Sunday, June 17, 2012

Dancing Queen - 2012 Recitals Recap

Lainey being in dance has brought out my insecure side.  

Few things in life intimidate me.  Dance moms do.  Sizing, ordering, sewing, etc.......those things do, too.  My mother avoided all of these things, so I'm sure part of my insecurity is pulled from that memory.  But, Lainey wanted so badly to do tap and ballet.  I knew I had to figure it out.

She started lessons in January.  We've been at the studio every Thursday since then. 

Recitals started this past week.  It was a lot of hard work, but worth every bit of effort.  We had a blast!

Pre-rehearsal......labeling everything, organizing her bag and setting out our game plan.

You don't even want to know what this costs. 


Allison and I took the girls Friday night to the show.  Here is Laine pre-costume.  Lamby was with her, of course. She was nervous.


They did it!  

Here are our sweet girls after the show.


Saturday included both of our families, out of town guests and our sweet neighbor, Daryl.


All of our photos are from times outside of the actual performances.  No cameras allowed!  We get to purchase the prints from the photographer for hire.  

Those should be cheap.


Rylee doesn't care much for dance.  Cailyn loves it.

Lainey?

She's completely in her element.  She loved every second.


To a fault.

I don't know where she gets her enthusiasm for life.


This is what back stage looks like.


Lainey danced to Wonderful World (tap) and Jolly Holiday from Mary Poppins (ballet).


 Here we are after the Saturday shows.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

How cute is that costume going to look at Disneyland?


Jackie was waiting with flowers for the girls.
 



Our crew.


 The family.


So proud!



I was not a fan of the faux curls off stage, but they do look great in the spotlight.


We treated her to some sugar after her last performance because she's been dieting since January.

Kidding!


Lainey wants her ears pierced for her 5th birthday.  We've waited until she asked to have them pierced.  Still not sure if I'm ready.

Daddy held her clip on diamonds after the show.  They hurt!


I wanted a picture of the dads and someone suggested we take one of their empty wallets instead.

Looks about right.


En route home.  Our tiny dancer was worn out!


I can't wait for her to do it again.  We'll take the rest of the year off and start again in January.

Although I went into it kicking and screaming, I learned a lot and absolutely loved watching this child's face light up with every part of the production.  She came alive on stage.  It was a joy to watch.

Who knew?  Me, a dance mom.  

Off to watch Toddlers & Tiaras.  

What?

Aren't pageants the next, natural step?





15 comments:

Shannon said...

Love it all so much! I danced from age 4-16 for a studio and wasn't nearly as girly as Laine, but loved it so much. I'm glad you're embracing it.

I hadn't thought about how cute that costume would be at Disneyland until you mentioned it and now I'm ashamed of myself.

If I had been drinking something, I would've spit it out when you mentioned giving her sugar since she'd been dieting. I thought you were going the Toddlers and Tiaras route of giving her special juice for energy, but you went the eating disorder route. Awesome.

Jodee said...

What a fun recital day! I am still not convinced that I could handle a recital like that! Lainey looked adorable and is such a natural too. How exciting!

Pam Bowers said...

Seriously...so cute. The curls are adorable. Of course, I haven't seen them in person but they photographed well.

I love the dance costumes too!!!

Jo said...

How cute! Glad you survived it! Not sure if I could. Y

You might want to consider getting her all tanned for the next performance .... you know just to give her that competitive edge :)

Tutus and Choo-Choos said...

So glad you survived being a dance mom for the first time (NOT all dance moms are scary and controlling). And I can imagine how much all of that dance stuff costs and how it emptied Blake's wallet.

Loved how you described how Lainey came to life on stage because that's what I remember most about my girls dancing.

Mama Sue said...

Sydney is the same! Born dancing and lives for it. She hates summer because I make her do swim team and we don't do summer dance!

donatelli98 said...

Love it Casey! She is precious~

Dee Stephens said...

LOL!! Love the wiglet! I was all about all of this stuff and my Mom wasn't the most enthusiastic dance Mom either.
I always wanted her to be more 'involved', but she couldn't take the drama of all the Moms..
Anyhoo.. if we have a little girl you better bet your bottom dollar she'll be in dance!

Unknown said...

Well, Dance stuff sounds like a real racket. And what if you can't sew? I love love the pic of you and Laine. Proud mom. Congrats Lainey!

Brittny said...

If you start doing pageants we will no longer be friends.

The end.

Nicky said...

Could she possibly be any cuter? I don't think so.

It's wonderful you got over your fears and enjoyed it.

Monica said...

Jack is so sweet with his flowers hidden behind his back. Such a gentleman.

LOVE Lainey's strike a pose in the one pic. Too cute.

Fun memories. My sister and I were in dance growing up and my mom saved our costumes. Now Lyla can dress up in them when she gets old enough. So much fun!

Impulsive Addict said...

Oh shit. NO NO NO. I will QUIT reading {once a week} if you put that sweet baby in pageants. Don't be one of THOSE moms.

I love the curls. I love how much money you're dropping on dance too. How do you save money in dance? I'll need to know soon.

Did someone really suggest getting her a tan?? OMG. I can't take it.

Kristen said...

Oh my word. I don't know where to start with how much I love this. Lainey's costumes... AMAZING. Her curly hair piece thingie? I did not know these things exsited. I am taking notes. Quinn will be dancing any day now.

And please send Jack to Wisconsin for a weekend. I just want to hug that kid. Waiting with flowers? Dressed up for the girls? Swoon. I die. That kid is too much.

And Blake's earrings are hot. Please tell him I say so.

Wiz said...

Um, dance moms TOTALLY intimidate me because I am not good at that stuff AT ALL! But seeing these pictures and how excited and in her element Lainey looked makes me look forward to it (if thats what Sula wants.) Love the outfits!