The Big Show

June 6th was Addy's last day of dance for the semester.

Instead of having a big recital, The Little Gym has what they call  "The Big Show." Each class puts on an end of the year performance but it is there in The Little Gym at their regular class time. Which is perfect for Addy. (I specifically asked about recitals when I called around looking for a dance class for her. I didn't want to put her in a super serious class with an over the top recital & have it be too overwhelming for her.)

Addy had to 'warm up' a little before leaving for class.

Upon arriving, Addy & the other girls went into the dance room to warm up while myself, Alex (Nick missed it because he was out of town for work) and the other parents went into the gym to await the show.

Then it was time for "The Big Show" to start. 

First the girls performed their tap routine.

Twice!

And then their ballet routine.

Then they showed off their skills in several gymnastics areas. 

First on the uneven bars.

Then backflips

and then the balance beam.

When they were done with everything, they had a little time left over for free play in the gym. 

Addy got back on the balance beam & was able to walk the whole thing without a spotter.

Alex got a turn too.

Then it was time for the award ceremony. Each girl got an award 

and a medal.

And so did the class mascot!

Here is Addy's whole dance class!

And her is Addy with her amazing teacher Ms. Brittany.

I am so proud of Addy! She did amazing! She loves taking dance & is looking forward to the fall when class starts again. 

Mid Season Showcase

This past Thursday was the end of the first semester of Addy's dance class. So they performed a little mid season showcase to show the parents all the skills they've been working on. I was able to get a few videos to share with you guys. 

Here is her tap routine.

And here is her ballet routine.

Then they went into the gym and did a couple different gymnastic moves.

Here she is doing her somersaults.

And here she is on the bar.

And on the balance beam.

All the girls in the class got an award for completing the first semester of the class.

Here's Addy getting hers.

And here she is with all the girls in her dance class.

It was a great little show & I was (and still am) SO SO PROUD of Addy! She did a fantastic job following along to the routines & she just amazes me every day!

Catch Up

I know all you readers have anxiously been awaiting my next post, checking the blog every day to see if it's been posted yet! (Lol, don't worry, I'm only kidding, I'm not delusional.)

The reason I haven't posted in a while is because I've been busy. I mean really busy! Let me tell you how our week goes... We have T ball practice & a game each week, sports skills class, speech, OT, & dance class. Addy has girl scouts every other week. I've been volunteeering at Addy's school & had to go to a couple girl scout trainings too. Not to mention I am the team captain for Addy's elementary school Walk Now for Autism Speaks team so I have been putting fundraisers together. So yes, like I said, I've been busy!

So let me just catch you up with what's been going on at our house...

Nick & I had our 11 year anniversary on September 15th! We ate dinner at RA Sushi & then went to The Chocolate Bar for dessert. We split this piece of rocky road chocolate cake & boy was it delicious!

Addy performed a few magic tricks for us. Here she is doing that trick where you put a ball under a cup, slide the cups around & then ask which cup the ball is under. Yep, I was able to find the ball. (It might have been a little harder for me if she had cups that were all the same. But shh, don't tell her that, lol.) She also made a few things disappear & pulled a rabbit out of her hat!

 

Alex has been playing with his stuffed animals a lot lately. Here he is snuggled up with some of them watching TV.

I bought some new fall candles. This one smells great!

With the beautiful weather, we've been having playdates at the park. This day, we spent 2 hours at the playground & only left so that we could eat lunch.

 

This guy has also been enjoying the beautiful weather!

 

Addy pretended that she was a princess & said she needed a castle. So I made her one! I took 3 boxes & taped them together & used gray construction paper as blocks. It even had a real working drawbridge.

I've made several door hangers these past couple of weeks. I'm selling them now & have had lots of orders from teachers at Addy's school.

 

Alex had his first t ball game. (And his second & missed his third.) I'll try to do a separate post on his games soon.

Addy & Daddy came & watched Alex play his game.

Addy cracked the screen on the iPad. So mommy got an iPad 3 & Addy now has her own iPad. (She already thought it was her's anyway, lol!)

I love how she fixed her cracked screen! A bandage makes everything better!

 

Look at this mess Alex made. He just wanted a 'little' cinnamon on his marshmallows! (And on the floor & on the stepstool & on the wall!)

Alex didn't want to participate at Sports Skills class again. Until the last about 20 minutes. And then of course, he didn't want to leave afterwards. The plan next week is to just drop him off & leave. Oh... we'll see how that goes, lol!

Addy has been doing great in her dance class! Getting more & more comfortable on the balance beam.

I've been working a lot on not only our team for the walk, but I'm also helping to set up a support group for parents of special needs kids in Sienna.

 There's been a lot of loving on a certain kitty going on in this house!

 

We've been playing outside

 

And playing dress up. (We play dress up a lot!)

Alex was Jake from Jake & the Neverland Pirates

 

and a fireman. Addy would go put Bailey on her dresser & yell for Fireman Alex to come save her kitty. It was so funny!

 

Addy & I had our first girl scout troop meeting.

 

And Nick & I ended these past couple of hectic weeks with a nice relaxing trip to Georgia to go visit some of our best friends.

 

And that's about it. I think you're all caught up with what's been going on in the Strickland household. I'll try not to wait 3 weeks before my next post. (But no guarantees, lol.)

My Beautiful Ballerina

 

A couple of weeks ago, Addy told me that she wanted to take a ballet class. So I called around in search of a class that would be a great fit for her. And what I found was a mixed dance class at The Little Gym where they do 15 minutes of tap, 15 minutes of ballet & 30 minutes of gymnastics.

 Her first class was last Thursday. And she absolutley LOVED it!
(And her second class was yesterday.)

 

Doesn't she look so sweet in her ballet outfit!

 

Tap Time... For some reason Addy didn't want to wear her tap shoes. So she did her tap moves in her tights. (She did wear her tap shoes during her second class though.)

 

Working on her ballet walks (Just like baseball, I'm sure there's probably some ballet terminology I need to learn, lol)

 

About to do a handstand

 

Handstand

 

Walking on the balance beam

 

Hanging on the bars

 

Addy did awesome in class! She's such a visual learner, so she would watch what the other girls in the class were doing & then copy them.  And her teacher was really great with her & kept redirecting Addy whenever she would get distracted. The class is really small (the first week there were 4 girls counting Addy & yesterday there were only 3) which makes it easier for her to get all the help & direction that she neeeds. I'm so glad that she is enjoying herself. She is just growing & maturing so much & I could not be prouder of my beautiful ballerina!





Insta Friday

It's Friday & once again I'm posting this on time! What what!!

If you remember last week, the kids were sick. By Saturday they were feeling better & wanting to get out of the house. So we walked to the playground at Addy's school for a little play time.
And of course Teddy & Mr. Dinousar had to go too.

  

On Sunday we took a family shopping trip to get Addy some dance shoes & Alex a T ball glove. Addy wanted the windows rolled down & loved having the wind blow in her face.

 

Day 9: something we usually do on the weekend... eat pizza

 

Addy played lots of dress up this week. She was a cowgirl.

 

She was a mommy,

 

 a pirate,

 

 and a princess.

 

Addy was looking for Bailey & Alex spotted him in the bushes. He pointed to Bay & said "Look mommy, I found Bailey. And you're right, I do have really great eyesight!" Lol. (What makes this so funny is I didn't tell him he had really great eyesight.)

 

Day 10: black & white... A sweet Bailey kitty hiding in the bushes. (I wonder who he's hiding from, lol!)

 

Monday night I brought Addy to the Girl Scouts membership rally. They let all the Daisy aged girls (Kinder & 1st graders) make a smore swap. (Swaps are little homemade trinkets that girl scouts trade with each other.) I got her registered & even volunteered to be the leader of a new troop!

 

Day 12: together...Nick was out out town Monday night so I let my babies snuggle up in my bed together.

 

Tuesday was the first birthday bakers of the school year. I made white chocolate oreo balls & chocolate chip cookie dough truffles for the teachers. They may not look that great but they tasted delicious! Click here if you want the recipe for the cookie dough truffles. (Because I know you all know how to make oreo balls already.)

 

On Wednesday, Alex had playdate with his friends.

 

And that night he had his first T ball practice. He loved it! Be on the look out for a separate post on T ball.

 

On Thursday, Alex had his second sports skills class at The Little Gym. They were still focusing on soccer & learned about being the goalie. He did much better this time & maybe in another week or 2 he'll actually participate without me being in the room.

 

Thursday night Addy had her first dance class. She loved loved loved it! Again, a separate post on this will soon follow.

 

There were a couple worksheets in Addy's folder on Friday after school. As I was checking out her work, I noticed the names on 2 of her papers... Me & Mom... Alex & Daddy. I think it's pretty sweet that she includes the whole family in her school work.

 

It was a really busy week & with everything I signed the kids up for, I know we are going to have many more just like this one! Hopefully I'll survive the fall, lol!