My pretty ballerina

Hannah is taking a dance class. I signed her up today. It really was a foregone conclusion that she's take dance after she found out that 3 of her friends (the other girls in the carpool) were taking a dance class right after school.

She was just overjoyed at the whole thing. She did find the tap shoes a little slippery, but overall she was very attentive and worked hard for the whole hour. Sometimes her attention can wander, so I was pleased that she was so focused.

I am also happy because there is a dance carpool going on too, so that makes it a bit easier.

However, so add drama to our story, I had to bring Garrett and Ella along to sign Hannah up and we stayed to watch, since parents are only allowed to watch on the 1st Tues. of the month. But Garrett started getting restless at about the 40 minute mark. Really, I am proud that a 2-year-old boy lasted THAT long just sitting and watching. But to prevent a distraction to the dancers, I rounded up Garrett and Ella and was going to wait in the van with them for the last bit. But Garrett was having none of it. All of his 40 minutes of patience had been exhausted. So while I held his hand, the baby carrier, my camera and all its gear, my planner, the papers from the dance studio, and my keys, Garrett decided to play "Garrett-the-amazing-boneless-toddler" and go limp. So, before I knew it he was dangling from my hand. His arm popped and he started SHRIEKING. I knew he had a nursemaid's elbow--where the elbow dislocates--and it common among the toddler set.

I made a hasty escape from the studio and put Ella in the van and emptied my arms and surveyed the scene. It looked pretty bad. Garrett was holding his arm and wailing, "You hurt my arm!! You hurt my arm!!" (Can I admit I was not enthused at the idea of taking him to the ER with him wailing, "You hurt my arm!!!"? Yeah, I wasn't. But I AM admitting that openly in cyberspace. Hmmm.) Anyway, the nursemaid's elbow happened to Michael about 6 times. Half of the time it popped back in before we got to the doctor and the other half they just twisted it gently. So, I tried. I very gently rotated Garrett's forearm inwards and felt it all slip back into place. The crying stopped immediately and he said, "You say sorry for hurting my arm, mom." I was sorry. Once I apologized that he had been hurt, all was well with the world again.

Whew.

So that is the exciting first day of Hannah's dance education. I do hope the rest are less dramatic.