Tutu trouble

Yesterday, Grace's big day finally came - her first ever day of ballet. I had been excited about sending her in a sweet little pink tutu, but not as excited as she was about wearing one. But then last week a letter came saying that the kids can't wear skirts to class because it restricts their movement or something. So no skirt = no tutu. Seems silly to me, but alright.

Can you wear a leotard without a tutu? I have no idea because I know nothing about these things. I decided to just send her in leggings and a matching tee and explained to her that skirts weren't allowed. She handled the news rather well. Her head didn't even spin in circles or anything.

Here's a (horrible) picture of what she looked like on her very first day of ballet. She looks like she could be anywhere. Bah. Oh well. She was still super excited and that's what really matters.

But then then right after I snapped the picture I looked up the stairs and saw a swarm of tiny little tutus. What's up with that? Do tutus not count as skirts???

"You actually listened to the letter? Oh how funny."

There was only one other little girl who was wearing regular clothes. How awkward. And of course Grace had some things to say about all this. How even more awkward.

"Uh-oh, she's wearing a skirt!!! We're not supposed to wear skirts!!" and "How come they can wear ballerina costumes??" Things like that. She took it well, but was confused. Poor kid. And poor me too, because loud little voices echo in stairwells.

It wasn't really a huge deal, just embarrassing. It doesn't take much for me to feel out of place. She seemed a little disappointed that she wasn't wearing her ballet gear like them, but still had a great time and didn't want to leave. Next week she's wearing her tutu and leotard for sure. See ya, leggings!

But you know, I don't really like her First Day of Ballet Picture, so let's just pretend like this is it instead:

Also, let's pretend like she's wearing actual ballet slippers instead of pajama ones that are too small. And while we're using our imaginations, let's pretend like she's in a big ballet studio with shiny wood floors and mirrored walls.

There. Much better.

Ballet dreamin'

There is a little girl in our house who desperately wants to be a ballerina. She watches Angelina Ballerina and tries to mimic every move she makes. Sometimes when she watches Angelina dance, she gets this dreamy, far away look in her eyes and says, "I wish I could be a ballerina...."

There is nothing cooler than Angelina right now. Not even Dora, although she does think it's pretty awesome to boss me around in Spanish. We have differing opinions on this issue. But that could be its own post, so back to ballet.

Ballet is the first thing Grace has ever truly had her heart set on, so we enrolled her in a class that starts in March. She's thrilled. THRILLED. She already has the tutu she wants picked out and keeps talking about how she gets to have a real teacher and everything. It may be a long few months for the poor kid.

She has a few little play tutus but you never know what she's going to decide to dance in for one of her impromptu recitals. Anything can be a tutu in Grace's world. On this day it was an Easter dress and matching hat that someone gave her a few weeks ago.

Please excuse the big ugly box that I was too lazy to get rid of. Let the show begin!

It's good to smile at the audience every now and then. They like that.

Ballerinas love putting their arms up like this.

Ballet is very serious business.

Our dog just doesn't appreciate the art of ballet. Uncultured fool.

But the show must go on!