Tiny Dancer

With a HUGE personality!

The Mad Hatter has a love for singing, dancing, and all things musical like NOTHING we've ever seen. We go to music class, own just about every musical instrument possible, and have been known to have an impromptu dance party or two in our kitchen (even if my moves are both slow and geriatric at best these days).

MH absolutely LOVES the "aaaahhhh-pod", and knows how to turn on the player all by herself. She thinks the music on the on there is fabulous. Of course she does, it's set to the mix I made for her 3rd birthday party!

Anyways, when I was in my early teens, I could not get enough of the movie Hairspray. I just loved watching underdog Ricki Lake beat out mega-bitch Amber von Tussel, and watching the world fall in love with her while she fell in love and fought for de-segregation on The Corny Collins Dance Show.

I especially loved the cameos by Ric Ocasek and Pia Zedora.

When I got wind of the fact that Hairspray was being re-made AND it would be starring John Travolta, only one of my favorite actors in the world (he's on my list of 5), I knew nothing would stop me from re-living my youth again at age 32 in the local movie theater.

DH selflessly sacrificed 2 hours of date night and took me to see it. I was a little worried he'd hate it, but quickly got over it because I knew I would love it (I mean, it IS all about me, right?). I'm happy to report that it didn't take long before I noticed his feet tapping along to the beat. The soundtrack is contagious! I, of course, had no problem with the added bonus of looking at James Marsden and Zac Efron for a couple of hours. The outcome - we both had a ball and date night was hit.

My parents saw the movie not too long after we did, and my mom instantly purchased the soundtrack. Shortly after, I had my first back surgery and was unable to drive, so MH and I were spending a lot of time in her car as she shlepped us around to doctor's appointments, physical therapy, and any other errand I had to get done (another big shoutout to Sweetheart!).

The Mad Hatter is quite used to having a very large selection of "nusic" in my car, as her favorite CDs have slowly taken over every spot in the 6-CD changer. Mom only has a single CD player, and the first time MH asked for her "nusic", she had nothing but Hairspray in the car.

This was not a problem for my little music lover. Since that day, she has memorized just about every song on the CD. I get such a kick of hearing her little voice belt out (in great tune, I might add) the lyrics when I'm least expecting it. She knows the words better than I do, and she sings with such fervor and gusto!

A couple of weeks ago I went nuts when I found out that Hairspray is currently airing on HBO. When I told Hubs we needed to DVR it, he said he didn't think she'd like it. Mommies always know best.

While I didn't DVR it, one day we were at my parents' house and we put it on for her through On Demand. Watching her face as her favorite music came to life on TV was one of the most priceless things I've ever experienced.

She stood, jaw dropped, glued to the TV for a few minutes, and promptly launched into full-on song and dance. It was fantastic! And while she has no understanding whatsoever of the storyline, which is really pretty sad (until, of course, they overcome segregation on the Corny Collins Show), it's all about the singing and dancing for her. She begs to watch it, and each time just has a ball turning into a dancing fool and singing her little heart out.

Last week, MH requested dinner nusic, and we were happy to oblige. When we had finished eating and DH was cleaning up, MH turned our kitchen into Dance Fever. We were dancing to a variety of faves ranging from Dan Zanes to Barry white, when all of a sudden we got a burst of our now favorite soundtrack ever. "You Can't Stop the Beat" came on, and there was no stopping her. I grabbed my camera, which I am thrilled takes video, and watched her go to town.

And now, making her Bloggywood Debut, I present to you The Marvelous Miss M:

My only hope is that she's still young enough to miss the actual storyline and is only paying attention to the music when she's watching. If she ever comes out with a comment like "I wish EVERY day was Negro Day", I'm done for!

And yes, we will be signing up for dance classes in the fall. My girl's got rhythm!

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Edited to add: please ignore the Mommy's singing voice - to the Mad Hatter's credit, she seems to have found the musical genes I am missing.