by Rachel | Family Life
When Parker was born and we decided to take weekly growth photos until his first birthday, it seemed like FOREVER away. Now all of the sudden we are just a mere month from taking one last photo in the chair next to Mr. Teddy. Parker’s thoughts on this: “Thank goodness!”
My thoughts are a little different. I’m really sad to be moving out of the infant stage and into toddlerville, because this year has been so wonderful. Stressful, exhausting, overwhelming, and wonderful. Not that the next year won’t be all those things, but I’ve never been good at change.
But I’m trying to accept the fact that my baby is turning 1 and get excited about it. He’s hit so many new milestones these last couple weeks, and it’s so much fun to watch him turn into a little person. Here are his latest party tricks:
- Walking. Running. Everywhere.
- Shaking his head no.
- Waving hi and byebye.
- Saying “mama” and “dada” and knowing their meaning.
- Throwing balls.
- Dancing.
Parker is getting more and more adventurous with eating, and will usually at least try whatever I put on his tray. We’ve been giving him little bits of whatever we’re having, and so far his favorite foods seem to be cheese, yogurt, banana, and meat.
He’s still nursing as much as usual, but our pediatrician told us we could start transitioning in whole cow’s milk this month. The plan is to replace the only bottle he gets (in the afternoon, while I’m working) with whole milk, starting next week. That means I can stop pumping, which will help with the weaning process. I’m going to wean completely right after his birthday, since I’m going on my first baby-less trip a week later. It’s sad to think about being all done, but at the same time it will be really nice to have my body all to myself (for the first time in almost two years!).
One more month of babyhood, and then we have a fun summer to look forward to with our big boy. Lots of swimming, traveling, and outdoor adventures are in our near future.
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
I knew I was excited about this project when I actually looked forward to staying up late transcribing my songs into sheet music and designing the layout. I haven’t gotten much sleep over the past two weeks, but the finished product is worth it.
I wanted to create a resource that reflects the sheer joy I’m feeling now that spring is here, which no doubt will carry into summer (my very favorite season!). I chose topics that are synonymous with the warm weather months: Mother’s Day, flowers, school getting out, Father’s Day, swimming, traveling, playing outside, the list goes on.
This digital songbook includes the melody line, chords, and lyrics for 10 songs, including the never before released title track. It also comes with the mp3s and instrumental tracks for all 10 tunes, since I always encourage you (and your kiddos!) to create your own versions of Listen & Learn songs.
“Spring Into Summer”
“Thank You, Mom”
“Grow Flower Grow”
“Riding My Bike”
“Summer Break (Let’s Shake!)”
“Going on a Car Ride”
“Summertime Tune”
“Happy Father’s Day”
“In the Swimming Pool”
“S is for Summer”
Purchasing the lead sheet and mp3s for each individual song would cost you $3 a pop; multiply that by 10 songs and you’re out $30. But since I’m all about sharing the love, I’ve priced Spring Into Summer at a mere $10. Get it now and instantly increase your arsenal of warm weather songs for kids.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE
Join me in celebrating what is left of spring and preparing for the start of summer. There is so much to look forward to at this time of year, and music is a great way to help children understand and be ready for all the excitement to come!
by Rachel | Family Life
We’ve had a cruiser for awhile now, but last week (April 24, to be exact) Parker decided he didn’t need any assistance. He had taken a step or two in his room, so I grabbed my phone with the hopes of catching it on video. To my absolute surprise, he took his longest walk yet — 10 steps!
After that, it was like a switch had been flipped. Suddenly he was walking everywhere, no longer resorting to crawling if he didn’t have a hand to hold or furniture to grab. It has been both awesome and scary; he thinks he’s a lot faster than he really is and has gotten almost too brave.
It is so insane to watch my 10-month-old toddle across the living room. He is a tiny boy, and it’s hilarious watching those little legs hold him up. We’re still at the stage where we have to do a lot of spotting, but he gets more sure-footed with every day. At this rate, he will probably be running sprints by his first birthday.
by Rachel | Motherhood
I recently participated in a discussion with other music therapist moms about songs we’ve sung to our babies, and we compiled a pretty impressive list. I did contribute to it by sharing Parker’s original favorite song, but I neglected to include the one that goes like this:
Parker rockin’ in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time
His smile makes you feel so fine
Everybody just have a good time
Why yes, I did rewrite the lyrics to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and sing it to my baby. We even have motions (including fist pumps) that go along with it.
I work with kids almost every single day, so in order to have a little variety from the usual children’s musical fare during my downtime, I like to get creative with Parker. I have “lullaby-afied” songs from just about every genre; it’s pretty safe to say that my child will grow up with an eclectic taste in music.
Don’t get me wrong — all the classic nursery rhyme tunes are a regular part of our repertoire — but it’s fun to supplement with songs that will broaden Parker’s musical horizons. LMFAO may be at the (extremely) low end of the sophistication scale, but the “Parker Rock Anthem” remains a favorite nevertheless.
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
Almost five years ago, a music therapist named Michelle Erfurt approached me with the idea to create a Listen & Learn songbook. I had only been writing and sharing songs for a few months, but I was excited to take the leap into publishing.
We worked our tails off for months — I wrote and transcribed the music while she took care of layout, graphic design, and manufacturing — and then we debuted the books at the 2009 AMTA national conference. The final product was awesome! I felt so proud to have my name on the cover. Michelle and I continued selling the songbooks throughout the next couple of years until they were all gone.
By the time we ran out of inventory, hard copy songbooks seemed to be a thing of the past. I continued creating songbooks, but opted to sell them as digital downloads from that point on. They were faster, easier and cheaper to create and sell, and customers seemed to prefer them because they were in turn more affordable and instantly accessible.
Michelle found her calling during that first songbook project; just a few months ago she launched Music Therapy E-Books with Rachel See. And I’m launching my latest digital songbook collection, Spring Into Summer, a week from today! Until then, you can preorder and get the first two songs PLUS a bonus song that won’t be available after the release. Check it out here.
As much as I love creating digital resources, there’s something special about having authored a real, hard copy book that sits on my bookshelf. And while I don’t see myself going that route again anytime soon, it was an awesome beginning to my songbook publishing adventures!
