"The Story" of My Tiny Dancer

Have you ever had the feeling that you were witnessing something rather extraordinary? It happened to me tonight, and I'm not sure I can even fully explain it. . . but here goes.

Every once in a while, after dinner, the whole family ends up in our bedroom listening to music on my iPod (through my iHome dock) and dancing. Tonight was one of those nights. After a while, Daddy and Presley retired to the bonus room while Reagan and I stayed behind. A song came on that I don't even remember downloading (it must have been free): Brandi Carlisle's "The Story." The song is a balad, but it alternates between a mellow feel and a driving rock beat. Here's a sample of the lyrics:

All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true, I was made for you

Reagan began doing what can only be described as an interpretive dance to the song. Her movements during the mellow parts were slow and fluid, and her facial expressions were amazing--as if she were feeling every note, every word of the song. And when the driving beat started up, her movements were almost explosive. At four years old, she displayed as much angst as a twenty-something philosophy student.

Now, I'm not saying that this was a beautiful, elaborate dance. No, her movements were those of a kid with a few dance lessons under her belt. But her expression was beyond description. She was absolutely fearless in emoting!

My words, I know, are insufficient to give the full picture. I guess you had to be there. I'm so glad I was.

Pee Pee in the Potty!

Presley pee-peed in the potty for the first time today. Hooray! Other than letting her sit on it a few times before her bath or to watch a DVD, this is the first time I actually gave it a real try. I gave her a full sippy cup of juice and set her potty in front of the TV for a showing of "Potty Time with Elmo." It took about an hour or so, but after consistently putting her back on the potty as she strayed, she finally did it!

Presley got to dump her pee-pee in the big potty and flush. She also got a reward of four M&Ms, then promptly asked for more (she didn't get more). We'll try to do this at least once a day for a while, and see how it goes. Not a bad start at 20 months!

Snow Bunnies

We actually got a bit of snow here in Tennessee. Every school system in the mid-state area was closed, EXCEPT for ours. But as we were about to start loading everyone up, we got a call from our preschool teacher saying that they were closing due to the slick driveway at the church (it's a huge hill). So...we bundled up to play instead.

Then we had hot cocoa to warm up afterward. (Well, Presley had cool cocoa.)

Sweet Girl

Presley can be such a sweet girl. She goes down for her nap so easily most of the time. In fact, yesterday she was acting a bit cranky, so I scooped her up and cuddled with her on the couch. In just a minute she pointed up the stairs toward the bedrooms and said, "Bed. Bed." I asked, "Do you want to go to your bed?" and she nodded vigorously. Who ever heard of a toddler putting themselves to bed?

Presley also likes to dress for Reagan's dance class. Here she is in her dance attire.