We have a couple new performances to present.
The first of which is the Spring Performance for her dance class. In a later post we’ll display her ballet and tap dance performace which is taught by a different dance teacher. The first performance in this one is so cute because the girls become “bottle necked” when they start to move into a circle. We could really see Cadence’s ballet steps in this showcase, even though she is not learning ballet in this class. She points her toes and fingertips and tries to be so graceful.
The second performance, Scott attempted to do picture-in-picture. Next time one of us will stay close up and the other will stay full screen, and we’ll see if we like that better.
We have an opportunity to keep her in this particular class as she moves to Kindergarten in the Fall, because the dance teacher has classes in the Elementary school also. We’re just not sure if we want to keep her in this class or move on to one that will train more dance. We do know that she LOVES dance and performances, and she always has. If she’s not performing in a dance arena, she’s performing in the living room. She’s going to be one of those kinds of kids that uses performance as an outlet.
No matter what else we do, she’s going to continue in gymnastics. But it’s very sad thinking that this might have been her last dance performance. My baby’s growing up. I’ll be going thru a lot of the baby-growing-up-whining these days. She’s already graduated from the dance class and ballet/tap dance, and in only a week she’ll be graduating from preschool. This time in her life is a major life change.
And although I’m so anxious to see who she evolves into, I’m a mess, knowing that I’ll never have that little baby back again. Hold on to them while you can. Hug them when they ask you. Rock them in the chair when they need it. sing to them, read to them, cuddle with them. It all goes so fast. I’m grabbing mine up every chance I get these days.

Here are some before/after still pictures from the performances of the past...
Spring 2006 Showcase





Winter 2006 Showcase







Spring 2007 Showcase





Winter 2008 Showcase






(Spring 2009 stills to come)

But now, we present the Winter 2009 showcase in it’s full glory.

There are a lot of events happening around her in the next couple of months.
Tomorrow I’m going to a tea party at Cady’s preschool to celebrate Mother’s Day. I love these kinds of events and the special time it gives Cady and me to be together to celebrate our mother/daughter bond. And she has a (hand around mouth, and whispering loudly) SPECIAL GIFT to give me during the event. No one tell Scott, but I adore handmade presents so much more than bought ones. I’ve been wanting a sapphire ring for a long time now, but every year we run in to budget issues, so every year it becomes a part of my wish list for the next year. But when I get those cute little hand made goodies of love, somehow it just doesn’t matter any more what else was on my wish list.

After tomorrow’s event, on May 16th, Cady is going to have her spring performance in Jazzerettes on stage. The following week, she will have her yearly performance for Kinder Dance, a combination class of ballet and tap. Then, next month my baby graduates from preschool.
Pictures to come of all the events.
But for now, here’s a few pictures of her practicing for Kinder Dance.

Sometimes she looks so old and serious.







Stretching, with feet in first position




The “Dancer Walk”.



But she really does love this class.











Showing some attitude

A few days ago, we met our new neighbor.
He came to our front door and introduced himself, as he spoke in broken English. “Hello. My name is Tian. I know it’s important to have good neighbors and a good neighborhood.” He went on to say that he was having a party the next day, and asked if it was ok that his friends and family parked on our side of the street. Then he gave me a Christmas card. He held 10-15 of those cards in his hand, as he went door to door to introduce himself.
I was very impressed with his politeness, and extension of good will. He hadn’t even moved in yet because he was busy fixing up the place. Yet, there he was, handing out Christmas cards to people he doesn’t know. When he saw that Cady is Asian, he looked at her curiously, but did not ask me any questions.
Later that day, I made a couple of cakes. One for our work party and one for Tian’s house warming party. When I handed it to him, he accepted it with both hands and bowed slightly as he said his thanks.
Tonight, he stopped by with a simple Christmas gift for Cadence. It read on the package, “From Tian. To wonderful girl.”

This little story really has nowhere it’s leading, except to say that kindness is contagious.


We leave you with a few pictures from after Cady’s winter performance this year. We’re so blessed to have her in our lives.



“Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, a time when the Love of God and the love of our fellow men should prevail over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and deeds of the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God.”
Charles Dickens

One of Cady's dance classes is all about beginning ballet and tap dance. The Kinder dance teacher comes to the school, and teaches the positions with song and poetry. There was a very small performance at her preschool, for the parents to see what the children are learning. She's learned almost all of the ballet positions. Her feet are always positioned correctly. She was very proud of herself when we watched her perform. I was too.

Another spectacular performance.

(Just under 9 minutes in length)

From the Family Fun Challenge, posted on Loving Lydia's blog; Here are some pictures that sum up our Cadence.







Her name fits her so well. And we had no idea. When it comes to dancing and tumbling, she has always been advanced. She started doing perfect summersaults when she was only 18 months old. This girl LIVES to move to rhythm. If a dance routine comes on TV, she can't help herself. She stands up and starts to dance with it. She's danced with the best of them. The conetestants on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the stars, and even Napolean Dynomite.
She watches their hand movements, and their foot movements, and mimics them as best she can, with every move. And I must say, she does really well. She LOVES dancing and gymnastics. We couldn't keep her down if we tried.

I grew up in the 70s, and spent my late teen years in the disco era. Long scarves, silky shirts, feathered hair, and cool looking shades. We were stylin'.
A couple of weeks ago, Cady and I were eating lunch on the couch. It's not something we often do, but it was a treat for both of us. For me it was because I watched a concert on PBS that highlighted several disco stars. For Cady it was all about .....well, eating on the couch, and wearing her own cool shades, a new pair of purple goggles. As it turned out, she too was movin' to the groovin' when A Taste of Honey sang Boogie Oogie Oogie. You can even see her recreating the Funky Chicken dance.

Check it out here:
Boogie Oogie Cady and her hip goggles. OUT A SIGHT!



Adding a YouTube link for Yoli and others with difficulty getting Quicktime to work right.