It's Dancey Dance Time!

I will admit that taking Penny to "Mom and Tot" dance classes is a glorified excuse to relive my childhood. And I'm pretty sure all of the other moms in class are in the same boat. I took dance when I was little, from the time I was a toddler on up to third grade, until my family moved to a remote area in Wyoming where classes weren't available. In Kindergarten, I told everyone I wanted to be a Ballerina when I grew up. My dad took me to a performance of the Nutcracker even though it was some distance away and he had to pawn part of his coin collection to pay for the tickets. I will never forget that.

Needless to say, Penny is in dance. We've been twice so far, and Penny prefers to watch everyone else before she participates, which is just about the time the class moves on to a new activity. Then she gets upset, and says "More?" "MORE?" Today, she was mad when the class started flying around the room (flapping our arms like wings), because we were supposed to be sitting on our spots. So I carried her a bit and we flew together. When I put her down, she took off, flying and running and shrieking. She was the noisiest, craziest bird. And when that song ended and it was time to move on, she became upset again.

Next came the parachute. She likes to walk with it, shake it, make it go up and down, but she does NOT like to be underneath it. The other kids seem to love it, but not Penny. Today she went under for a minute, while the rest of the class waved to her and said, "Hi, Penny!" to which she firmly replied, "No." and got the hell out of there.


Getting warmed up before class starts.

The rest of the time, she looks at herself in the mirror. I can't say I'm surprised by any of this, based on what I have heard about Britt as a child. Apparently, he didn't like to sing in school, but he wanted everyone else to sing because he just wanted to listen. Evidently, he wouldn't tumble in a gymnastics class until everyone left and he could do it alone. He also likes to look at himself in the mirror. A lot. So when I told him about dance class today, he just laughed.


Reading is easier than dancing. For one thing, no parachutes are involved.

Meanwhile, Penny says, "Too?" when she wants us to do whatever she is doing. If she is playing, she says, "Mama, too? TOO?!" This is how our conversations go:

Penny: "Watch?"
Me: "Do you want to watch something?"
Penny: "Okay." (Pause) "Too?"
Me: "Do you want me to watch too?"
Penny: "OKAAAAY!" (Cackling).

If she is doing anything, she will tap her index finger and say, "Too?" That finger cracks me up. It's the most understated, demanding gesture ever. TAP, TAP, MOMMY. And I feel bad when I'm in the middle of something, like cooking dinner. If I can't join her game, she mournfully says, "Up? UP?" because she feels rejected. And yet, she can entertain herself amazingly well when it's time for bed. Hmmm.