Many days I can guess what my girls will do. It’s natural. I spend most of my time with them, so I feel like I know what to expect from them pretty well. And then there are days that are full of surprises. Days like Saturday, when Olivia decided to walk across the room instead of crawling. And...

Continue reading "Bethany Can Read?!?"

This spring, Bethany started her first dance class. She takes Creative Movement at Gotta Dance studio. The class has a pre-ballet focus. The dancers learn many ballet steps and poses but only a little terminology, and their teacher keeps them moving a lot during class. At times, they dance with teddy...

Continue reading "Skip To My Lou, My Darlin’"

I just transferred all of the data from my camera to the computer in preparation for our trip to the Midwest tomorrow. I couldn’t resist putting this up as a preview of what our families are in for over the next week and a half. About a week ago, Bethany discovered that she can play with her little...

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Halloween was a lot of fun for us this year. It was the first time that Bethany has really cared about wearing a costume, trick-or-treating or decorating. Maybe it was because she’s a little older and understands more. Or maybe it was because Dustin started regular viewings of It’s the Great...

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I think we may have to put this one in the show-to-future-prom-date vault. Enjoy! Bethany sings “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” with her Spider-Man action figure....

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I had intended to let Bethany continue sleeping in a crib until she learned how to climb over the rail. I just didn’t think she’d do it before she hit 2 1/2. I mean, the girl didn’t decide to walk until she was 15 months old. Was expecting her to be content to learn to climb slowly...

Continue reading "The Big-Girl Bed"

Yesterday, while Bethany and I were driving to meet Dustin for lunch after church, Bethany started singing a song about him. I tried to get her to sing it for him later, to no avail. And my attempts to sing it for him in her place were unimpressive, to say the least. Today, she picked up her Pop Tunes...

Continue reading "The Prodigy Strikes Again"

Bethany had fun on Halloween this year. Her favorite part was the costume. When I finished making her skirt, bow and tail, she wanted to wear them right away. And she wanted to put them back on after her bath that evening. Over her purple jammies. She wore the ears each day until Halloween. I finally...

Continue reading "Introducing…Minnie Mouse"

Our MOPS group planned an outing to the South 47 Farm in Redmond, WA. I’d heard of it, but hadn’t checked it out yet. In spite of a little rain and mud (or maybe because of it), we had a good time. The Farm Tots program gave Bethany the opportunity to: Pet a chicken. This particular hen is...

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Many of you know of Bethany’s love of music. She sings, dances and has very strong opinions about her bedtime listening selections. She sings her favorite Sesame Street songs frequently. She even runs around the house singing into the doop-dee-doo whenever I finish a roll of paper towels. But she especially delights in Dustin’s guitar playing and calls it “Daddy music.” You’re probably expecting that Bethany’s reaction to hearing me play trombone would be a positive one.

It wasn’t.

I finally dusted off my horn last week in anticipation of joining the Bellevue Community Band. Now, granted, it had been a while since I played anything that required good tone, accurate intonation or any endurance whatsoever. Nearly two years, in fact. My last gig was playing in the pit for a Bedford Community Players production of Annie while 6 months pregnant. As I fought to breathe around the baby who was using my diaphragm as a trampoline during that show, I daydreamed that the little person I carried would someday share my enjoyment of playing the trombone (or at least a brass instrument).

Wrong.

Instead of requesting more “Mommy music,” Bethany’s eyes opened wide in terror. Her little face scrunched up to show that tears were imminent. “No, no,” she whined. “All done, Mommy.” I offered for her to touch the shiny metal horn. When that didn’t work, I backpedaled to the mouthpiece. Surely the funny little sound it made would placate her. But no. She protested until I finally took the horn downstairs to finish playing. By the end of a very short practice session, I was left with prickly, swollen chops and a sorely bruised ego.

After hearing the story, Dustin had a good chuckle. Then he helped. He sang the ABC song and pretended to think it was the greatest thing ever when I played along. After a couple of times, Bethany approved. “Again!”

But it didn’t stop there.

The next day, I offered her the mouthpiece again. After after trying to put it in her mouth a few times, Bethany made an elephant sound on the mouthpiece! Later, we put the mouthpiece on the horn, and she sat on my lap. We took turns playing sounds on the trombone. (“Mommy bom-bone. Beffie bom-bone. Ephant sound. Again.”)

As it turns out, Bethany is a natural. To my relief, she enjoys my favorite instrument. And she hasn’t spontaneously sung “Tomorrow” even once.

Continue reading "Music, Music, Music"