Dancing princesses

Well, we've done it. The girls have embarked on the world of afterschool extracurricular activities. Specifically ballet, which seems to be one of the Great Triumvirate of popular little-kid extracurriculars: soccer, ballet, and piano. We did it because Alice prompted it, constantly asking for music to be put on so she could dance "like a ballet-er," and because it was about as convenient as extracurriculars get, which was the only way it was going to work. I wasn't opposed to extracurriculars on principle, just to anything that on balance added more stress than joy to our collective family life. But consider:

•  The studio is at the bottom of the hill to our neighborhood, a three-minute drive. In fact, when a hand-off mix-up after the first lesson left me without car keys, the girls and I walked home without a problem. (Yes, it's all uphill, but we're Coloradans now.)
• It turns out that the 3-5 yo class and the 6-7 yo class meet at the same time, in studios on opposite sides of the hall. At first we thought only Alice would be doing ballet, but then Edith wanted to join, and what could be easier than a 2-for-1 weekly trip?
• The studio director operates on the philosophy that dance should be fun and inexpensive when kids start. They are welcome to wear whatever they're comfortable in, and the atmosphere is encouraging and friendly. A good thing, because after Tom and I tried (and failed) to watch Black Swan (we had to give up midway), getting anywhere near the ballet world was the last thing I wanted. Fortunately this version seems vastly different.

The result is two happy girls, who are enjoying dance more than ever.

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Some of you know that we've spent the last few months on tenterhooks waiting to see where (or whether) we next will be employed. Still waiting, but in the meantime we've started turning attention to an effective Colorado Springs bucket list of must-do outings, in case we have to pick up stakes again soon.

Last week, I figured the girl who likes being a ballet-er might also enjoy watching the athletes that a friend's child once called "the dancing princesses," so we went to an international ice skating competition at the World Arena. Colorado Springs is an ice skating hot-spot (cold spot?), with many Olympic hopefuls training here.

The girls and I got tickets to the pairs short skate in the Four Continents competition. It was fun, though not as different from watching ice skating on TV as some sports are when you see them live.

 

 

I wasn't sure how the girls were liking it at the time--they were too tired to stay for the ice dancing--but the next day they were clamoring to go back, and when I declined to buy more tickets, they watched the pairs free skate streaming online. Edith has since competed in some one-woman "floor skate" competitions, twirling and jumping around a big open room.

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 Finally, an important step for one who would be a graceful ballet dancer: the transition from a padded, crinkling bottom under that leotard to a smoother line. Yes, Alice decided the Sunday before last that she was ready to wear underwear.

There was no phasing into it. We knew she could use the toilet if she wanted to, but she'd adamantly refused to shed the diapers, and we hadn't pushed it. Then Sunday as she dressed for church, she told me that when she was four and stopped wearing diapers, she would ask for an Ariel dress as a reward. (We'd tried dangling incentives before, but she hadn't taken the bait.)

You know, I said, you could get an Ariel dress today if you wanted to start wearing undies now, instead of waiting until you're four.

Really?

Yes, really.

Okay, then. Undies went on, and that was that. Like Edith when she decided she was ready, Alice has been dry day and night ever since, going instantly from 100% diaper wearer/user to 100% toilet trained (0 accidents in 9 days).

Those little minds are so perplexing. But we're thrilled, of course.

Hooray!