teachers were kind and offered to keep working with her or even let her participate in Gracie's class, but I didn't feel that was fair to the other students who are two to three years older than she is.  Abigail is bright for her age, but she doesn't have the social or listening skills of kids who are twice her age!  So, she just goes to every lesson and sits outside the room with me and practices diligently with her sister at home.

Gracie loves ballet - she loves to spin and pose and practice the positions they've learned.  Now, this is not the ballet experience that I had when I was her age.  The class meets in a Sunday School classroom at the community center at our church.  At my ballet school the walls were mirrored and the floor was perfectly polished hardwood.  The teacher was an aging ballerina who carried herself with poised grace.  Gracie's ballet teachers are young and one of them is built more like I am than a rail-thin ballerina.  But, they are simply amazing with the students.  Gracie's learned more in two months that I think I did in three years of ballet.  And, most importantly, she has fun (I enjoyed ballet, too, enough that when I got to college I took it as an elective).

The only thing I dislike about this whole ballet thing is that I have to sit outside, so I can't watch except through a tiny window.  Which means....no pictures.   Last week I asked the teacher if it would be okay if I snuck in and took a few shots of Gracie dancing and she said that would be fine.  She told me they were going to do a little show for all the moms on the last day before Christmas break.  On Tuesday, about five minutes before the lesson ended, the teacher called us all in.  Abigail ran to Gracie like she hadn't seen her in years.  The teacher said it was fine if Abigail wanted to dance the little number with them.  Gracie said it wasn't.  So, I pulled Abigail away and told her to stand beside me.  The teacher then told all the students to hold hands.  Abigail, grabbing her chance, ran up to two little girls that she didn't know and held out her hands and fully insinuated herself into the dance routine, trying her very best to keep up with all of the teacher's instructions.



Gracie had a ball twisting and turn and showing off first and second position










I couldn't have been prouder of my tiny dancers....



And yes, Gracie was the only one in her class with three different hair accessories on her head...the only requirement is that her hair be pulled up...there's no rule that limits the number of things she can stick in her hair...