No more baby face!

I love to look back and compare how much my daughter has changed from year to year...look at this! Wearing the same leotard although it fits a little differently. This past year has been one of the easiest years of her life from a parenting perspective. I think it's been a good year for her too. I am beginning to see glimpses of what she will look like as a teenager. She still loves dance more than just about anything on earth!

First day of dance last year...

First day of dance this year (yesterday)...

Somebody's growing up!

This year her dance choices have become more mature too...she is only taking jazz and lyrical. I am looking forward to seeing what she can do with lyrical.  A couple of years ago she tried hip hop and hated it.  I hope she loves lyrical because her teacher is a beast (in a good way)!

Recital 2011 or I really need to take a photography class!

Sydney's big dance recital was May 30th!  I took about 400 pictures and they mostly look like this:

This is ballet and it was last during dress rehearsal and apparently I bumped my camera and goofed up the settings. It was so dark I couldn't see the controls on my camera to fix it. I will bring a flashlight next year.  It was very disappointing. Hopefully the video will be here in a few weeks and we can find something a little better!

Here is a little better picture of her ballet...at least you can see how beautiful her costume is!

Here a picture of her tap pose at the end of the dance.  These were a little better than ballet but still I was too far away during dress rehearsal and no pictures are allowed during the actual performance. We still have to have her professional photos taken...somewhere...they didn't do them at the studio so we are kind of on our this year. The picture packages have gotten very expensive last year and a lot of parents protested and just didn't show up. This is sad because we like the group pictures too but only 3 of the 15 in her jazz class showed up for photos last year.

 Jazz...there is so much movement in this dance to "Walking on Sunshine" Lots of running, jumping twirling etc. Right up my girls alley!

• Off to the eye doctor today for both of us
• By the way, Sydney injured her elbow Saturday we thought it was broken.  It isn't but she will be out of swim team this week for sure.  The Dr. said after that she can resume activities as tolerated. That means yesterday was her first swim meet of the season and we didn't get to go.  She was sad but hurting so much it wasn't a huge factor. I hope she can get back soon.
• Sydney won a solo part for Jam Camp and has her first practice tonight. Gulp! I would have never tried out for a solo...ever! I am really excited for her.
• We are still finishing up school this year but taking off a few days. This totally blows my schedule that I had planned out so I have to make some changes to my lesson plans

Mayfest!

Every year Sydney's dance studio performs at Mayfest. This performance and her recital are the highlight of her year. This year she performed a tap dance to "Naturally" performed by Selena Gomez and her Jazz dance to " Walking on Sunshine" and I have no idea who sing it.
She is also in ballet but they don't perform at Mayfest because pink tights and pink leather shoes don't work well with mud.

They get to dance in a shaded area because it can be 100 degrees here in May. Luckily it was only in the 80s but windy. Parent sit in the sun and bake.

She looks like she's walking on sunshine doesn't she?

She has been working hard to perfect this jump!

 I think she loves the poses at the end of her dances as well as the dance. A love of hamming it up runs in the family. If you have read Coco's blog you know that! I was really happy she was smiling in the pic because she wasn't in the rest of the dance because a girl who wasn't in practice that week showed up for the performance.  The dance had been tweaked the day before and this little girl didn't know and it was total confusion. Miss Sydney was not too happy.

Don't you think their costumes are pretty? I think they changed suppliers from years past because they seem to be much higher quality than before. Also for this dance they will have black fishnet stocking rather than tan.

Again this year I will be a backstage mom which is really fun. Then I found out the order of the dances calls for 2 hair changes. Pony tail, bun, side pony tail!  I am mostly worried about getting 14 girls hair into buns with hairnets and get their costumes, tights, shoes and etc changed in time to go on stage! You would think 8-10 year old girls could handle the costume changes but they can't! They are sweaty and extremely wound up! It's fun and I wouldn't miss it. I know these days won't last long!  The teen girls don't really have backstage help... I keep telling me that dance has given them discipline to be independent. Either that or the moms are burned out by then!



Nearing the finish line!

A quick update after nearly a year of non stop remodeling we are very close to the finish line. Yesterday Jason finished installing the last of the wood floor, baseboards and trim. Now it's just a few little things to complete. I still have a big mess to clean up before I can show photos but we are very happy with the final product. There is still a matter of a built in desk to be done and a few odds and ends. Today I have to complete my daughter's Easter dress so she doesn't have to wear the dress from last week! A confession, I started this dress last year and things just didn't come together so I think it will work this year.  I will post a picture of the finished project as well.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter!

My Sweet Baby! Also some random stuff.

Just for a minute imagine that you are having a baby at 40! That was me 11 years ago and these are the things I asked God to bless me with...

healthy baby
brunette with blue eyes (after a slew of blonds Granny was ready for a brunette)
loving spirit
who loves Jesus
independent (because I was older and her sisters were teenagers)
smart
happy
pretty (yes, I really did slip that one in)
good sense of humor
born on time (3 weeks early and small but just fine)
please let her have a pretty nose (her sister was obsessed with her nose and had it fixed at a very young age)

I have to say that God blessed me way beyond my wildest dreams or selfish prayers. All this has been on my mind lately and I just want to remember to be thankful for those blessings.

Please say a prayer for baby Robby and all of the other little ones who start out this life with a struggle. Also don't forget to pray for all of the parents who pray and wait.

Kitchen Remodel

Here are the before and after photos of our kitchen remodel. I hated my old kitchen. It is still small but much more functional and way prettier than the old days. New appliances, sink, granite, tumbled marble back splash, black granite sink, new tile floor, removed part of a wall, added recessed lighting, new custom made (by Jason) cabinets except for pantry and top cabinets on one side, under cabinet lights. Jason just built new doors so you can't tell...oh and he removed the dreaded scallop detail at the bottom of the cabinets.  

 We had the wall area where the oven is removed and made into a breakfast bar.

 TA-DA!

 Much better? Under the bar area on this side of the stove, Jason added deep drawers...where I keep my utensils, pots, pans, baking pans and cookie sheets...all have their own drawer. You can see our hardwood stacked in the dining room ready to go in next week!

 New matching refrigerator...

 Gorgeous granite sink and check out that back splash!

The stove was a big splurge...GE Profile but our neighborhood appliance store blew every one's pricing out of the water! The microwave and dishwasher are not new but they match and work well (after a little tweaking from Jason).

 This is my coffee/hot chocolate bar...see, coffee, hot chocolate packets and marshmallows! I am about to change this out to tea bags and crystal light packages for warmer months...

 Pantry cabinet detail...

As you can imagine we are thrilled with the transformation. Next up the laundry room! It is finished and the new hot water tank went in yesterday!

Linking up to Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday and Remodelaholic

A little Spring Break Fun!

First of all...meet Lil' Joe our newest yard guest! He arrived a couple of weeks ago and won't go away! We have a very unresponsive animal control department (1 person) in our community. I guess he was on spring break as well. Our community has an animal rescue so eventually he will be adopted to a good family. He is super sweet but has an extremely annoying voice...I think he is of Siamese ancestry! I suspect he was dumped in our neighborhood because he is not at all afraid of humans and seems to know what "inside" is. I tried ignoring him but I can't swing that since I love cats. I am not up for more neutering, shots and declawing and quite frankly I can't fit one more animal in my bed! So we will enjoy him until he has a home.

During spring break we went to the park with some of our homeschool group friends.  The top row is Brook and Sarah, the front row is Grace, Sydney and Shelby. There were also the boys Preston, Frank and Blake but they didn't stop to have their pictures made...imagine that! I have to say this is one of the prettiest group of girls I have ever seen.

After the park we went for ice cream with the whole crowd. Mamas at another table. From left to right is Blake, Preston, Frank, Sydney, Brook, Sarah, Grace and Shelby.

I have to ask this question...do cats ever stop licking? At least Romeo doesn't seem to...even with Pillow Pets and Build  A Bear friends watching...oh well, I guess he's among friends! He loves Sydney's bed because it's so soft...mattress, memory foam topper, feather bed topped with a velvet comforter...nice!