Ballerina-For-A-Day

Yesterday, Maya was invited to attend a Ballerina-for-a-day event hosted by a group of the little girls that she plays with while the boys are in school. My friends Deanna and Yasoda put these events together, and they do such a great job. I'm always impressed that they know just what to do with these little girls. Being a boy's mom for so long, I still feel like I am floundering when it comes to thinking of activities that little girls may enjoy.

When we entered the studio, I realized that maybe I should have tried to convince Maya to gussy up a bit. All the girls were in darling leotards with their hair in a ponytail or bun. Maya had chosen her favorite Einstein t-shirt, shorts with non-binding elastic, and her beloved green sneakers. It hadn't even occurred to me to suggest otherwise. My girl is into no-nonsense fashion.

The first activity was making a tutu. Maya and I carefully tied tulle onto a strap of elastic. Once we were finished, she tried it on. This was her initial response to wearing a tutu:After the tutu-making, we headed upstairs for a dance class led by a wonderful teacher named Dani. I lucked out and became the designated photographer.

Maya took to ballet like a duck takes to water:

She especially enjoyed the ballet bar:
There were some truly wonderful moments. It was such a treat for me to watch all of the little girls. They are such confident, capable, kind, and caring friends for Maya. Each girl approached the dance class in a unique way--each giving it 100% effort.
After class they walked back downstairs to have their snack:

When we left the girls, Maya's request was lunch at "Panna Spress" (Panda Express). We shared chow mein and fortune cookies. Maya's fortune cookie read:

You create enthusiasm in those around you.

I couldn't agree more.
(You are welcome to view the rest of the 100 pictures of this event. As always, you can click on the images in this post to view them in a larger size.)