The Viennese Waltz

Having spent the previous day learning about solfegge and yodeling (and what a day it was! Some of the videos I found of yodelers were just . . . awesome. Having the kids all going around the house yodeling to each other was also hilarious.), we were all primed and ready for Sam's lesson on the Viennese Waltz. He taught us about Strauss and about the origins of the waltz, and then we moved the couch out of the way and went to it. (Sam's a way better dancer than I am, but we've taken a dancing class together before, so at least I know sort of what I'm doing.) If there's a more delightful sight than your husband waltzing up and down the hall with his four-year-old son clutching his legs and hanging on for dear life, I don't know what it is. The kids LOVED it. They loved tramping along and spinning around and falling down breathlessly at the end, and they kept begging us to do it again and again. It wasn't the most . . . elegant dancing ever, but it was definitely energetic!

We listened to a bunch of dance music afterwards and had the kids pick out which ones were waltzes. They were great at recognizing the "ONE two three, ONE two three" rhythm, and later when we were at the Sound of Music play, they all leaned over to me during the Ball scene and whispered excitedly "They're WALTZing, Mommy!"

The best part was a few days later when Sam heard Malachi saying, "Come on, Daisy, let's waltz!" I came out to see, and there they were waltzing around the driveway (in their pajamas, naturally). So CUTE!