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LilliAnn is 4 years-old and this year marks her FOURTH dance recital! It was so nice spending the weekend celebrating just her! All spring long she has tagged along to tons of t-ball games, and has been so patient with me the last couple of months while I tended to the new baby, so I wanted to make her recital day special! My mom kept Rush, and Reid went with Jeb to a ball tournament while Lil and I spent the day getting all ready for the big night! We started the day with lunch at my mom's, and then we were off to the salon to get her hair curled. We got to the salon early (that was a first!), and it took less time than expected to fix Lil's hair so we were running way ahead of schedule! I was pretty pumped because it was the first day since having Rush that I actually felt like I had it all together! Lil fell asleep on the way to Seminole, and since we were early, I sat in the car at the dance studio and let her nap for a while. When she woke up, we went into the studio and changed into her kitty cat tap costume for dance pictures. She had so much fun doing dance poses while Rachel took her picture! And I think I had just as much fun helping Rachel come up with the poses! We had to keep re-applying the red lipstick (which is a nightmare for a 4 year old!) and it was super important to have baby wipes on hand for the photo shoot! The air conditioner wasn't on at the studio and it was WAY hot! By the time we left, Lil's curls were completely gone. It was three hours before the recital started and her hair was completely flat! I was freaking out because I knew that I couldn't find anyone working at a salon in Seminole late on a Saturday afternoon…and I'm terrible at curling hair! Thankfully, Kari suggested trying the new Super Cuts, and much to my surprise they could work her in! It worked out perfectly because we needed to kill some time before going up to the auditorium. The lady at Super Cuts used the curling wand and did an excellent job on Lil's hair! She even helped me pin in the flower that went with her ballet costume. Here are some pictures that I took outside of the high school before her first dance.
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LOVE
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Ahhhh! She looks so big! I want my little baby back!
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tiny dancer.
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This is Carson. Her family and ours have been friends since I was a baby. Her mom used to babysit me and now she's helping me with my kids! She was Lil's babysitter during the recital and helped to get her dressed between dances.
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my girl.
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My cousin's daughter, Miss Emma. This girl can dance!
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LilliAnn and Aspyn
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wow. melt. my. heart.
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pure happiness.
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She called this her "Tangled dress." She said she looked like Rapunzel!
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Mimi and Papa brought her flowers! "They are gorgeous!"
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But I think she liked the giant teddy bear best!
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Dad of the year! I snapped a quick pic of Jeb walking in with balloons, flowers, and the baby! He had to pick up a prize for his princess!
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I was a nervous wreck waiting for her to come on stage. I was so afraid that she would freeze up and not dance. Thankfully, she did AMAZING! I think it was the magic "dance glitter" that we sprayed all over her!
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Intermission, snacks…and then time for tap!
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Nana surprised her with a special ballerina charm necklace from Origami Owl.
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Sassy little kitty cat!
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This was her favorite dance. I knew that she would rock this one out!
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Her favorite part…"the football player." These pics were actually taken in rehearsal. During recital, they couldn't see/hear Ms. Darana very well and forgot to do the football player move. I asked Lil about it and she said, "All of the girls forgot to do that. Not just me."
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So…she did it for me in the hallway when the dance was over!
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Love this pic!
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LilliAnn and her friend Carly
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Snacks and iPad time while they waited for the finale!
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They loved the finale! Ms. Darana had them all pumped up about the balloons that were going to drop from the sky :)
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Love both of these girls! Darana was my dance teacher, and I appreciate her more than she'll ever know. I'm so grateful that LilliAnn has a dance teacher who loves her so much. #longliveSDC
