Hip-Hopping into Five

The World’s Most Beautiful Pre-Schooler is now five years old. It seems only yesterday that she was The World’s Most Beautiful Toddler or The World’s Most Beautiful Baby. But time marches on and my Goddaughter Amelia May is five. Luckily (at least for my spinning brain), some things remain the same. Amelia May is still a dancer, as she has been since she first got up off the floor. But now she’s into Hip Hop dancing. Not only does that derail what I thought was a charter duty of a Godmother, to oversee ballet lessons, but it puts me at a distinct disadvantage in supporting her favored activity. All I know about Hip Hop is what I learned from the one M.C. Hammer DVD I managed to locate on eBay. At most I’ve been able to teach her the hand signals to 2 Legit 2 Quit and impress upon her that it’s always Hammer Time (which must be designated by a chest bump to power fist thrust as you shout HAMMAH TIME!!) As of now, that’s been enough. But I realize I need to get with the program quickly.

Portrait of of Amelia May at five. With balloons.

The next piece of good news is that Princesses are still really big in Amelia May’s world. In fact, she just got a Rapunzel dress and crown for her birthday which puts her Princess outfit tally at somewhere near an official dress for every single Disney Princess ever to appear in an animated feature. But with age come complications and, alas, Amelia May has encountered some. She and her parents recently moved from San Francisco to San Jose and Amelia May tells me not all the girls at her new school believe in Princesses. All I can say to that news is that those little twerps are going to be damn sorry when Amelia May’s credit card wielding Godmother starts purchasing tickets to the upcoming Disney on Ice Show appearing at our local ice arena in February. Guess who is NOT invited. Amelia May also told me that “Boys hate Princesses”, something she deduced from the fact that some of the little boys in her class laughed at a Princess dress she wore to school on day. Much of what I have to say to that can’t be printed. But I’ll offer just four words: “Kate Middleton, Princess Diana.” All the boys I know are very much fans of those Princesses. So there!

One of Amelia’s presents from her English Nan was a Kate and Wills dress up paper doll kit. The oohs and ahs weren’t just from the girls on this one!

What’s new in Amelia May’s development is a finely honed sense of drama which is either going to make her the next Meryl Streep or the next Martin Scorsese. Or perhaps both. Because Amelia May is now writing elaborate dramas, casting them, directing them and, of course, starring in them. Just while waiting for her party to begin, she had me participating in a long and very involved play involving fairies and Princesses and unicorns and Barbies. I don’t remember the details, but Tinkerbell was the villain and the drama was distinctly Shakespearean. Then she decided she would take over as producer and director of her own birthday party. She ordered us all to hide behind furniture and jump out and surprise her.

Her rendition of Birthday Girl completely unaware of people behind furniture who jump out and yell “Surprise” was positively Oscar-worthy.

So that’s Amelia May at five. Amelia May, you bring joy and laughter, dancing and music to everything you do. And also proper Princess attire and appropriate amounts of unicorns, fairies, Barbies and glitter.

Keep imagining. Keep dancing. You are 2 Legit 2 Quit.

And remember: It’s always HAMMAH TIME!