After several years at Taylor Dance Center in McKinney, we decided to switch dance studios.  Millie had proven that she was in this for the long haul (even if that just means dancing till she's 7) and was quite passionate about dance, and I wanted to find a studio that was filled with warm and positive energy, great leadership, age appropriate dances and costumes, an outstanding track record, exemplary teachers and instruction methods, and the apple of a young dancer's eye---a professional production of The Nutcracker.  After months of research, I found the best studio north of Dallas, and quite possibly the best one in the Dallas area---Academy of Dance Arts.

Many of the studio's dancers go on to perform in professional ballet companies, on Broadway, and some have even made it to Hollywood.  Don't get me wrong.  While I'm impressed by this, I am in NO WAY a stage mom.  Not even CLOSE.  I honestly don't care if Millie dances at all when she is older, but as long as she is passionate about it, I want her to learn from the best.  And learn, she has!  She learned more in 3 months at ADA than she had in 3 years at her old studio.  Not only that, she has made two amazing friends (Alex and Camryn) whose moms (Andrea and Amy) I just happen to adore as well.  It's like a win-win-win-win situation.  Next stop?  The Nutcracker in December!

So, I like the moments.  Have ya noticed?  Haha! 

I feel like after several years of photography training and focusing on anticipation skills and moving to where the ball is going rather than where the ball currently is has made my photojournalism skills a lot stronger than when I started out in this business.  Photographing people and events from a documentary-style perspective has become second-nature for me.  I prefer it.  I prefer it so much to the point that portraits often feel like work to me.  Posing and having people stare into my camera (when it feels like they are staring at me) are not my favorite pastimes.  They mess up my mojo and make me feel super awkward.  So...what do I do when I feel weak in an area?  I give myself a challenge (or, if you are a Cosby Show fan, a chall-enge)!

When Bobby and I visited New York City last month, he was in meetings for the first 2 days.  Most people in NYC with a busy spouse would see the sights or shop till their feet fell off, but no.  I had to go and make things difficult.  I'm an overachiever like that.  My goal?  I wanted to end up with 10 decent portraits of people in New York City. 

I took a cab from the Waldorf Astoria and just told the driver to drop me at Delancey and Orchard...the beginnings of the Lower East Side.  I walked the LES, Chinatown, Soho, Little Italy, and NoLIta for hours, was rejected by some, but accepted by many.  It was fascinating watching the reactions of people of different cultures to the camera and to me.  Even more than that, it was a valuable lesson, examining my own experience as I approached potential subjects, asked permission, was bluntly rebuffed, got hit on, was warmly accepted, and exchanged contact information with my subjects (obvi NOT the dude who hit on me!).  This challenge made me feel surprisingly alive and connected, even though there were no "moments" captured...just real, live people.  I'm so glad I did this.  Here are the results.

 

Each Spring, Millie's Montessori school puts on a Presentation Day for the parents that includes a musical performance and sort of an open house situation in each classroom.  It's always fun to see Mills on stage.  She is super comfortable with it, and dare I say that she might even prefer it.  Yeah.  I've got my hands full with her.

We couldn't be any prouder of our kiddo.  She's learned so much this school year, including addition and beginning subtraction, reading comprehension, spelling, gobs of science, music from around the world, and her favorite---geography.  Millie wants to travel the world, and we hope we can help her make that happen.

She's looking forward to starting kindergarten in public school next year.  I'm a little nervous, as I will have a lot less control over her school environment and there might be mean girls or bullies and ohmigoodness HOW ON EARTH are we going to get out of the door at 7:25 each morning?

I know, I know.  One step at a time, right?  We've got an action-packed summer to keep me distracted from the fact that our worlds are going to be flipped at the end of August.  For now, I should be focusing on the tasks at hand:  Ballet Recital, Swim Team, 37,000 summer camps, family reunion, and oh, yeah...I have a business to run.  So, uh, back to work!  (And WHY is it not Friday, yet?!)

Several weeks ago, Millie and her ballet besties, Alex and Camryn joined the ballet mommies (Andrea, Amy, and me) for a fun girls' night out.  First stop?  Mani-pedis.  Ending the night?  Fabulous Mexican food and hours of chit chat.  Girlfriends make the world go 'round.  And dang it, if these girls aren't the cutest little chicas you've seen all year.