She Finally Did It

Briana finally learned to swing all by herself. She could swing a little, but she could never keep the momentum going for very long after I pushed her and she could never really get it going by herself. She always preferred for me to push her because she just couldn't keep the height or the pace. Yesterday after her swim lesson, Briana wanted to check out the little play area next to the pool that she had spotted the day before. She shot toward the swings and asked me to push her. I obliged. After a while, I was feeling a bit warm and tired, so I wanted to sit down. She looked at me across the grass and asked me to push her again. I told her that she is almost 5 years old and she really should to try to do it herself. She started to pump her legs and she got higher and higher and higher. And she kept going and going and going. She was so proud of herself. And I was so proud. It finally clicked for her. She swung for about 20 minutes all by herself. I was so excited to capture both pictures and video on my iPhone...

And here are a couple of cute photos I snapped at the playground today...

And we had a celebratory slice of pizza for lunch. Miss B at the restaurant...

Swim Lessons

You might remember that Briana took swim lessons last summer and she totally got over her fear of putting her head under water. Last year, she took her swim lessons with a group of little friends. But this year, I decided to sign Bri up for private lessons. Mainly because of our swim scare this year. But another reason was because I found out that Bri's gymnastics coach also gives private swim lessons. And I really believe Briana will benefit from one on one teaching. How awesome is that?! Bri loves her gymnastics coach, so who better than to teach her to swim too? But I will really miss hanging out with the swim group mamas' because that was so much fun last summer.

Here are some photos and a short video of Bri's first lesson. She worked on breathing, kicking her legs, floating and swimming under water... 

I Feel Like I Was There

When you drop your child off at camp for a few hours each day, you don't get to see everything that happens. You get to see the adorable recital at the end of the week, but you don't get to see all the fun stuff leading up to it. Luckily, the dance center took lots of photos of the kids at camp last week so the parents could see all the fun. They got some really great ones with Bri in them. It really looks like all the girls had a total blast. I kind of feel like I was there now!

Dance Camp Recital (With Videos!)

What can I say? Briana's recital was too stinkin' cute. Little girls, all in princess dresses, trying their best to follow a routine. It was adorable (and a little chaotic at times)! First, the girls did a few floor exercises. Second, they performed a ballet number. And third was the tap number. I am so incredibly proud of Bri. She has never taken any dance lessons before and I think she did amazing! At the very end, all the girls received an award. Briana received the "pretty pigtails award" for her pigtails on "pigtails day" (see my pigtail creation toward the bottom of this post). Mary Lin received the cutie patootie award and I can't think of anyone more deserving! In one of the pictures below, you will see the stalkarazzi parents watching the show (taken by the dance studio). Enjoy the videos at the end of the post. They are short, but they are cute!!!

 

(My pigtail creation...)

Enjoy the adorable videos!!

A Week Of Dance Camp

Briana loved every single second of dance camp this week. There was a theme for each day - and today there is a parent show at 11:30. I can't wait to see what my gal learned this week!

Monday ~ Ballerina Day ~

Tuesday ~ Ariel Day ~

Wednesday ~ Wacky Day ~

 

Thursday ~ Pigtails Day ~

 

Friday ~ Princess Day ~

And here are a few extra pictures I took this week of dance camp excitement (Bri enjoyed camp with her friend Mary Lin)...