Maddie's Ballet Recital

Maddie has been in a weekly ballet class on base since April, and she has just loved it. She's loved everything about it: putting on her leotard and tights, carrying her special bag with her ballet shoes, and of course, saying "good bye" to me when it's time for her to go into class. She would come home showing us how she does the "pony dance" and how she can point-flex her toes. We have been thrilled watching all of this, especially due to her gross-motor delay. Not only was she able to do things she hadn't done before (like going up on her toes), but she was really motivated to do them, which can sometimes be difficult with physical therapy.
Her ballet classes ended last week, and culminated with a recital last Sunday. I can't tell you how excited I was when I found out that Maddie's ballet recital just happened to coincide with my parents' visit. They were able to see Tim in a T-ball game on Saturday, and Maddie in her recital on Sunday... things that they probably wouldn't have been able to do were we still in Maryland. The recital was just wonderful, and Maddie did great! She amazed us not only with her new abilities, but with her complete focus during the recital. She knew just what to do for the choreography, and paid close attention to her instructor the whole time. (Now, if she could just follow a 2-step direction at home!!) My favorite part of the recital had to be during the skipping exercise. Maddie simply shouted, "I'm skipping!!" with such joy and pride. I couldn't help but cry. We also witnessed her first jump... a real jump with both feet off the ground! It seems like such a simple thing, but it has been a long-time coming. Thank you God!

I was able to record most of the recital on my digital camera. We uploaded all of the clips to YouTube. Feel free to watch a clip or two (but please don't feel like you have to watch all of them).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iwPqgfeLgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp6UauM-wKc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaIB_SG3ARM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJIr73W3Ueg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uRbZwunwKs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiU6_ERx-XU