Nutcracker Memories

I just want to share a few memories from taking Kylie to see the Nutcracker this year.

To her, she is going to a real, live performance, but really she is going to a dress rehearsal as she could never sit through the entire show.

However, we do it up all fancy.  She wears her sparkliest dress (my spell check tells me that "sparkliest" is not a word, but they clearly have never lived with a little girl!) and her sparkly shoes.  Her Doll, Halle, dresses just like her and sometimes we even don a Tiara!!

It is THAT BIG of a deal!!

We have 4 specific memories from this show some are endearing and some are downright hilarious!  I hope you enjoy them as we did!

Memory #1:

As we were exiting Hoyt Sherman Place (the venue for the Nutcracker performance), we noticed that in the lower lobby there was an American Girl Doll displayed on the table in a "Clara" dress.

 Kylie walked over to the table with her doll, Halle, and exclaimed "Clara! I want to 'troduce (introduce) you to my friend, Halle!"

 It was soooo sweet! Especially, for a little girl who experiences speech and social difficulties! 

 Such a special moment!!

Memory #2:

 After watching the dress rehearsal, we got in the car and I said to Kylie: "The Nutcracker is all done. Tell Daddy where he should take us next!"

I was thinking that Kylie would say "to Perkins!"-(her very FAVORITE restaurant). However, much to our shock and in a very serious tone, she replied "to New York City, Please!!"

 .....Ummmm....don't think so princess!! ha! ha!

Memory #3:

I have been helping Kylie memorize the Christmas Story from the Bible (Luke 2). 

 In part of the ballet, there are several little girls that come on stage dressed as angels. 

 When the first angel appeared, Kylie exclaimed "Look!! The Angel of the LORD!!"

It was so funny! We are STILL cracking up at her declaration!!

Memory #4:

While at the Nutcracker rehearsal, Miss Rachel from Ballet Des Moines, invited Kylie to go backstage. It was such an honor and we were so excited to experience a little bit of what the dancers go through in the wings.

When we arrived backstage, Kylie was intrigued by the man dressed as a woman (who also hides little dancers under his/her huge skirt)

When they realized that Kylie was so intrigued by this, the person playing the role, began to emerge toward her so she could see the costume better. Kylie made a quick exit and was out.of.there.!!

We thought that she was just overwhelmed with the organized chaos that goes into making a show!

However, when we got home, she informed us that "The lady man was coming to get her" - We loved how she called the role "Lady Man"-- Pretty perceptive!! ha!

Kylie is spellbound!

Dress Rehearsal was simply AMAZING!! Ballet Des Moines and all their dancers and staff are so incredible!!

Not only did they invite us to take Kylie to the dress rehearsal for the Nutcracker but tonight they also invited Kylie to go back stage during the rehearsal.

Not only that, they invited her ON STAGE and allowed her to walk to the center holding THE.VERY.NUTCRACKER.DOLL. used in the show and prompted her to take a bow (which to our great delight, she did).....

In her little girl life, this was as big a deal as winning the lottery!

This momma cried tears of joy that my girl got to experience such kindness and generosity when they had HUGE stress on their plates preparing for their opening night!

Ballet Des Moines has been BEYOND good to my daughter and they show her care, patience and accommodation EVERY step of the way!

The gave her an experience she will never forget and most of all they put people before things (they might have held back the Nutcracker Doll fearing she might break it) but they didn't.

As parents, we are more than thrilled, elated, impressed and in awe of what School of Classical Ballet and Dance Without Limits has done for our precious girl!

We are SO THANKFUL!!

Ballerina Bliss

This past Sunday was Kylie's Ballet Recital with Dance Without Limits.

 Dance Without Limits is a unique Dance Program that provides dance opportunities for children who experience special needs.  They partner with Ballet Des Moines and their experienced ballerinas to pair up helpers (older girls) with DWOL dancers (younger children).

Kylie has had 2 helpers this year: Chloe and Ellen.  They are fabulous and she loves them!! They know just how to get her to do each move and often patiently wade through Kylie's moods on any given dance day.  These girls are ANGELS!!

Dance Without Limits has really expanded Kylie's world in so many ways. She sincerely loves it.

Ballet has also been beneficial for making friends, working on balance, speech, timing, gracefulness, and so many other things that our girl needs.

At the end of every session, They do "free dance" and Kylie cracks us up as she leads her helpers in a hilarious dance.  We call it the reindeer dance because that is what it looks like!  It is so funny and her helpers are such good sports at letting Kylie take the lead.

The above is a photo of Kylie's class minus one or two other students who needed to leave a little early.

Every recital, we try to do something special for Kylie's Teachers.  This recital we decided to make hand-print tutus.  I didn't know if Kylie would go for it- having to put her hand in paint, but she did really well.

We used this leotard template and traced it onto sparkly paper.  We only used the top half as we planned to make a tutu for the bottom part.

For the tutu, we first painted Kylie's hands white and then placed them strategically on the paper to form the tutu.

Once the paint dried, we added iridescent glitter dots over the tutu to give it some sparkle

This is what it looked like "in progress" so you can see the dots (When the glue dries you only see the dots when the light hits them - they are very subtle)

Then, we just embellished with ribbon and adhesive jewels to fancy it up a bit.

The last step was giving it a "frame" and some stability with black poster board.

On the back of the board, we glued Kylie's Thank You notes.

and

Kylie's teachers really enjoyed her efforts.  Here she is with Miss Monika

and here she is with Miss Julianna

Dance Without Limits has become a family affair.  We all love it and receive great joy from those who graciously serve our daughter. 

Thank you so much Dance Without Limits and all the donors from Ballet Des Moines and the Community who support these little ones who experience special needs!

(Look at that smile on her face!!)
What a GIFT you give to our family!!

Santa, Please bring me THIS!!

I am sure Kylie was wishing "Santa, Please bring me THIS!!" last night as we browsed in Pottery Barn Kids (PBK).

Pottery Barn Kids is Kylie's favorite store in the mall.  Last night, the ladies working in the store asked Kylie if she was looking for anything special.  I replied "EVERYTHING is special here!"  - we all got a good chuckle and shared a knowing grin.

In fact, my very first post on this blog was about Pottery Barn Kids.

Last night, Kylie went immediately to the jewelry boxes.  They are her very favorite items in Pottery Barn Kids. She LOVES watching the ballerinas spin to the music.

She especially loves changing out the ballerinas (every box comes with 2 of the tulle beauties).

Kylie loves things that come in sets.  She loves to line them up and change them out.  So, I asked the sales lady if you could purchase extra (or replacement) ballerinas.  She looked online and said she didn't see them available for purchase by themselves. (Bummer!! I was hoping I could order 2 or three extra to give her more to change out)

I would love for Kylie to have one of these beautiful boxes as she has been so consistent in her adoration of them for literally years.  Last night, she played with the card-stock ones, but if I ever lay down the money to buy her one, it will be a beautiful wooden one (they are expensive, but sturdy)

As you can see, Kylie made herself right at home in the little girls bedroom display (even taking off her shoes).  What I wouldn't give to be able to have a good size room for her so she could enjoy it like she enjoys the one in Pottery Barn Kids.

What was interesting about her play last night, was that she had both a pink jewelry box and a purple jewelry box that she was playing with.

There are two beds in the display and she kept going back and forth between the two.

She was trying to carry both boxes and I kept envisioning her dropping one and breaking the mirror inside, so I told her that she could only carry one.  She chose the purple one and went over to the other bed.

I followed her over (ever hovering over the boxes to ensure they didn't get broken or damaged) and asked Kylie "Is purple your favorite one?" She replied "Yes" but then I noticed that the bedding was all in purple shades (on that bed, the other bed was in pinks) so I asked Kylie "Is it your favorite because the bed is purple?" and she replied "Yes"

... so, moral of the story is that purple is not necessarily her favorite, but matching the surface that she is on, is really important. (light bulb moment!)

After about 45 minutes of watching the ballerinas, we moved on to the books and Kylie became fascinated with "Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet"

Here she is reading the Fancy Nancy book on yet another Pottery Barn Bed! 

(I think this book will go on the Santa wish list too)

Yep, I'm packing our bags.  We're just going to move in!  Pottery Barn Kids, here we come!!!