Madelyn's Pageant

This weekend was quite eventful! We have been busy busy busy. It started on Thursday when James picked up Maddy from school so they could go and deliver all of her books that she collected for Child Haven. She was able to collect over 100 books for them. She had a lot of fun doing it and learning about service.

After they finished that, they came to my salon so Maddy could get her nails and toes done. When she showed up she was a mess so I decided to cut her hair and give her a deep conditioner. James was quite the proud daddy and was just snapping pictures all over the place. I was kinda jealous because he was paying more attention to his daughter than me.....I guess I should get used to it!:)

After the salon we rushed down to Palace Station to try and check in early for the pageant, but missed it by 5 minutes. We stayed for the workshop where they gave the girls some tips for the weekend and then they had a fun pajama party for the girls without mom and dad. Maddy was able to make some friends and get to know some of the girls. It still amazes me how shy she really is. It takes a long time for her to get comfortable enough to approach somebody. She learned a lot about being more outgoing this weekend.

Friday morning started early. We got there at 8:00 to register her. Daddy got in line so she could practice her talent on the stage and mommy checked her in and paid all the money. After check-in we got her ready for her talent performance. I was so nervous for her first talent competition. We had practiced so much but it doesn't come real natural for her. She had to work real hard to get her feet and mouth to do different things. It was hard to sing and dance at the same time. But all her hard work paid off because she won 1st place in talent!!! When she went up on stage she didn't even realize she had won first place . When she came back down to sit on my lap she started laughing when I told her. We are so proud of her. It added a different dimension for her pageants and one that is really important, because it developed her confidence level.

After talent, we got ready for her Formal Wear competition. James got to be her escort and they were so cute together! I think daddy was more nervous than Madelyn. She did really well except for covering up her number at the very beginning. But she had big smiles for us.

After that we changed her clothes for Introduction. This is where she has to get in front of everybody and introduce herself in the microphone. Public speaking is very scary for most adults and I am so proud that she can get up there and do this because it is really hard! She did great at this part of the competition but I screwed her up because I thought she had to say her name and number before she said what she had practiced at home and her little brain went a little blank when she was up there but she recovered. I was a wreck in the audience while she was pausing but it all worked out. I think my family got a kick out of watching me freak out...

Anyway after Introduction we all went to go get pizza for dinner and it was so nice to spend time with Grandma, Keith, Liz, Abuela and JaNae. I wouldn't have survived the week without my mom and Keith helping me so much! Thanks guys!

Saturday morning we woke up early because Maddy wanted her hair straight for the interview portion, so I got her up early so we could get it done. We went down for the interviews where she meets with all the judges in a job interview setting and they ask her all kinds of questions. She's judged on eye contact and how she sits in the chair and her overall poise in holding a conversation with an adult. She said it went well, but couldn't remember all the questions they asked her...:)

Then the final pageant was later on in the day. We got her ready for that and they got to learn a cute little dance that they performed in the beginning of the final pageant. I can see how much she had progressed in the last 2 years. Her overall coordination is getting a lot better. She can at least hear the beat now and stay on it.:)

She placed in the top 10 of about 35 contestants and we are extremely proud of her! I thought she would do a little better than that, but realize that the judges are different every year and you never know what they are looking for. I learned a valuable lesson of just being proud no matter what and loving her unconditionally. She worked so hard that no matter what place she took, she amazed me! We are going to go back next year and take with us what we learned from this year. I will post judges results when I get them in a few weeks. Thanks for all your support for our daughter!