Learning to Dance in the Rain....

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." -Friedrich Nietzsche

We are SO SO blessed to have found such a fabulous place for the girls to go to dance classes! Miss E. has a heart of gold, passion like you wouldn't believe, and enough light and happiness to share with so many! No matter what kind of day it's been, it's always a breath of fresh air walking into the studio!

Tuesday school was cancelled AGAIN (so rare for where we live but these temps have been dangerous!). So Shawn and I took all 3 girls to their own private class :) It's usually a "mommy and me" class but with the weather we were the only ones brave enough to venture out. Also, I am home alone all day today with all 3 girls since school was cancelled again and Shawn's working a long shift, so I KNEW we needed to get out yesterday! It's been the longest, coldest, snowiest winter I've ever experienced!!!! I'm about over it :) 

So off to dance we went :) Sofia has been home just over a year now and her little personality is really starting to show! She has a hard time with transitions, even to things she likes. So she spent the first 5 minutes crying and refusing to participate. She slowly started doing the motions to the songs from her seat by the door, but quickly stopped if anyone looked :) After a few minutes she warmed up and joined us when she was ready. I'll tell ya what, there's no point in trying to force her to do something when she's not ready, so we just wait her out and she almost always joins (on her terms) ;) She has a lot of trouble regulating her emotions and goes from over the top happy to tantrum city in record time! Teenage years will be so fun! We just keep hanging on to the smiles to get us through the tantrums! 

Zoya girl loves to dance...she takes it pretty seriously :) 

 And little lady Mila. She so so so enjoys the music and fingerplays that go with the songs. She also can't get enough of playing with her friend in the huge mirrors that cover an entire wall ;) 

I think this was "head, shoulder, knees, and toes." 

Such joy! 

Sofia is back to using her binky to help self soothe. She was doing well without it during the day for a couple of weeks, and then it was clear she wasn't ready to say goodbye to it yet. We're working on teaching some other self soothing strategies, but so far she hasn't taken to any of them quite like the binky. Her emotional health is more important to us than her speech development at this point....we'll get there...slowly but surely. I did take it about 20 minutes into the 30 minute class when she was feeling more comfortable. 

Mila's little baby belly is starting to disappear as she is walking more and more!!! I want the baby belly back!!! 

Organized chaos :) 

Princess Walks :) 

Sofia so sweetly walked to Mila at the end of her turn and passed the princess wand to her for her turn....

And then I hugged her and told her how sweet she was and how proud of her I was.....and then Mila started having her turn and Sofia just started BAWLING because it was no longer her turn. Such conflicting emotions 2 year olds face! :) 

When we started this class in September (I think) Mila could not walk unassisted holding onto the wand. Little by little each week she's made it further and further until eventually she could walk the whole way down, turn around, and walk back holding the wand all by herself! She's made such HUGE progress, I'm so proud of her determination! 

She's planning her escape....such mischievous eyes! 

Mila was just checking to see if her friend in the mirror was still following along :) 

She is so focused...we call her the little professor :) 

Sofia practicing jumping over the guitar...

But only attempting it alone when she thought nobody was watching :) 

I played Mila like a guitar and she thought it was hilarious! 

Binky free and smiling :) 

(ooo! ooo! me, pick me!)

The man behind the camera for all the other pictures :) 

And then there was some more of this.....

Sofia spends about 50% of her day like this, and the other 50% as happy as can be. We call her "the girl who cried wolf." :) She has one level of cry and it's a mad cry. In all seriousness, though...she really struggles to regulate her emotions. We're working through it, though! 

We're getting good at learning to dance in the rain.....Life inevitably brings rain and we've learned the rain is so much more enjoyable if we choose to dance in it knowing the storm won't last forever.  Every now and again, a downpour is just what our souls need...to keep stretching and growing, learning, and leaning on the Lord. I hope that's one lesson I can impart on my children. Actually, I think they sort of taught that one to me :) I know, as they get older, they'll face their own storms, as well as their own sunny days. I just hope they always know that I'll always be there to dance alongside them....whether it be stormy or sunny! 

And this picture just makes my heart smile!