tiny dancer

zack enrolled thea in a ballet and tap class at the Y in january.  she l.o.v.e.d. it for about eight weeks and then in true fickle female form decided she didn't want to do it anymore.  [i'm so glad we invested in the leotard, tights, ballet and tap shoes that are now gathering dust in her closet.]  she was quite good in the class, very attentive and a good direction-follower.  she still knows how to do a shuffle-ball-change and a bunch of fancy ballet moves.

some of my favorite recent memories though are of the dance lessons she and papa had while he and my mom visited in march.  he transformed into his alter ego, paolo di paolo, an italian baryshnikov of sorts, and she was mesmerized by his teachings.  i need to track down the video from my mom - it's priceless.

one of her very first words

internet, please forgive me.  it's been months. ages.  a lifetime, really.  we [finally, sort of] have a working work space and a [kind of] new computer so i am able to upload photos and videos from my phone and add to the blog.  though i can barely remember what happened last week, let alone five months ago, i'll try to convey as best and as much as i can. 

starting with this video, taken december 30 2011. i'm quite sure this was hellie's first word, at least it was her very clear and emphatically communicated first word [after da! and mama of course].

http://youtu.be/D4dpLxv3DLA

here are a couple photos too:

walking shoes

helen upped and starting walking last week and hasn't looked back. she's very confident and quiet in her determination. i'll post some videos this weekend but here's my favorite photo of the week, taken today by lisa.

the nutcracker

thea and i went to the nutcracker ballet on december 18. we were both really excited to go. i remember loving the ballet as a girl and though this performance didn't hold a candle to the boston ballet, it was still so much fun. thea wore a dress that laura gave her for her birthday and it couldn't have been more perfect for the occasion.







hellie was sad she couldn't go:



we arrived early and found our seats then went to check out the orchestra pit. thea enjoyed seeing the instruments but was a little impatient to get to her seat. i had to bribe her to go to the bathroom before the show and the entire time we were in line for the toilet, she kept saying, "it's starting! we have to go to our seats! we're going to miss it!" i was a little nervous as to whether she would sit still and be interested. she was definitely interested and sat still for all but the last few minutes. she was somewhat quiet though loudly whispered through a good deal of the show.



all in all, a great first trip to a live performance of this kind. i would do it again in a minute. we have plans to attend cinderella in the spring and we are both looking forward to it!