KC Dance Day

We did KC Dance Day again, and like last year Hannah was not into wearing dance clothes.  She wasn't doing ballet anyway.  She tried out jazz and hip hop.  She did not like hip hop, but she was okay with jazz.  Olive only wanted ballet and she loved it!  She decided not to do soccer this fall and instead signed up for dance class.  A girl after my own heart. :)  She is taking ballet and tap.

KC Dance Day

 When I asked the girls if they wanted to do KC Dance Day again, Hannah wasn't so sure.  Olive loves dancing and dressing up so she immediately picked out a leotard.  Hannah got dressed in dance clothes too, but she wasn't happy about it.  I told her she could just wear workout clothes instead and she got a big smile.  "Good!  I'm more of a soccer girl.  I don't like tutus."  And so she wore soccer shorts. :)  The girls did a pre-ballet class together and then Olive did a creative movement class by herself.  Olive loved it!

The girls got blow-up crowns as part of their goodie bag.  Hannah played with them while Olive was taking her second class.  You can see a blurry Olive on the left.

KC Dance Day

KC Dance Day started with lots of drama.  Olive was crying and throwing a fit.  She refused to put on clothes.  I said that was fine, I would just take Hannah because she was dressed.  Then Hannah started crying because she didn't want to go without Olive.  So they were both crying and hugging each other.  I said if Olive got ready in five minutes I would take her.  Of course when we got there she loved it.  Ballet is more of an Olive thing than Hannah thing, so I have no idea why she didn't want to go at first.  Hannah took a ballet class, then Olive, then we watched the KC Youth Ballet perform.

 
Olive did a wonderful job of paying attention and following her teacher...and she was one of the youngest in her class!  She even ended up on TV!

KC Dance Day

Hannah and I had a mother-daughter date at KC Dance Day.  The Ballet gives free dance classes to kids and adults.  Hannah was SUPER excited about going.  She had her outfit picked out the night before.  She took two classes (pre-ballet and creative movement) and we watched two performances.  She loved every minute.  Olive chose biking at Roe Park for her special Dada activity.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KC Dance Day

The girls took a Creative Movement class (ages 3-5) at KC Dance Day.  It was great that they could be in the same class.  They were some cute ballerinas!

2013

I love starting a new year.  Starting fresh and making goals/resolutions is always fun.  This year my big goal is to be more "in the moment", which means to enjoy things while they are happening.  Too often I'm distracted thinking about all the things I need to do or trying to multi-task and get lots of things done at once.  I want to slow down and take the time to focus on one thing at a time.  The girls are growing up way too fast and I want to soak up all the little moments while I can- reading books before bed with one of them on each knee, talking about their day at preschool, playing dress up, and all of the little things that I don't want to forget.  Other goals for this year are to have more date nights with Steve and to organize one room in the house every month.  We've already gone out to a movie in January, so we're off to a good start! 

January is also a good time to reflect on what has happened in the last year.  Looking back I was shocked by how many things we did in 2012.  Steve changed jobs from Black&Veatch to Cogent.  He really likes the new atmosphere of a smaller company and more varied work.  Steve also ran the Boston Marathon and did the MR 340, a boat race on the Missouri River that took 4 days.  We went on a couples vacation to Maine and then a family vacation to Colorado, which was the girls' first time on a plane.  This year Olive started walking and talking.  Hannah got potty trained and started writing.  Both girls went from in-home daycare to preschool.  And of course the girls and I had lots of adventures this summer doing fun things all over KC.

The best thing about a new year is looking forward to what will come next.  I already know a few things that I'm excited about in 2013.  One of my best friends from high school is moving back to Kansas City in February and having a baby in April.  Two of my other good friends in KC are also pregnant with babies due in the summer.  And my brother just got engaged to his girlfriend over with winter break!  He proposed in front of the Nelson Art Gallery at night.  It sounded beautiful.  I can't wait to add another member to our family and dance at their wedding!

 



Last Weekend of Summer

Last weekend might have been my favorite weekend of the whole summer. Okay, maybe Omaha was better, but this was a close second.  We just spent the weekend in KC doing some of our favorite things.  (Sorry the pictures are not very good- or missing entirely for some things we did.)

We went to the art museum to see Monet's Water Lilies on Friday afternoon.  Hannah was not impressed.  Her favorite thing was a horse sculpture.  She also likes the building itself and all of the stairs and ramps.

We went to my favorite restaurant (Buca di Beppo) for dinner, and when we were leaving there was a live band outside.  It got us in the dancing mood, so we went home and had a dance party in the family room.  

Car outside the restaurant:

My friend Brooke was in town from Milwaukee, so we met her Saturday morning in Leawood Park.  Hannah did some of her favorite things: riding her trike and throwing rocks in the creek.  After naps we went back to the same park to swim.  We'd never been to that pool before so it was fun to play on new stuff.  To top off our day we had cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes.

Sunday Steve went on a bike ride (one of his favorite things), and we took the girls to the City Market for the first time.  We got the best blueberries ever and Hannah got to eat honey right out of the comb (and wear a bee keepers hat).

So that is pretty much my idea of a perfect weekend- museum, pasta, dancing, park, swimming, chocolate shakes, and market.  And of course doing it all with my wonderful family.  Have I mentioned how much I love having two daughters?  I do.  They are the best. And Steve is pretty great, too.  :)