Bye-Bye Ballerina!

Yesterday was Maddie's last day of dance! We gave her lessons for her third birthday, planning to go month-by-month, letting Maddie decide when she was ready to finish. A few months ago, we had to make a choice whether or not to participate in the end-of-the-year recital. After reviewing the cost ($79 for outfit, $29 for shoes, etc., etc.) we thought it best to pull Maddie out before recital time. About six weeks ago, Maddie started hesitating before class each week. She decided on her own to be done this month!

So yesterday afternoon we watched her perform with her class one final time. They've been working for months on their recital piece and I'm proud to say that for being one of the youngest members (along with Kate), Maddie did an awesome job holding her own among the four year-olds. She knew most of the dance steps and was a joy to watch.

Some of my favorite memories are her first day, where she ran in with reckless abandon and started making friends with the girls in class (as I shamelessly snapped pictures), seeing her practice her dance moves at home, and watching her learn over the course of weeks how to tap-behind.

Kate and Maddie enjoyed weekly play dates for over a year before taking dance class together. Now I guess we'll be back into play date mode! Kate and Maddie have developed a sweet friendship and it's so much fun to see them love on each other in class.

Kudos to Miss Ashley for keeping 5-12 three and four year-old girls tapping, twirling, jumping and laughing. That cannot be an easy job! Here are the precious ballerinas with their fearless teacher on the last day of class:

Bye-Bye Ballerina, hello Summer!