Our princess

The week before the illness overcome our household, Sadie was the princess of her dance class. Basically, being the princess entitles you to wearing a special crown and being able to lead the class in one dance, even getting to pick out the song as well. It's a pretty big deal to all of the girls in Sadie's dance class and it was finally her turn. (Actually, I think her teachers forgot to have her be the princess earlier in the year. Each week at the end of class, the girl who would be princess the following week would get a slip of paper that explained what being the princess was all about. And each week Sadie anxiously waited to see if she would get the paper. And each week I could tell that she was a bit disappointed but also waited SO patiently, knowing that her turn would come. And I wasn't really paying much attention, but a few weeks ago Sadie said to me, "Mommy, when will I get to be princess?" and I realized that there were some girls who were getting their second turn. So I mentioned it to Sadie's teachers one week and at the end of class, she came to me with a piece of paper and a HUGE smile on her face. I say all this to point out just how patient Sadie is and how bad I felt for her!)

But once it was finally her turn, she was so excited. She slept in sponge rollers overnight to have extra curly hair and wore a special tutu that Nani and Pops had gotten her. This girl was beyond thrilled....until she got up in front of the class and had a rare moment of shyness..

...which lasted all of about 15 seconds...

..and quickly dissipated! She loved it every minute of it.

After they perform their routines and before their 'large muscle' activities, each girl sits by her cubby with her sign and waits patiently to receive their sticker for the week. And each week, Sadie sits and stares at herself in the mirror....sometimes she's a bit too entertained by it, but it's mostly cute. Don't you just love the expression on her face here? So innocent

Listening attentively....Sadie is very talkative and is always thinking, but she is also an incredible listener and hangs on every single word people say. She does such a great job listening carefully and then actually following her teachers' instructions. She pays such close attention and doesn't forget a single word they say (this also goes for her Sunday School teachers, BSF teachers and Matt's 'Bobby and Jim' stories he tells the kids at night.)

Sadie was the best princess and I was so proud of how she patiently waited until mid-February to have her turn and never complained. And I think she would definitely say it was worth the wait!!