Lexington has a father-daughter dance organized by the Her Knight organization. I took Katherine Belle to our second such dance this past Saturday.  Here is a little update on our date:

Katherine’s dress was beautiful. Glenda somehow managed to take pictures of her in it, looking serene and regal.  The truth was much different. She was worked up and maniacal. These pictures were somehow captured mid-action at precisely the right time to make them look posed. In fact, in my favorite photo below, you can see her left hand clutching her dress to pull it up to rub her face.  Yet, somehow, my wife caught her looking calm, mid yank.

After she was dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror and said “I’m a Princess!”  Yes, you are indeed.

Katherine is a very shy little girl, much like her parents.  Noise and commotion make her withdraw all the more.  As a result, when people came up to talk to her at the dance, she would not talk back.  At best, she would smile.  Then, when they left, she would talk about them non-stop. This happened several times, as we met several dads and volunteers who knew Katherine from our blog.  I loved seeing them and them introducing their daughters to Katherine.  Katherine enjoyed this as well. For example, after meeting a dad and daughter in line for photographs, Katherine commented “I really am a famous princess!” because they recognized her.  She would not talk much while eating at our table or in line, but several fathers and their daughters made a really positive impression on her.

Katherine and I spent about an hour of the dance with her dragging me around.  I held her hands from the back, while she “walked.”  She would periodically hop (with me boosting her in the air), which is her version of dancing.  This was really fun for her, as she loved the way her dress puffed up when she jumped. She often squealed when we did this.  She also had a head bobbing, stomping move that would be more at home in a mosh pit than a daddy daughter dance, but, hey, it was fun for her.

She also loved the Chik-fil-a chicken nuggets and the cookies, but not so much the Chik-fil-a cow mascots. The stuffed ones were okay, but the life-sized moving ones were still scary, despite a recent trip to Disney to see similar characters.  In fact, after an hour of dancing, our evening ended abruptly after one of the cows approached her too closely.  She demanded an immediate exit – well, she delayed long enough to grab a cookie.

I want to thank Her Knight, and Amanda Bledsoe in particular, for putting on such a great event.  You truly made Katherine’s day.  Mine even more.  Katherine spent all morning Sunday telling her dolls she was “Princess Katherine Belle” and making them “knights.”