Ballerina Chloe

I love to dance. My mom started me in ballet class at the itty bitty age of 4 and I have been dancing ever since. As a child, I had dreams about becoming a ballerina. Ah heck, I still have those dreams and I am 36 years old.

Alas, life got in the way and dancing was no longer a big part of my life. My dreams of becoming a ballerina were eventually replaced by my reality of becoming a veterinarian. And even as I spent endless hours buried in books and even longer endless hours caring for my patients, dance has remained in my heart.

So when the ultrasonographer announced "it's a girl!", my mind quickly flashed forward through all of the things that I would be able to share with her some day. One of the first things I thought about was ballet: I couldn't wait to sign Chloe up for ballet class, buy her first pair of ballet slippers and watch her in her first recital. And yesterday, four long years after the announcement that I was expecting a girl, I got to buy Chloe her first pair of ballet shoes.

I made the mistake of telling Chloe that we would be going to the ballet store to buy her a "costume" for ballet class... she spent every waking moment asking me "mommy, when we going to the ballet store?". And finally, the moment arrived. We walked up to the store, Chloe's eyes growing bigger with each step. She tried on her ballet slippers and found the perfect pair. Then she picked out her leotard. I had envisioned a simple, classic pink leotard with a matching pink skirt. Chloe, however, was lured by the little velvet number with sparkly, ruffled straps. And the purple tutu. The bright, garrish, gigantic purple tutu - something I'm sure Barney would envy. So I bit my tongue and tried to enjoy Chloe's beaming face. All in all, the trip was a smashing success. The moment we walked through the door, Chloe wanted to put on her ballet clothes. She wanted to sleep in them, tights, tutu and all. When I left the house at 6 this morning, she was sound asleep in her velvety soft leotard.

Of course, I could not resist taking a few photos of my little ballerina in her new attire. Here are a few of her, perched on the kitchen counter. She was watching daddy bathe two of our dogs who had been skunked. Chloe wanted to go outside and help, but we wouldn't let her lest she ruin her beautiful ballet costume the very first day.