The entire month of May was quite a full month for us and the last weekend of the month, Memorial weekend, was no exception.
Last Thursday Gabrielle had dress rehearsal for her first dance recital. I got her dressed at the house and Samantha woke up from her nap just in time for us to leave. We arrived very early and since Gabrielle had fallen asleep in the car on the way we sat in the parking lot for a few minutes. When Gabrielle woke up I asked her if she was ready to go in and she eagerly replied "Yes!!" She was in awe by the big stage, not nervous at all. The rehearsal went great and I was able to video it. Maybe I can get the video uploaded soon.
Samantha was so funny in the auditorium seats. She is not quite heavy enough to keep the seat unfolded so if either my mom or I wasn't watching she would get folded into the seat, which she apparently found really funny anyway. I can't imagine being that flexible!!
I wish this next picture was in focus but we had to turn the flash off for the actual recital. Gabrielle sat with us until it was time for me to check her in at the dressing room. Even with a blurry photo I think you can see how happy and excited she was. She smiled all morning. Not only did she love performing on stage, she enjoyed watching all the other performances as well. During some she would shake her hips and during other performances she would clap along to the music. Being a very good audience member she clapped and cheered for everyone after each performance.
Since none of the photos we took during the performance turned out we made sure to get some family pics during the intermission.
My mom was visiting for the recital and Ed's dad came up as well.
GrandDad was a very good sport sitting through such a long show!
Friday was a very long, full day of shopping. We went to the mall, to
BJ's and then to Target for groceries. We were all exhausted and ready to get home.
Gabrielle's recital was Saturday morning. We had to be there 30 minutes before the show was to start and the auditorium is 30 minutes away. I wanted to get there even earlier in hopes of getting a good seat. Well let's just say the morning did not go as smoothly as the day of the dress rehearsal and I was not nearly as organized as I needed to be. But despite the issues trying to get out the door we made it to the auditorium exactly 30 minutes early. We were not able to get the seats I would have liked but we were still able to see the stage really well.
The recital was very cute. It was a long morning - a 2-1/2 hour show - and Samantha was quite restless during most of the show. Gabrielle did really great though. There was only one other little girl in her class doing the recital so it was just the two of them on that big stage and they both did so great, neither of them seemed to be bothered by all the people watching them. I was nervous enough for both of them I'm sure. As I was counting down the performances to Gabrielle's my heart started pounding faster and harder. And once I finally checked Gabrielle in backstage and got back to my seat my emotions were crazy. I was tearing up even before she got onstage!! I could not have been prouder of my little ballerina!!
After the show we went out to eat and then both girls fell asleep on the way home. I was so exhausted but I still had a cake to bake and decorate for Sunday. After a 20 minute nap on the couch I felt ready to go.
Sunday was another big day for our family - Samantha's baptism. We had a lot of our family and two of our very good friends (who also happen to be Gabrielle's godparents) attend. After church we all went back to our house for lunch and cake. The kids played and played, the women talked and talked, and the guys watched racing! Ha!!
The baptism got off to a fairly smooth start. In this photo you see everyone standing nicely up front and Samantha is content being held.
Then Samantha started getting a little antsy and less happy in my arms. I don't really have a photo of this but Gabrielle started dancing and walking around and "performing" as well while we were standing in front of the entire church.
When it came time for the actual baptism, Helen, our Associate Pastor, let Gabrielle help with pouring the water into the font. Helen talked to her about this job during our meeting with her. Gabrielle was very excited about helping. A day or two before when I told her to tell her
Meemaw what she got to do during the baptism Gabrielle mistakenly told her she was going to pour the water on Samantha's head. She thought she was really going to help!! I made sure she understood her actual job to avoid any disappointment on Sunday.
During most of the ceremony Samantha was struggling to get out of my arms and fussing. I put her down a few times as my pastor had told me to do if she got antsy but each time I put her down she was trying to climb up onto the altar. Funny enough once Helen picked her up and started sprinkling the water on her Samantha calmed right down.
The calmness was short lived however. After the sprinkling of water and during the laying on of hands she was anything but quiet and happy. You can probably tell in the photo we were all trying really hard to hold back the laughter.
My brother Matthew and sister Faith are Samantha's godparents. Here we all are after the church service.
Monday was a busy day as well. Samantha had an appointment to get her
portrait done in her baptism dress. We were supposed to have the first appointment of the day but due to some sort of mistake we found ourselves waiting over 30 minutes. Then we waited once again after the photos were taken to place our order. But the photos turned out really cute so the waiting was worth it.
We got to the mall early and let the girls play in the kids' area for a few minutes. Samantha loves to climb and slide and Gabrielle of course loves it all as well. One of these days I guess I need to plan a trip to get there as soon as they open and let them have a good hour or so of playing.
After the photo appointment we ended up eating lunch at the mall. On our way out Gabrielle wanted to play in the water area. This year is the first year she has really gotten into getting wet and running through sprinklers.
Once we finally made it home I set up the pool and we played outside for a bit before dinner.
And our weekend and month of May ended with this cute scene - Gabrielle and Samantha in their matching Care Bear night gowns. Such cuties!! I love the way Samantha is looking at Gabrielle in the second photo. She is always looking at her big sister like this!!
I'm hoping after such a busy spring that the month of June will be a little less busy and more relaxing. Our church has Vacation Bible School this month but other than that no plans at the moment. We are taking our first real family vacation in July so I figure we need to spend the next month relaxing and gearing up for the vacation. July is already pretty much booked and packed full of activities!! And before I know it the entire summer will be gone and I'll be getting ready to send Gabrielle off to preschool. Sniff sniff.
