No Business Like Show Business

It's really too early to tell, since God knows things might change a teeny, tiny bit in the next 15-20 years, but so far, it seems that Annie and Jemma could follow in Jason's footsteps and be just as comfortable in front of an audience as he is.

The Twinkle Toes recital yesterday went off ALMOST without a hitch for Annie. I say almost, because in between the time I left Annie in her seat with her class, wearing her appropriate outfit (black leotard and tights, tap shoes, red Santa hat, red spangly belt) and the time her class went on stage about 4 minutes later, her hat had fallen down to almost completely cover her face. Also, she had mysteriously donned a purple headband and a white tulle skirt that was part of another class' costume. Thus, when the curtain opened on Annie's class up on stage, it looked to me (from my seat high up in the balcony) as though Annie wasn't there. I freaked out, thinking that she had gotten cold feet at the last second, and went sprinting down the stairs. Even when I got close to the stage, that damn Santa hat made it hard for me to tell . . . until finally I figured it out: the runty tap-dancer with the random, non-matching white skirt in the middle of the line, tapping her heart out with a big smile was my Annie. So, there are no good pictures of her, but, my, was she cute. And proud of herself in a very matter-of-fact way. When I had her in my lap while we watched the older girls dance, I asked her what she thought about performing on a big stage in front of an audience. "Good," she said, and went back to watching the 4-year-olds flit around the stage. Not a big deal, Mom.

As these pictures show, when Annie isn't dancing, she's spending a lot of time getting into and out of her various costumes. (Possible performance venue #2: acting.) Here, she's "Cinderella," "Snow White" (aka strange nun/gypsy lady), and "Aunt Lisa with a baby in her tummy." If you come to our house, Annie will want to play Cinderella with you. This involves getting into her costume, dancing with you, making gong noises when the clock strikes midnight, running down the hallway while you chase her, yelling "Wait, wait! I don't even know your name!", leaving one shoe in the hallway, trying on the shoe in her bedroom, and having a wedding dance at the end. Playing Aunt Lisa involves a lot of walking around, patting her stomach while Dinah is shoved under her shirt, and then announcing that she needs to go to the hospital so the doctor can get the baby out. Then, she can spend up to an hour swaddling Dinah, changing her diaper, and taking care of her in many ways.

Not to be left out of the action, Jemma got dressed up today, too - with Annie's help. She actually seemed to like wearing a necklance and a tutu. When she saw me coming with the camera, she did a ton of big laughs and smiles. And at the pool this afternoon, she was vying for my attention as soon as she saw me get the camera out. Yesterday afternoon, during our family outing to Costco (Jason, in his glory . . .), same thing: pleased as punch to have total strangers looking at her, talking to her, and giving her all the attention. Other things Jemma's been up to lately include saying "uh-oh," throwing her balls, and having a very snotty nose.

After such a high-drama weekend, plus staying up waaaaaaay too late at Connie's last night, I am beat and looking forward to having a fire and getting to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight. (Last night, what were we thinking? I will say that the fantastic drink we had made it all worth it. Absolut Grapefruit vodka, tonic water, and a perfectly pure chunk of peeled, ruby red grapefruit as garnish. So refreshing, I could drink 5 or 6 of them. Try it.)