Going on Pointe!

Amelia's three-year dream came true this weekend--I got her fitted for pointe shoes! She's wanted to dance on pointe since she began ballet, but she had to wait to be 11 1/2 and have ballet for at least a year. She pasted the year mark about three years ago but managed to just make the 11 1/2 age mark this year. Like, on the last day.

So we drove to Pocatello for her hour and a half fitting. Seems a little long you say? I thought so too, until I saw everything that needed to be checked, figured, tried, and readjusted to make sure she didn't incur any undue damage to her cute little toes and feet.

Here she is in the beginning, ELATED to be there:

She was choosing what oils she wanted, but that's for much later......

The wonderful woman--Sheila--measure Amelia's foot, watched her go up on releve, and inspected her toes with the concentration of brain surgeon.  Then she went back into the storeroom about brought out nine different boxes of ballet shoes. She started trying them on Amelia, having her go up on pointe, walk in them, and have Amelia tell her about any pinching, slipping, or pressure. She made a pile of "no" and "maybe". After all the shoes had been tried on, Sheila went back to the "maybe" pile and had Amelia try each pair on again, this time adding various toe cushions and toe separators (there's more variety of those than you'd think!) with each shoe. Again, she'd have Amelia go on point and take tiny steps while Sheila watched how her feet turned reacted to the shoes.

Finally, with the "maybe" pile down to two pair and the toe separators and cushions decided upon, Amelia went through a last round of walking in each pair until Sheila decided which was the best fit for her. After we found the perfect shoes, Sheila soaked Amelia's feet in warm water with epsom salts and essential oils:

Her feet are in heaven. The funny thing is, when I asked Sheila if I should soak her feet after each class, she said no. Her feet need to toughen up and get used to being on pointe. Sorry Amelia---hope you enjoyed this soak!

After a quick tutorial for me about where to sew on the elastic and ribbons, I paid for everything and we headed home. While the fitting took awhile, I'm happy Sheila took the time and care to make sure to find shoes that will fit Amelia the best and minimize injuries. So, we are set-----until she grows outta this pair.

All weekend she tried them on a few times and practiced so her toes would get used to her new shoes:

Her first recital where she will dance on pointe will be in May. For the Nutcracker this year she is a soldier, so she won't need the shoes then. The ballet in May will be Swan Lake.

Mom and Dad watched Cooper while Amelia and I were in Pocatello, and we managed to see Lynnli and Coltman for a bit on our way through. Nephews are fun to have sometimes:

 I thought Coltman would try to get away or stop me, but he just stood there while I wrapped the bandage around him. When I was finished, he walked over to Joey, climbed up on his lap, and just started playing.....with the bandage still wrapped around him!

 Just think of what I can do NEXT weekend........................