Oden Adventures

Three months of dance class & practice culminated in Vianne's first recitals, which happened to be scheduled on the week of her birthday, on Wednesday night & Friday night.  The recitals - held at the 24th Street Theatre in downtown Sacramento - were holiday-themed, so every group took on an interpretation of a different holiday.  Vianne's group got New Year's Eve (and thankfully placed at the very beginning of the program!) and tap-danced to "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?", a routine they'd practiced with a moderate amount of focus and a huge amount of adorable for weeks!  They were assigned party dresses for their costume, which was great since Vianne's Christmas dress was perfect for occasion (read: we didn't have to buy a costume :-)).

 Vianne & her dancing comrades ~ after Wednesday night's performance

I was backstage so I didn't see the performance 

but Vianne seemed very pleased with & exhilarated by the experience!

Getting ready for Friday night...(love that she's letting me do her hair these days!)

Friday night I was in the audience, with Daddy, Oliver, Granma & Grampa!  It was so fun to see her waiting excitedly in the wings before coming out, and in a very sweet unexpected surprise, before her group came out, they announced it was her birthday!  Their teacher (and the owner) Ms. April led them in their dance (we couldn't ask for a better teacher ~ she's wonderful!).

 She adorably gets a bit distracted by her family in the front row :-)...

 Spazzing out after the recital (or what we managed to sit through of it...)