Green Day and Recital Day

Today was another double-fun day for both girls.  For Julia, Kindergarten Alphabet-Theme Count-down continues, and today was G(reen) Day!:

For Madeleine, it was Ballet Recital Day!  This afternoon was her last ballet class, and parents got to watch as the kids did warm-ups and then performed their routine, set to a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Here's a quick video of their warm-ups, in which Madeleine smiles proudly as she carries a ball around the circle on tiptoe:



And here is their recital dance, which they performed twice for the audience:



I'm *really* glad I decided to video the first dance rather than the second, because Madeleine's attention span seemed to lapse on the second go-around.  Instead of dancing or doing anything, she opted to stand in place, staring blankly while all the other kids completed the dance routine the second time.

In addition to videos, I was able to snap a few memorable photos of Madeleine in first position, in which she managed to alter her face or position *just* as the camera happened to flash.  In our series of really photogenic Madeleine pictures, we have:

Madeleine, in First Position, with her tongue out:

Madeleine, in First Position, Over-Smiling and bending her legs:

Madeleine, in First Position, picking her nose:

Madeleine, in First Position, Obscuring Her Face:

Madeleine, in First Position, with her mouth gaping open:

At long last, I was able to capture this somewhat decent photo, after which I gave up on the camera all together:

After the recital, Madeleine and her ballet friends were all treated to popsicles, which they enjoyed out on the front steps of the house where class is held.  All was hunky-dory until Madeleine chomped too big of a popsicle bite and burst into tears over the "freeze-brain" she was experiencing, but on the bright side, it was the last bite, so she was able to enjoy all but the final bit of it.

One final comment from the little ballerina, on her recital experience: "It was GOOD.  Because...it was sooooo PRACTIBLE."

Got it, loud and clear.