Dance Recital {Tacoma City Ballet}

Last weekend, with pleasure and pride, I attended my granddaughter’s first ballet recital along with the rest of our family. Jayden is 4 1/2 years old and was quite excited, but also very nervous about the recital. Dressed in their leotard, tights and ballet shoes, the girls also had the cutest little pink tutus and some darling headbands for their performance. The instructor, Danielle, is a friend of our family and asked if I could take photos of the girls while they were getting ready…and needless to say, I gladly agreed.

This class is through Tacoma City Ballet (Check out their site!) and is located on 6th Avenue. They offer classes, beginning at the age of four and have a wonderful program, whether one is just wanting to try it out, or more serious about pursuing for a career. The following was taken from their website and will give you an idea of how they value the importance of the studio:
“Tacoma City Ballet perpetuates the long established traditions of classical ballet. All classes, pre-ballet through professional, have a requisite syllabus, live piano accompaniment, and require dancers to don uniformed attire.”
Seeing these adorable and sweet little girls come in and get their tutus and move over to get their headband and then wait until it was time to perform was refreshing to see their nervous anticipation and innocence…it was wonderful. Some of the girls were giggling with one another, others concentrating on a position they needed to remember and others clinging to their moms, unsure about what was ahead.
The performance was wonderful…it was a demonstration of what they’ve learned this past year and an example of their class. Danielle is incredible with the girls, so patient, insightful and fun when with these girls…she obviously has a gift for teaching and working with young children. Congratulations to all of the girls and their families for the support they gave them throughout the year.
Working on the hair buns for the little ballerinas!
Practice makes perfect!
Adorable…this little one was so cute!
Admiring their new hairbows!
I’m a bit biased…but, isn’t she the sweetest little girl…of course, I’m related to her!
Everything is better after a kiss from mom!
All lined up and ready to head in to perform!
Danielle explains what we will be seeing during the performance.
The end!
Couldn’t resist adding this photo of Jayden with her parents afterwards…she was so excited and proud…and check out those sunglasses…she looks like “Miss Hollywood!”

Energetic Evan {Puyallup Children Photographer}

Evan is a very handsome four year old who I’ve had the joy of photographing before with his family and you might just recognize the resemblance to the little guy (Jack) that I photographed last week. Evan is a great big brother… he loves Jack, is so sweet with him and very considerate – I can see these boys will be good friends as they grow up! With a chance to take Evan’s four year pictures during a visit his family made out there from Cincinnati, I was thrilled. The weather wasn’t cooperating for outside, but we were able to contain his energy to inside and encouraged some great smiles…which as you can see, he has! The blond hair, blue eye and a smile that SPARKLES is a sure sign he will have the girls calling him in a few years…look out mom and dad!!
As you can see, near the end, Evan was getting antsy and ready to move around…and I can’t say that I blame him, with all of the rain, who isn’t anxious to get outside these days!

Crain Family {Puyallup Family Photographer}

I must say that Saturday morning had me a bit nervous with looking at the weather and having a family with a two and four year boys coming soon…first of all the weather cleared a bit, meaning we could do some photos outside…AND, I met the family who were GREAT!! Emmett, who is four, after saying hello upon meeting him, instantly asked “Do you have toys?” I loved that…a kid who knows what he wants and I knew this would be fun. Atticus, his younger brother (two), was a bit more bashful and quiet, but I could tell he just needed some time. We started out with Emmett and he quickly found some old trucks (which were my husbands when he was a child) and was soon engrossed in playing with them…his smile and the little dimple that popped out as he smiled were great! Then, it was time for Atticus (I love these boys names!!) to join Emmett…and it took a bit, but it wasn’t long before his very sweet smile and sparkling eyes showed just who he really is! What a blast I had with these boys…so full of life, a great spirit about them and very kind…thank you Clayton and Sihaya for choosing me for your family photos…it was my pleasure to meet and photograph all of you!
I love these photos… Emmett is a true boy and when it was time to sit for a “nice” photo…you can see, it wasn’t what he had in mind…I’m sure that playing with the trucks was much more what he had in mind…but then he had a bit of fun…sliding out of the chair and some great grins for me! What a handsome guy!
Look at how Atticus is holding on to his dad’s arm…isn’t that just the sweetest thing…what a nice looking family!
My last photo of the session…such a fun smile…I knew they were in there!!!