Well, she at least looked cute...

Last night was Hayden's first day of ballet/tap class. We had her dressed and ready to go in her leotard, tights and skirt, complete with black and pink pigtail bows. She even had her dance bag with her name on it. She and I had been dancing around the house all week practicing. She even did a shuffle with her tap shoes on (I was very proud). She seemed ready to go.
She went right in for the ballet portion and I looked on with pride through the window as she sat perfectly in the circle with the other girls (she's two so sitting still for any period of time is a big deal!). The next time I looked in I couldn't find her and then I saw her sitting in the corner holding a random stuffed animal. It appeared that she wasn't really interested in what the other girls were doing. Basically any time I looked in, Hayden was doing her own thing almost oblivious to the fact that there were 8 little girls dancing all around her.
They came out to switch shoes and get ready for tap but Hayden (who is in a slight separation anxiety phase) refused to go back in. She wanted to play with the toys in the lobby instead.
So...our first day of dance wasn't exactly what I envisioned but I know my expectations were too high to begin with. She is, after all, only two in a class with three and four year olds. She may get better as she continues to go but then again she may not be ready, and that's ok too. Her obsession for now is gymnastics and we are more than thrilled for her that she loves it so much. At least I got a super cute picture of my little ballerina.
On a high note, Hayden started sleeping in a big girl bed this week and has done great. She never tries to get up out of it when she's not supposed to and she has been sleeping better/longer since we moved her out of her crib. It was getting a bit cramped. Especially when you factor in that she insisted she have her Sophie doll, her stuffed doll Henry, Sophie's blanket and bottles, her SkippyJohnJones books and, on occasion, a hat all in the crib with her. She is such a silly girl.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new blog! Ryan heard about this website from some friends of ours so I thought, in order to stay cool and on top of technology and culture, I better get us going with a Siler family blog.
Here's a little bit about our family (even though most of you probably know all of this). My husband, Ryan, is in sales for a document solutions company, Standard Register. If any of you need anything at all to do with paper or printing he's your guy. He also is a guitar player. He is wonderful at it and is very happy, as of late, to be playing a Les Paul (on loan from his dad) at his gigs. He explained to me that it has a rock sound that no other guitar can produce. Most of all he is a wonderful daddy to our two-year-old daughter, Hayden. He has the ability to zone in on her and play whatever she wants for hours at a time. If she wants to put headbands and hats on him while bouncing back and forth between playing leggos and kitchen for two hours he can hang. I am constantly amazed by that.
Hayden is an amazing little girl (if I do say so myself). She was diagnosed at birth with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and has been nothing but strong since. Her disease requires her to do hours of breathing treatments and chest physical therapy each day and she does it all like a champ. She loves stickers, Capri Suns, french fries, green beans, jumping, wearing her Sleeping Beauty outfit, going up and down stairs, attending gymnastics and the XM Channel, Audio Visions (don't ask me!). She will be starting ballet and tap tomorrow night in the tiniest tap shoes I have ever seen. We've been working on our moves here at home.
I am a stay-at-home mom who also does some modeling/tv work for fun on the side. I love fashion, home decorating and chocolate. I always have little projects going on. I am currently turning Hayden's nursery into her "big girl" room and am having lots of fun. It ought to keep me content for about a week before I'll need another project! I am currently addicted to Ebay (clothes for Haydie) and Sudoku. Oh, and embroidering stuff. It started with Hayden's dance bag, then her backpack for school, then a pillowcase...now I find myself looking around for things that would be "so cute" with a big "H" on them.
Ryan and I chair the CF Foundation's Breath of Life Gala. It will be at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (I will forever call it the Cowboy Hall of Fame) on November 14th. We like to spend a lot of time working to raise money for the foundation. We are soooo close to drugs that will be life changing for Hayden and everyone with CF. I'm sure I'll write an entire blog on that someday. There are few things I'm more passionate about than educating people about CF, the work of the foundation, and the pipeline full of drugs that are going to add decades to these lives. Ok, I'm going to come down off my soapbox and save it for another day. I hope you'll come back and see what all is going on under our roof. 'Till next time...