So You HOPE You Can Dance

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that we are striving for "normalcy" whatever that is.  Part of being "normal" for us is doing things that typically developing kiddos do. We used to go to therapy several times a week while we listened to others talk about hauling kids to softball practice and dance. I vowed that, one day, Imma would be able to do those things, too.  At the time, I don't think I realized that it wasn't that far off.
Lucy took dance last year and loved it.  And she is an AMAZING dancer (okay--I may be a little biased. I am her mother, after all)  But when all of the other 2 year olds were crying, Lucy was the lone-dancer, completing her routine like a pro.  So, I didn't hesitate to sign her up for dance again this year.  But this year, things were a bit different. Lucy used to attend dance at her daycare and she wasn't going there any more.  So, if she was going to keep going to dance, she would have to do it in the evening. Which meant Imma would be able to go, too.  Except, I didn't know if Imma could do it.  I hesitated to sign her up because I just had no idea how she would react.  We started off with a baby step, Dance Camp last summer. It was one day a week for four weeks. Imma complained sometimes ("We're not going to dance!") but she went and she liked it. So, I talked to her dance teachers last fall.  Was she doing okay?  Was she listening? Was she keeping her hands and her teeth to herself?  They said she was struggling a little but she was trying.  She wasn't always able to keep up.  They didn't know if she could handle the class with the girls her age because they had all had dance before.  So, we compromised.  We put Imma in the 4-5 year old class.  Some of these girls would be turning 6 and Imma is a little short so it shouldn't be too obvious that she was a little older. And then, I held my breath--for 9 months.
Throughout the year, there were a few incidents where Imma didn't listen. Once, she accidentally hurt a friend.  And once she didn't earn a "smelly."  I asked how she was doing and I was told she was doing "fine" or "okay."  She was making it.  You see, we aren't allowed to watch them dance.  They are in closed rooms.  We can only guess at how they are doing.  Then, at Christmas, we were allowed to watch a routine. This was our present.  She did really well!  She hammed it up for me and the camera but I was impressed and a little relieved.  Still. we had several months until the dance recital and I wasn't sure how she would do onstage.  Though she did a great job as a dancing frog in the first grade musical this year, this was different. This was choreography! And I was reminded of a melt-down two-year-old Imma had when she refused to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at a recital once.  So, I still wasn't sure how it was going to go.

My two dancing girls

And finally, the big day arrived. We were almost late!  I hate being late but it was raining and I was struggling to get Imma's make-up right.  When we finally got out the door, we had 15 minutes to make a 30 minute drive and we just weren't going to make it. Luckily, we got there in time to drop the girls off.  The show started promptly at 6:00.  My girls' routines were towards the end. Lucy's class went first. Of course, she did amazingly well, as I knew she would. The whole class did a lot better this year, only one crying child. Lucy looked gorgeous and blew kisses and did all of the things that make a mommy want to stand up and yell, "That's MY girl!"

Princess Lucy posing for the camera

Who wouldn't be proud of this little cutie?

Then, it was time for Imma's class.  Imma had already torn her tights (Daddy was able to hide it) and her lipstick looked a little like we'd put it on in the dark, in a moving car, on a roller coaster. But you couldn't really tell from the audience.  The curtains opened to Imma's class of girls sitting on little crates, legs crossed, shoes ready to tap.  She was in the back--in the middle--right in the middle.  My immediate thought was, "Why aren't they trying to hide her??"  Well, they didn't need to.  They started off with a cute little tapping, leg crossing, switching thing.  Then, they were up and tapping, back down, one leg on the crate, then switch, etc.  She was doing it! She was dancing!  She was doing the same thing as everyone else. Then, there was a part when they shimmied to the right.  She was away from her crate and the spacing was a little off.  I was scared she would accidentally take the wrong crate!  But, she didn't! When they went back to their crates, she found hers.  She finished the routine and I was the proudest mama you could ever imagine!  I remember thinking, "You can't even tell there's anything 'different' about her!"  She was just like everyone else.  Not perfect but perfectly wonderful.  This was an amazing accomplishment for us. We had proved that Imma could do something just like other children.  She was very proud of herself as well. And the first thing she said to me after the recital was, "No more dance.  Dance over!"  You bet, kiddo--until after the summer anyway.

After the recital. Imma was so happy and Lucy kept saying, "Okay, Mommy, that's enough!"

As I am typing this, I'm thinking of the next challenge we would like to take on. I know that Imma would love cheerleading but we're not ready to tackle that yet.  There's just too much dependency on everyone doing the same thing.  That being said, I don't think it's too far off. I think she'll be able to do it very soon.  In fact, I think there's nothing she can't do if she wants to.
This year, she's played basketball, softball, and danced in a recital.  She's learned to read, done extremely well in math also, and made some great friendships. Her amazing teacher has taught her so much--not just academics but social and emotional skills as well.  I am so very proud of her and I can't wait to see how she does in 2nd grade--but we'll be waiting until the fall on that one, too!
Our next adventure will be a trip to Mexico on a cruise ship.  I know my girl can do it.  She can do anything she puts her mind to!
What has your special kiddo accomplished that has made you extremely proud?

Let's Catch Up!

So, it's been a while since I've posted. We've been busy with the end of school, end of baseball, end of dance, end of cribs, end of bottles. Yes, that's right--end of bottles.  I know, I know, Lucy's almost three, she should have let go of that bottle years ago. But anyone who was around when we were taking Imma's bottle away can completely understand why no one would ever want to go through that twice.  So, Lucy got to hang on to hers a little longer than most.  But the Bottle Fairy finally came a few nights ago and she's been sans bottle ever since. She's been pretty upset the last couple of days but I think we are starting to see the light--maybe.
She is also sleeping in a big girl bed now, which she loves.  We bought her mattress and side rails this weekend.  She also got a new owl bedspread which is right up her alley. So far, she's happily climbed in bed for naps and at bedtime and hasn't gotten out.
Imma graduated from kindergarten.  It was a bitter sweet moment for mommy.  It's been so nice to be at the same school all year. I've gotten to see her grow and blossom. She'll still be at the same school as me next year but there's something a little less magical about first grade compared to kindergarten--no offense, first  grade teachers, I've taught both.
We were sad and happy--mostly happy--to see softball end.  She had amazing coaches and she even got to lead off the last game by batting first, but it was such a struggle.  Her coach said she would love to have her on her team next year, which is awesome.  We will have to work on a few things, like running to first and not throwing dirt or taking the ball away from your teammate in the middle of a play.
I already posted about Lucy's dance recital.  I was absolutely thrilled with how well she did.  Both girls will be taking dance in July with Lucy's teacher, Ms. Lexi at Dance Techniques in Rockwall.  I'm looking forward to seeing how Imma does. She did really great last year.
The girls are taking swimming lessons this summer with one of our amazing kindergarten teachers at Safe Swim in Sachse.  I put them in private lessons so it's only four sessions, but it's completely one-on-one with a seasoned swim instructor.  Today was class two and both girls did really well.  They came home and swam in our little pool and Imma was actually going under water without worrying about getting water in her nose or anything like that. This is actually Imma's third year of lessons (You'll remember the "there's something wrong with your kid" story from year 2) and I didn't ever think she was going to understand that A) You can't breath water and B) You can't walk on water. But with her teacher this year, she seems to be getting it.
We are going to Florida next week.  This will be our third trip to Amelia Island. We went there right after Lucy was born and once before we were even thinking of having children.  I loved our room last time, perfect ocean view, so we decided to stay in the same place. Last time we were there, Imma was as sick as she has ever been in her life.  Hopefully, we won't have that happen again.  Imma is looking forward to flying on the airplane to the beach.
Imma is really looking forward to another stay at "Water Owl" or Great Wolf Lodge as most people call it.  We will be staying there for Lucy's birthday. I think Imma loves it more than Disney World and would live there if we would let her.
I'm also trying to get a lot of new items made/listed this summer. I feel like I've been spending more time with the family and less time working on my stuff, which is good  for the fam but not so great for business.  I started Glitter and Tulle Boutique as a way to distract myself from my dad's death and it's been a great way to occupy my mind, but now that I am not quite as upset as I was, I want to make sure I continue to grow the business because I have worked so hard and I love it so much.  I've made a lot of sales and more importantly, I've been able to make a lot of people happy with items I have created.  That's an awesome feeling.  I'm expanding my crafts and listing more types of items, such as cards, dresses, and party decor, so theoretically, that could expand my clientele.  I would really like to open a brick-and-mortar boutique someday so I'm hoping to get some major work done this summer while still focusing on my kids.
We are going to keep working on school this summer as well. I have work to do and Imma has work to do. Now that we've got the behavior well in check and the processing is coming along, we've got to get the reading up to speed.  She needs to stop being afraid to try and just work through the words she doesn't know.  I see her comprehension starting to come along, which is awesome, even though I'm still petrified about state mandated testing in third grade, which is looming ever closer. I subscribed both girls to abcmouse.com for the summer and they really love it though I need to get Lucy started on her curriculum. She really loves "abcd's!"
What are your plans for the summer?  Do you have any family time planned?  Any vacations? What's the one thing you are really hoping you can get accomplished before the summer ends?

Imma's softball picture.  This girl can hit the ball!

Kindergarten graduation! 

The whole family--photo courtesy of Lucy's other mommy, Amy!

Last lunch as a kindergartner, with our sweet little friend Sarah.

Water babies!  You'll recall we had a redneck/car port swimming pool last year.  This year, it's on the back patio instead.

The Bottle Fairy brought Lucy a new princess dress (pardon our mess!)

Lucy chasing the ducks in a park while we waited for her turn at swim lessons. She was kissing her hand and saying, "Here duck, duck ,duck!"

Cramming in As Much As We Can!

We have been so busy the last few weeks with softball that we haven't had a lot of time for anything else.  I have been so busy working on Imma's birthday invitations and decorations writing a blog post just doesn't ft on the "to-do" list most days.  Here are a few highlights from the last few weeks!
Brian's parents visited this weekend.  The girls had a lot of fun playing with their grandparents.  Grandpa went to Imma's double-header on Saturday and watched her hit the game-winning single!
Oh ya, Imma had a double-header on Saturday!  In the first game, she batted twice and got two hits. She was the only girl to hit a pitch and get on base (there were some foul balls).  The second hit came off of the tee. We were playing an older select team and basically got smoked.  In the second game, we played a team we had already played once and we beat them 11-12.  Imma still isn't paying too much attention in the field but the girl can hit the ball.  And she actually ran to first this time, too!
Did I mention I have been working on Imma's birthday party? Holy cow, do I ever over-do it on these things!  I just passed out about 120 invitations to kindergartners.  Well, to their teachers. I walked into kindergarten lunch and thought, "I just invited these people too my house--all of them--at the same time?!?" She seriously has a pretty good class though. I am hoping she gets at least 20 friends over. After all, the party is the day before Mother's Day and we statistically get much fewer friends than we invite.  I am preparing for 100 but hoping for 20 and guessing maybe 15.
I've been making a lot of tutus and rhinestone t-shirts. Not only have I had quite a few sales lately, I also decided to donate a few of the Autism Awareness tutus to a Facebook page that was looking to raise awareness. Crafting keeps me plenty busy!
Lucy is getting ready for her dance recital in May.  She is a dancing queen!  She keeps telling me, "Look, Monney, I a princess!"  Yes you are, girlfriend!  Still no interest in potty-training, still won't get rid of that stinkin' bottle (I know I will have to get rid of it for her but if you had only been there when Imma gave up hers, you would understand why no one should ever have to go through that again. Ever.)
We are planning a vacation!  Not sure where we are going yet or when but we are considering Amelia Island, Florida, or South Padre.
The girls are going to be taking swimming lessons this summer so I got them signed up for that.  One of the teachers here has been giving swimming lessons for a very long time and she already knows Imma very well so we are hoping she will be successful at teaching our girls how not to drown!
End of year at school means lots of extra things for me and lots of testing for Imma.  I am hopeful that she will finally show she can rhyme so she can beat that pesky TPRI test.  It would also be nice if she would read as well at school as she does at home but for some reason many children just don't seem to do that. And then there's the dreaded TEMI math test that I must administer to her. I am so looking forward to that again--NOT!
That pretty much sums up what we've been up to over here! Hopefully, I will get back to posting fairly regularly once school is over!