Sometimes it's hard to believe she's been dancing for seven years and other days it feels like we've been doing this forever. I feel like every year, we learn a host of new things. We get better organized, more efficient and more confident with every day of the season we conquer. If there was anything new we learned this year, it was that these girls are our family. Dance moms and daughters alike. I never expected for Ella to fall in love with dance or for it to monopolize a significant amount of our time and budget. I certainly never expected to fall so seamlessly into a group of women who love my girl like their own and who step in at a moment's notice to pick up my slack. Recital day started like any other. I got up hours early and downed a pot of coffee while mentally cataloguing ...
ella
Competition Season
If you read my two posts about Chattanooga or follow me on Instagram, then you've probably realized that we are in the thick of dance competition season over here. On the off chance you haven't noticed the ridiculous number of sequin filled selfies, then consider this your formal announcement. Ella has been dancing for almost seven years and this is her fourth year to dance competitively. I feel like I need to tell you that this isn't something we pressured her to do, because people seem to assume that dance moms are living vicariously through their children. We started her early because she wasn't in school or daycare and we figured she needed some sort of structured activity with other girls her age. It didn't take long to recognize that she had natural talent and that she loved spending ...
Ella’s Second Grade Interview
25 Questions* as answered by Ella 1. What is your favorite color? Blue 2. What is your favorite toy? Books 3. What is your favorite television show? Jessie 4. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes from IHOP 5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Fried chicken 6. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries 7. What is your favorite snack? Reese's Cups 8. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios 9. What is your favorite drink? Sweet Tea 10. What is your favorite outfit? Shredded jean shorts, a striped shirt & sneakers (see photo) 11. What is your favorite game to play? Dodge ball 12. What is your favorite animal? Zebra 13. What is your favorite song? When a Heart Breaks by Ben Rector 14. What is your favorite book? Almost Home 15. Who is ...
It’s FINALLY Fall
Fall seems to take forever to arrive in Alabama, but it is slowly making itself known around here. When our friends were in town a few weeks ago, we took all of our girls to the local pumpkin patch on Saturday afternoon. It was hot, but that just meant we had the place to ourselves and boy did we enjoy it! First up was the corn maze. I'm pretty sure the "exit" that we used was just a path between rows of corn. These girls were leading us around in circles, so we made a mad dash for freedom when we spotted it. My girls both wanted to take a horse ride and their reactions couldn't be any different. Sophie was grinning ear to ear from the very beginning and waved to me as she rode off into the sunset. Ella, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck! She was very concerned about me ...
Homecoming
Homecoming in our tiny little town is always such fun. People share photos from high-school on Facebook all week. The marquees on the schools boast of activities. Our yard is full of cars every day because there is something going on at the high-school. The kids in our family always want to ride in the parade and I never get to see it. I don't get to take many Fridays off from work that aren't vacation or holiday related, but this year I decided to spend the day at home with my family. I somehow convinced Taz to bow out of the parade and watch downtown with me. After dropping Ella off at the parade line up, we walked the few blocks downtown from our house. In case you haven't figured it out yet, we live in a TINY town. This is downtown. We have exactly one traffic light, a mom and pop ...
so mothers be good to your daughters, too
I'm sure there are people who think it inappropriate that I carried my seven year old daughter to a rock concert on Saturday night; I even felt a few stares at the show. I can honestly say it was one of the best moments I've spent with Ella in her short little life. When you find out you are having a baby girl, all these thoughts go through your mind about the fun, girly things you'll be able to share. Coffee dates, pedicures, shopping trips, beach weekends. I never really thought about music when making that mental list. She's seven and her musical tastes aren't all that palatable to me, most of the time. There are rare moments when she belts out an old Pearl Jam song or Mumford & Sons or even The Head & the Heart and my heart swells with pride. This kid is going to have excellent ...
My Two Ballerinas
It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that Ella has just started her fifth year of dance. What's even harder to believe is that she was ever this tiny or that Sophie is old enough to dance herself?! In honor of "Throwback Thursday" I couldn't resist sharing a comparison of my girls on their very first day of ballet! Ella, August 2009 // Sophie, August 2013 And just for good measure, here are a few more pictures from Sophie's first day that I love. She is such a sassafras! ...
Ella’s First Grade Interview
25 Questions* as answered by Ella (7 years old) 1. What is your favorite color? blue 2. What is your favorite toy? doll 3. What is your favorite television show? Shake It Up! 4. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? bacon biscuit 5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Jack's cheeseburger with bacon & fries 6. What is your favorite fruit? watermelon 7. What is your favorite snack? bananas 8. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios 9. What is your favorite drink? sweet tea 10. What is your favorite outfit? running shorts and a t-shirt 11. What is your favorite game to play? Candy Crush 12. What is your favorite animal? zebra 13. What is your favorite song? Our Song by Taylor Swift 14. What is your favorite book? Magic Ponies chapter book from ...