Friday, October 19, 2007

Ballet, Tap & GymMastics

Allie loves ballet and tap. She loves everything about it--the leotards, or "reotards" as she calls them, the shoes, the hair, and Miss Hannah. Sorry about the blurry pictures--I'm taking them through glass so they're not very sharp.

Allie also loves gymnastics. She got to ring the bell on Wednesday for knowing the entire course without having to be reminded of any step. She was so proud of herself!

















Gymnastics, or "gymMastics," as Allie calls it, is perfect for her. She doesn't show any fear, and she loves the challenge of each task. She definitely has a competitive spirit and loves to please her teachers. As you can see from the three consecutive pictures below, she always has to be the winner. Not only in gymnastics, but also when it comes to walking in a store, getting out of the bath, getting dressed, etc. She actually gets upset if anyone else wins, and will let you know!


There is no way that Allie will let anyone be first. She was on a dead sprint at this point and was determined to be the winner. The good thing about her wanting to win is that it works really well for leverage when I want her to do something. She's opposed to Kate winning about 99.9% of the time!



















Miss Hannah is Allie's ballet and tap teacher. For some reason Allie thinks she needs to tilt her head to the side for this sideways skipping move (I don't know the correct ballet term). It's pretty hilarious to watch--in fact, I think all the parents laugh (or I should say, try not to laugh) when Allie does this move. I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate it much, but we're on the other side of the glass, so she'll never know!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Happy 70th Birthday Dad!

We celebrated my dad's 70th birthday this weekend at my sister's house in Newport Beach. My dad's sisters, Mary and Linda, and my cousin Stephanie are visiting from the East Coast, so it was extra special. We had a great dinner on Friday night, then on Saturday we walked around Balboa Island and crossed the ferry to the peninsula. Grammy, Allie, Marelle and Cody went on the ferris wheel. At one point Allie looked over the edge and said, "Grammy, this is freaking me out!" After watching the kids play for awhile, we went to El Torito Grill for dinner. We had a great time! I'll download pictures soon!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

GymMastics and Ballet/Tap Combo



Allie started "gymmastics" and a ballet and tap combo class. She loves both classes. I think she likes tap the best (probably because of the shoes) but gymnastics is a perfect fit for her. She's constantly climbing and jumping off anything she can, and has absolutely no fear in doing so. She's been practicing at home (she uses the fireplace hearth as a beam) and wears her leotard and tap shoes as much as possible.