Fun Festival and Ballet Class

This past weekend we took the kids downtown in Augusta for the annual Arts in the Heart festival. The featured country this year was Ireland so we got to see the Irish Dancers which was entertaining. Emerson was very excited about seeing the girls dance but she had more fun playing with her brother and dancing with her daddy in the park. Of course the highlighted moment of the day was the "kids area" where Emerson got to do lots of crafts (projects as she calls them!). She was thrilled to get to color, string beads and get her face painted. I thought I would post several pictures. It was so hard for me to just choose one or two.

Also, yesterday Emerson went to her 1st ever ballet class. She was absolutely adorable in her leotard and tights and she knew it. She pranced around in her outfit and couldn't stay still so all the pictures are action shots of her dancing around the living room. She was super excited until we arrived and then she panicked. I sat there in the room for a few minutes (because that's what I told her I would do) but that was a bad idea. She just sat and looked at all the other little girls doing just what the teacher said and but she wouldn't do anything. Then she started crying and reaching for me across the room. That was one of those moments where I'm over analyzing the situation trying to figure out the best way for me to react to her to cause her the least amount of emotional scarring. I'm thinking, "do I smile and coddle her or be mean and force her to participate". All the while I'm doing a mental checklist of pros and cons to each reaction. I opt for the mean "do what the teacher says" reaction laced with a slight smile but not too overly sympathetic to her crying. Anyway, that doesn't work and the crying progresses to an actual audible sound distracting the other girls. After a couple minutes I decide to sever the cord and leave. I felt bad at 1st because I told her I would stay but I hated that she was taking away from the other kids experience and figured she might be performing for me to see what she could get away with. So, 30 minutes goes by and I don't hear screaming and the teacher hasn't emerged from the class with my child clutching her arm and sobbing for her mommy. The class ends and I figure Emerson is first in the line to run to see me but instead I see all these precious little girls start filing out and no Emerson. I go in the class and what is she doing? She's saying good bye to the girls still in there. She was just dawdling around the room, the same room where she just cried to leave. The teacher said she warmed up as soon as I left and did everything that she asked. It's a miracle how different kids act when their parents aren't around! Finally, we get in the car and Emerson starts talking about going back next week. The funniest thing about the whole experience was that she actually absorbed everything the teacher said even through her dramatic performance of "I need my mommy and I don't want to be a ballerina today." Last night she stands up in the living room and looks at me and this is the conversation we had:

Em: "Okay class, stand like this with your feet together. Now, spread them out. Now, back together. Good job."

Me: "What are you doing?"

Em: "Ballet class. I'm the teacher. Now, feet together and now apart. Now, plie (which she says plea-lay and squats to the ground) and back up."

Me: "What is that called?"

Em : "Plea-lay, Mommy." (she says it like "duh, don't you know that Mom?")

Me: "Oh, okay."

Em: "Now, plea-lay slow. (and she goes across the room doing I guess what is a plie walking) Now, fast. Now, lets turn on the music and dance. (she goes over to the chaise and touches the pretend CD player and turns it on.) Is this too loud? Okay, now dance. Is that how butterflies dance? Noooooo (she says this with the same southern draw the teacher had). Okay, now let's do ballet to the ballet music. Plea-lay again. Now dance around. Okay mommy, you have to dance around like this." (she changes the pretend music and starts dancing around shaking her booty and sticking her tongue in and out)

Me: "Emerson, what is this called?"

Em: "This is dancing like a butterfly mommy, see.?"

Me: "Oh!"

Needless to say it was hilarious. Probably funnier at the time than reading it, but take my word for it, Tripp and I were cracking up. I can't wait to see what she comes home to teach us next week!