Ellie is loving her little dance class. Was there any doubt? I am loving her loving it. And I am loving on my sweet, sweet cousins; one who is her dance instructor and the other who is her dance helper. We are so blessed to have such Ellie-adoring family.
Forgive the quality of some of these pictures. In my defense, I had to shoot most of them from behind a glass window. And, you know, librarian-types are terrible photographers.
Getting her ballet slippers on in the foyer...
Goody, goody gumdrops! Class is starting!
Joining her ballerina friends...
Intently listening to the instructions (and secretly hoping that a song from The Little Mermaid will be played :-)...
Time for the tap shoes!
Sitting in the circle, while everyone gets a chance to perform a 3-second "tap solo"...
To say that she loves the sound her tap shoes make is a bit of an understatement...
When do I get to come back, Mom?
As you can see in the pictures, Ellie is fitting into her class quite nicely. She has obvious limitations and differences, but the girls have accepted her with open arms. In fact, one of her fellow ballerinas asked if she could borrow Ellie's walker for the recital. HA!
Again, I can't say enough about Ellie's dance helper. She pushes Ellie to the next level and, although Ellie's exhausted by the end of class, she is so happy.
I'll admit that it's sometimes hard for me to bring her to dance class and watch, as I so wish I could make her movements come as easily as for all the other girls in her class. Ellie's difference is marked and it hurts my heart. But, then I look at her smile and realize it's okay. And I'm proud that we're doing this for her--and so thankful for everyone who's made it possible.
She really is my ballerina princess.
Oh I so enjoyed this post and loved every picture of sweet little Ballerina Ellie. Your heart sounds just like Mary Ellen when James is put into a situation where his limitations are so obvious. OH but you are so doing the right thing!! Do you see the smile on Ellie's face?? She will learn that her limitations are simply an opportunity to do something a "different" way. Also, what an opportunity for the other little girls to learn empathy and acceptance of everyone's differences. Our precious Ellie and James are learning a "can-do" attitude because of their CAN-DO Mommies and Daddies! I'm so proud of all of you. Big Kiss and Hug to Ballerina Ellie. Keep those pictures coming. I look forward to each update
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Grandmama Jane
OMG, Chrystie! This is the sweetest thing ever! Have you seen Tara's blog with Kaitlyn dancing? If not, here's the link - http://kaitlynsnews.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteEllie and Kaitlyn are so inspiring! I wish I could get Malayna into a program like this! Although she's such a tomboy I'm not sure she's do the girlie stuff. But she loves music and imitating what others are doing, so maybe. Way to go, Ellie!