BRYNN | Swan Lake 4th Birthday

Oh, Brynn...
How is it possible that our sweet little baby girl is now four years old?! It seems like only yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting your debut into our world. You brought the drama with you on that day, and you obviously still don't disappoint us in that department... While we have faced many challenges this year, we could not be more proud of you. You are the most affectionate little girl that we know, which can be a little interesting some of the time, like when you hug the UPS man and tell him that you love him. You are such an amazing big sister- I very seldom have to worry about Lucas' newly discovered toddler activities, or his safety, when you are on guard.

My heart melts when I hear you say those very few words that you haven't quite worked out, like "meed" instead of "need" and "whoot crean" instead of "whipped cream" and "aclariun" instead of "aquarium"-- They remind me that though you might sound and act quite grown up, you are still such a little girl.

Brynn has completely fallen in love with the story of Swan Lake. There isn't much that goes on around our house anymore that doesn't involve the characters or music of Swan Lake. Obviously, when I asked her what she wanted for her very small, very last-minute birthday party-- I should have expected the answer. So, I threw some decorations together, and we pulled off "Brynn's Swan Lake"...

 our little odette.

 

 sugar swan via this tutorial.

 grammy and pawpaw wanted to help sing "happy birthday" via facetime.

 blowing out her candles!

 odette's performance.

crown headband via this tutorial.

 odette/odile banner by mommy.

 always the lady when frosting is involved-- 100% Mommy genes.

happy, happy 4th birthday

brynnie ballerina!

we could not be more proud of you. 

keep dreaming those big dreams & reaching for the stars!

******************************

 My ultimate goal was to make a video of Brynn's favorite things at this age from her own perspective. Of course, it wasn't easy to get a 4 year-old to sit in one place and answer questions for more than a few minutes at a time. There were more than a couple of attempts before we finally scrapped that idea, but this is a little bit of what we came up with. All of these answers are 100% from Brynn's little imagination, and I think that is what I love the most about it.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

BRYNN | Swan Lake 4th Birthday

Brynnie Ballerina | The First Class

For most of you who keep up with us, this news will come as no surprise... Brynn has fallen head-over-heels in love with ballet. It is her dream. It is her passion.

Yes, I can already hear your exasperated eye-rolls... "How does a three year-old have a PASSION?" And before all of this, I too would have scoffed at the idea that a 3 year-old could have ideals that could be described as "a dream" or "a passion" in the same context that we would use for an adult... But I'm here to tell you, our girl has completely blown me away with this notion. For the past 10 months, we have lived in a world that has progressively entranced itself with ballet dancing. At this point in time, it's pretty much 24/7 ballet around here. If she is not dancing, she is watching YouTube videos of ballets-- her favorites are Swan Lake and Giselle. She would spend hours (if I let her) watching and mimicking the moves of principal ballerinas. We have recently enforced set hours of the day when I confiscate her ballet shoes and force her-- yes, FORCE HER-- to do something else. And when she is in trouble, taking away her ballet shoes for the day is more of a consequence than anything that I can ever dream up.

I might note that this obsession traces all the way back to last Christmas season. I decided one day that she needed a little festive culture, so I rented the motion picture version of The Nutcracker (you know, the one with Macaulay Culkin when he was like five years-old), which was On Demand-- and on sale, of course. I never in a million years expected the reaction that we got from her... We watched it every single day for the rest of that week (which was about as much as I could take). She was completely enamored. All she talked about for weeks were the characters. When she was playing in her room, my eavesdropping revealed that the Mouse King, Clara, and Nutcracker Prince had become regular figures in her pretend play.

 this is my favorite face, reserved for when she really gets lost in the music...

After about a month of the Nutcracker, I decided that she needed a new set of characters to idolize... So, I offered up Swan Lake. She took that and ran with it!! Before we knew it, I was buying Tchaikovsky's Masterpieces off iTunes so that she could dance to them at will. She memorized almost every piece and its corresponding part of the ballet. It didn't take long before she was requesting to listen to her "ballet music"- instead of her white noise- to fall asleep every night. This is when I knew that she had it baaaaadd.... 

We put off ballet class for as long as we possibly could. I wanted to make sure this wasn't a passing phase (even though I knew that it wasn't), and I really wanted her to start at the beginning of the dance season in the Fall so that she wasn't coming into groups that were already established. This is her first real activity where I won't be with her, so I wanted to make sure she was prepared... 

So, here we are-- her first class is on Saturday morning at America's Ballet School. We have prepared her uniform, her "listening ears," and her contagious anticipation for this moment... And as any mother would, I am just hoping and praying that all goes well for her.

 I have informed her that ballerinas have very good "listening ears"... ;)

I think you would agree that the excitement is written all over her face.

arabesque and relève

.

Now, before you even ask, I will fully admit that I know a whole lot of nothing about ballet. I took one year of it and I was done... I always loved to dance, but ballet was just not my thing. Also, what I have heard, watched, and researched about ballet has not been the most wonderful stuff. If Brynn wants to give it all up at any time, I will be 110% supportive of that. I am no "dance mom"... 

After all, this is all just supposed to be fun... :)

With all of that being said, I know that there will be a part of me that has tears in my eyes when we walk into dance school on Saturday... Thinking about my baby girl, who has grown up so much, and all of her hopes and dreams coming true for the first time in her life.

 Good luck, Brynnie Ballerina!

We could not be more proud of you.
Shoot for the stars, Sis!

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Brynnie Ballerina | The First Class

Our Brynnie Ballerina

For our family and friends, and most of those who follow us on Instagram, it may not be a surprise to hear about Brynn's new obsession with ballet. She has become quite the little quasi-ballerina. I say "quasi" because we're still lacking formal training, and she pretty much just makes up her own interpretive routines from what she sees on film... Which usually results in one of those adorable, melt-my-heart, tears-forming-in-the-eyes moments for me. 

As a mother, it's just so amazing to realize that we are spending our days listening to Tchaikovsky's ballets-- twenty-four/seven (she literally falls asleep to them at night), and hearing her plead and beg for me to put down the laundry- or her little brother- to dance with her. "Dance with me, Mommy! Let's dance like ballerinas!"

Yes, even when asked what she wants to be when she grows up... The answer is, "A ballerina."

How does a three year-old find this much passion for one, single activity? Where did this even come from? I mean, I'm not a dancer... No one in either of our families are dancers, either. I guess I will never be able to really answer that... Maybe one day I will look back and say that she was born to do it. I do remember watching her reaction to the first time she saw a ballet performance. Coincidentally, it was starring the Sugar Plum Fairy. She was mesmerized. And I honestly cannot wait until we tell her that she is going to be starting dance classes this Fall, as her 4th birthday gift.

Until then, we will be enjoying all of the impromptu performances, our endless twirling sessions, and the sounds of classical ballets throughout our house. We've already memorized most of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, so I'm hoping to venture into some new ballets soon. Thank goodness for YouTube. :)

I honestly hope that I never forget our dancing days, especially if she loses interest in the next few years. Watching your child have a passion for something is truly such a moving experience for a parent. To see what she is capable of will never surprise me... I love when she asks me, "Mommy, can I be a ballerina?" My favorite part of that question is the answer.

You can be whatever you want to be, Brynn. You are a smart and talented little girl. Whatever your dreams may be, or whatever you choose to do, I know you have the passion to make it happen... We love you so much, sweet girl.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Our Brynnie Ballerina