Magic Moments - my little ballet dancer

After another mad Tuesday dash of school run, ballet, Tesco shop and ballet again, I turned up to fetch DD and caught the last five minutes of her ballet lesson. Normally, the parents have to wait in the kitchen area of the hired hall so we don't distract the six budding ballerinas from their lesson, but as they only had a few minutes left I figured it was okay to stand and watch. The music played and they all went through the steps beautifully, but my eyes were fixed firmly on DD.

DD is on the left

It suddenly struck me how well she was dancing compared to the other girls, something I hadn't really noticed before when I stayed for their end of term performances. Of course, she and one other girl have been dancing since they were 4, and the other girls only joined a few months ago so she should be dancing better than them, but I think she's really improved in the last few months. Her hair was neatly up in a bun, she was wearing the official RAD Primary ballet pink leotard and skirt (she has her first exam in a few weeks), and her legs looked so strong as she pointed her toes. She had a smile on her face and I couldn't quite believe this was my daughter and how lucky I was. Needless to say I was one proud mummy!

My girlie girl

Having a daughter after having three boys was the icing on the cake to our growing family and, at one point, something I thought would never happen. Of course I love my boys and if number 4 had been another boy I would have loved him no less, but I secretly hoped I would get the chance to be a mum to a girl, if only to experience the difference. Lots of people warned me how girls were more hard work than boys but I looked forward to the challenge - after 3 boys I was ready for a change.

I prepared myself for a daddy's girl, a tomboy and a child less cuddly than the boys, all things I had been warned about by well-meaning friends. Not that I minded, I just wanted to be ready to accept my girl for who she was, not someone I imagined or dreamed about when having a daughter.

When we found out we were having a girl, we had the room painted pink and I indulged, with glee, in pretty baby girl clothes (even though I knew friends and family would give clothes when she was born). We bought a new red stroller (just in case the sonographer had made a mistake!) and I looked forward to having some girls' toys around the house.

After the first few weeks of struggling with breast feeding, giving up and swopping to bottles, the rest of the baby years were fantastic. Whether it was being more experienced and knowing the sleepless nights would get better, or that knowing she was my last and how quickly it would all go so I took more time to enjoy being with her, I don't know. I just remember being much more relaxed with it all and wishing I had been this chilled with the boys. I guess having the oldest two at school full-time and DS3 at nursery helped as, once the school run was finished, it was like having an only child for a few hours instead of juggling two toddlers and a baby - a breeze!

As a baby she was very much a mummy's girl, liking nothing more than cuddling up with her dummy (dee-dee) and muslin (muzzy), one arm under mine, the other nestled in my jumper. As she got older, I was prepared to be replaced by daddy but it was still me she came to for anything - if she got hurt or upset or just wanted a cuddle. She would often give me kisses on my nose, copying what I did to her, so sweet! DH and I would try to take it in turns to put her to bed but she often asked for mummy to do it!

Even now she's 6, she still comes to me for a cuddle or to give me a kiss, and asks me to tuck her in more often than daddy. If she has a bad dream at night, she will come to my side of the bed even though it's furthest from the door, and loves to snuggle up in our bed.

Athough we painted her room pink, I was fully prepared for her to turn out to be a tomboy being as she was the youngest of four with 3 older brothers, which I wouldn't have minded. I was the oldest with 3 younger brothers so knew what it was like! She was naturally quite outgoing and active so she mastered the climbing frame at an early age (I couldn't watch when she used to climb up to the slide!), and joined her brothers in their boisterous games, unpeturbed. Her brothers all doted on her and she had them wrapped round her finger, bossing them around. It made me smile at how confident and unafraid she was, this little bit of a girl joining in their games with the other boys in the neighbourhood! 

As she got older she became particularly interested in my make-up and nail varnish, leading to a number of messy events. I quickly learnt not to leave my bag of nail varnish in reach as, every time, I would return to find her doing her own nails. Not so much nails as whole hand/foot and clothing! I had to move my make-up drawer to a higher one as, once she was tall enough, she would gleefully help herself. We could never go past the make-up aisle in Boots without DD trying the sample eye shadows and blushers which led to some very odd looks as we walked back to the car with DD plastered in an odd combination of colours! 

As a baby I would obviously choose her clothing and I admit there was a lot of pink involved, but when she was old enough to dress herself I let her choose and even encouraged her to pick out new clothes at the shops so her wardrobe wasn't all mummy's choice! However, she still swayed towards pretty girlie outfits and she loved party dresses, more sparkly the better! Now, she chooses all her outfits and is developing quite a cool style with the essential accents of pinks and glitter.

Toy-wise, obviously there were lots of boys toys knocking around which were just as suitable for a girl to help with development through play, but after a few birthdays and Christmasses an assortment of dolls, strollers, tea sets and pink teddy bears began to take over and, although she could choose cars, trains or construction toys, she naturally gravitated towards the more traditional girls' items.

So, 6 years on, my DD is affectionate and cuddly, still a mummy's girl and very much a girlie girl, everything I could have wanted. Yes, she can be a challenge sometimes and I there will be times we will fall out as she's so stubborn, but I love her feistiness, her caring nature and her determination, even when it can turn into battles. She is a daughter to be proud of!

Her first proper ballet clothes