"Ballerina Girl... You are so Lovely"

Stella was in her very first dance recital on Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful Mother's Day present to see my sweet girl all dressed up for her big day! Here she is at home before we left for the recital.
She was very excited about it all which made me so happy. I didn't know what to expect. The funny thing is she really didn't either. On the way there Stephen and I were talking about how she wasn't nervous at all because she really didn't know what she was on her way to do. We had talked about  the recital and that all of the moms and dads would be watching in the audience but I wasn't sure how she would react to the whole thing.

I love this picture. She looks so serious and so beautiful. She looks like a professional dancer already!

We had lots of hair spray applications. And she even got to wear a little make-up, which was very exciting for her!

Rayna did a great job throughout the whole event. She played in the cafeteria while we got ready. And during the recital she did great. It was about 2 hours long and included 30 different dances but she had a good time. She enjoyed watching all of the little girls and looking out for Stella. And of course we had lots of snacks and toys on hand too. 

Here is Rayna greeting Stella after the recital. She was so proud of her big sister! And Stella loved being greeted by such adoring fans.

When she was up there on that big stage looking more gorgeous than I could have ever imagined, I thought that is my daughter. The baby girl that made me a mother. I couldn't even cry. I couldn't even let myself think about what it all meant. I was so proud of her for getting up there and not being scared. I just had to focus on that and not think about anything else. Or I may have started crying and never stopped. How can this be that my tiny baby is old enough to get all dressed up and stand, without me, on a huge stage. It was one of those moments when the reality of how quickly it is all going hit me.  But instead of thinking of what will be I had to let that reality remind me of what is at this moment. She is growing and changing right before our eyes and I want to cherish every moment. 

Below is the video of Stella's recital we put on You Tube. We weren't sure of the size of the auditorium that Stella would be performing in. So I told here that she might be able to see us. But that was a mistake because I didn't realize how big it was and we were in the back. You can see that she is looking for us during most of the dance!

For the second song Stephen went up to the front. Toward the end of the song Stella spots Stephen. 

See if you can tell when she does :)