Tiny Dancer | A Personal Post

My sweet girl is 5 now.  Even typing that is hard for me!  She is the baby of our family, so when her 5th birthday came it really hit me that this was it....I was no longer the mother of a baby or a toddler or even a pre-schooler.  I am now the mother of elementary age children--all three of them.  I am so very proud of each of my kids, but there is also a pain in watching them grow up and gain independence.  It's a strange mix of relief, grief, joy and pride.  But I digress... When Avary turned 5, we told her she could choose an activity..something special that she could do away from Mom and Dad and her big brothers.  She quickly chose dance, so we were excited when we heard our neighborhood was offering a 6 week intro to dance class.  She asked every day for a month, leading up to the class, when it was time for ballet! When the day finally arrived, she was all smiles.

Although the class included both ballet and tap, she was all ballerina!

Watching Avary dance was so fun for me.  She is truly talented.  (Yes, I'm ridiculously biased, but her teachers told me too, so I know it wasn't just partiality skewing my perception!)  The best part was seeing her independence and confidence.  She is an amazing little girl!

We were really blessed that Avary was one of two little girls in the class.  This meant a lot of one on one attention and moving at a faster pace than she could have in a larger group.  I was amazed at how she improved week to week!

Avary Grace, I'm so proud to be your mama.  And, although there is a tiny bit of pain in letting you grow up, it is completely overshadowed by the joy I feel watching you spread your wings and fly!  I love you, monkey!