This is where all of my interests and skills are combined for one purpose: to make peoples’ lives better through music. Whether it’s through my original songs, serving my community through my business, or singing with my children, this is my favorite place to share my musical endeavors. Thank you for visiting, and I hope to get to know you better.
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Let’s All Wave Hello
One of the things I love most about offering classes is that when I plan them, I end up writing a bunch of new songs. My current early childhood class was no exception; I wrote no fewer than 10 new songs for it! So over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing them with you.
Since these songs were written for babies and toddlers, they are on the simple side. I feel like now that I have a kiddo of my own, I have a much better grasp on what types of songs and activities will go over best with this age group.
Parker is really into waving lately, as are his little friends. So naturally, our “hello” song is all about waving to everyone. Each child in the group gets a turn to be the recipient of the waves, and all the children get lots of opportunities to practice their waving.
At the risk of sounding corny, I have to say that it is magical to watch a child begin to understand what words mean and associate them with actions. The words “hi” and “hello” are automatically met with a wave from Parker these days, which is the goal when I sing this song in my classes.
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Showering Baby Massimo
My best friend Katie is having a baby! She lives in New York City, so I was super excited when she said she’d make the trip home for a baby shower. She threw me an amazing shower last spring, and I wanted to return the favor.
Katie and Justin aren’t finding out the baby’s gender, so everything — from the invites, to the decor, to the gifts — was gender neutral. I got the idea for this cute clothesline from Katie, who did one for my shower (with all nautical clothing, of course).
My mom made most of the food, and my mother-in-law Libby pitched in with fruit and dessert. How cute is this watermelon baby buggy?! My mom had seen it on Facebook, and Libby (queen of watermelon around here) brought it to life.
It was so much fun having all of my high school friends together again. It doesn’t happen very often! I’m the only Springfield girl, so I was very happy that the rest of them made the trip home to celebrate baby Massimo. And Katie wasn’t the only one with a baby bump; Jennifer and Anna are also expecting.
I’m definitely the odd man out in this photo…no baby in this girl’s belly! Later that night after the shower, I went out to dinner with my 3 pregnant friends. Needless to say, I was the only one who enjoyed a glass of wine with my food ;)
Parker at the Playground
One of our favorite summer discoveries has been the splashpad at Southwind Park. We met our friends from mommy/baby group, Angie and her little cutie pie Janie, there for the first time a couple of weeks ago and both kids had a blast. They are just a few weeks apart in age, and it’s so adorable watching them play together.
Parker wasn’t sure about the water fountains at first, but he eventually got over his hesitations and headed into the action. He even tried drinking the water, which was hilarious. There were only a few other kids there, so they pretty much had the run of the place. We spent at least 45 minutes there until Parker got bored and was ready for the next thing.
Southwind Park also has a fun playground, so we headed there for some swinging, sliding, and climbing. Mostly climbing. Parker is really into stairs now, and would be perfectly content spending his time going up and down them over and over again. He’s pretty fearless when it comes to the playground equipment, which makes playing at the park a good workout for me!
We liked the splashpad and park so much that we ended up going back the very next day. We met a bunch of moms and kiddos from mommy/baby group, but unfortunately the splashpad was sooooo crowded (especially with bigger kids) that they didn’t get to play together like we had hoped. Parker still had fun, but I was nervous about him getting knocked down.
This dude loves being outside, and I love the nap he takes after burning off all that energy running around. We try to get out and do something active every day, even if it’s just going to Rotary Park (which is within walking distance). We did that one afternoon last week, and Parker had the time of his life running around the empty playground.
The Lazy Days of Summer
How ridiculous is this face? It’s Parker’s new go-to expression, and he knows how insanely adorable it is. This baby keeps me on my toes as he becomes more and more like a little boy every day. Each new development reveals a new facet of his personality, and it is so much fun to get to know him better.
The last couple weeks have been pretty great. Since I’m on summer break, we’ve spent basically every waking hour together with the exception of a few hours of grandma time here and there. I try to keep our days as interesting as possible, because being cooped up in the house during the summertime is just wrong. We go on daily walks, take lots of trips to the park, and of course, get our pool time in.
Parker is still a huge fan of the water, though he doesn’t quite understand why he has to be in his floatie or in someone’s arms the whole time. He’s pretty independent for a tiny tyke. He is also way too cool for sippy cups; he’d much rather drink out of mama’s water bottle. Don’t ask me how, but he figured out how to drink out of the Camelbak — which is pretty amazing considering you have to bite the straw and suck.
When we do have some downtime around the house, Parker’s favorite activity is reading. This kid is obsessed with books! He likes to take them all off his bookcase and then plop right down in the middle, going from book to book. He flips through a few pages and then moves on to the next one. His favorites at the moment are Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Fuzzy and the That’s Not My…(Dinosaur/Kitten/Monkey) series.
I’m going to miss these lazy summer days when the pace picks up next week. We will head to Denver for a long weekend on Thursday, and then it’s back to work for this mama (only 4 days a week). As usual, summer is already going by too quickly and I’m trying to soak up every last drop.
{Mama Moment} Coming Full Circle
The following is a guest post by Jennifer Gossett, MT-BC, NICU MT. Jennifer is a Board-Certified Music Therapist based in Charleston, SC. She ventured into the field of music therapy after a 15-year career as a band director in public and private schools, and opened her private practice, Noteworthy Music Therapy, in 2012. Jennifer and her husband, Kevin, are parents of two sons, ages 12 and 10, each of whom has both special needs and special talents.
My sons were born in 2001 and 2004, and both were preemies. My youngest weighed 700 grams at birth, and the Beanie Baby that nurses placed in the isolette with him was as big as he was. Thankfully, our city has a Level 3 nursery for these tiny, fragile babies, so our boys had access to wonderful care and best technology available at the time. Between the two boys, we spent 18 weeks making daily visits to the NICU, rejoicing on the good days and crying on the bad ones, feeling helpless to do much of anything besides wait and pray.
Blessedly, both boys survived their early starts, and for the most part they have thrived and blossomed. Today, they’re tweens who love music, video games, Pokemon and Legos. Like so many of these former preemies, they’ve had bumps in the road, developmentally speaking: one has a diagnosis on the mild end of the autism spectrum, and the other has the hyperactive/impulsive type of ADHD and a moderate hearing loss. So, we’ve spent many an hour visiting pediatric specialists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, etc., and being immersed in the special needs world.
Becoming a Mom changes any woman’s life, but I could never have guessed in 2001 how drastically my life would change in the years to come. I had been a music teacher before I was a parent; my training was in how to play the trumpet, how to conduct a concert band, how to assemble a bassoon or correctly grip a pair of drumsticks. I was NOT prepared to negotiate a world in which I would watch my child breathe on a ventilator, bring him home on oxygen, or advocate for his education year after year in IEP meetings.
But as I grew and learned, I became drawn to the world of these special children and their families, and looked for a way in so that I could work with those children as I saw so many amazing professionals do for my own boys. It was then that I discovered my calling as a music therapist, and went back to college at the seasoned age of 38 to begin my new training.
Fast forward to the Fall of 2013: I’ve completed the training, passed the board exam, and I’m a board-certified music therapist. I’m doing exactly what I set out to do—using music to connect with and enhance the quality of life of children with autism, Down Syndrome and other special needs. It was a dream come true, but something was missing. I felt that “pull” again, realizing there was something else I needed to pursue—an advanced, specialized training in music therapy practices for NICU babies.
I headed to Florida, to the only site in the country that provides this level of training, for an intense few days of hands-on experience using MT strategies with these fragile infants. One other MT-BC was in the program with me, so we agreed to take turns holding the babies and going through the specific music therapy protocol. She took the first turn, which meant the next baby would be mine.
He was very small, very squirmy, and very easily overstimulated. I held him as I’d been taught, began to hum…and realized tears were trickling down my cheeks. I was shocked, not realizing that the memories would come flooding back like that after nearly 10 years since I’d last entered a NICU. Call it PTSD, call it a trip down memory lane, call it what you will, but for me it was a powerful Mama Moment — realizing that my life-changing experiences as NICU Mom had now come full circle to my career in MT.
Once I dried the tears and got through that first encounter and those moments of doubt, I knew I’d come to the right place and was doing what I was meant to do—to make a difference in the lives of children and families who face the same challenges that I’ve faced, and to use the awesome, powerful gift of music to do that. Or as a favorite quote says: “After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” (Aldous Huxley)
Are you a music therapist with a “mama moment” to share? If so, please submit your story, along with a photo and short bio, via email.
We All Will Sing Together
I’ve been on a bit of a summer songwriting hiatus this month, so it was nice to sit down and spend some time writing and recording over the weekend. My baby & toddler class starts next week, so I have a lot of work to do!
This particular song is actually one that I prepared for a music therapy student several months ago. We are working on singing, playing, and performing movement tasks TOGETHER (as opposed to taking turns), so I chose to adapt a familiar song that she could readily pick up and join in.
I’ve used this same song for lots of music therapy applications as well as in my early childhood classes. It’s great for playing a particular instrument, or multiple instruments, and of course, it’s easy to add or substitute other kinds of motions.
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A Weekend Away
Good news: I survived my first overnight trip away! And not just one night, but three. I wrote about flying solo as I was waiting for my flight in the airport, and I honestly had no idea how I’d handle the long weekend. But I did much better than expected, and now I know that leaving my baby in my husband’s very capable hands (with the help of grandparents) is no big deal.
I had a fun and productive weekend with my friends and colleagues. We got a lot of work done and managed to have a little fun, too. I got to experience Napa Valley for the first time, and can’t wait to go back again soon. I wrote all about my trip here.
Traveling home seemed to take FOREVER, especially since once I finally landed after two long flights, I still had to drive almost 2 hours home from the airport. When I walked in the door, Parker saw me and got the biggest grin on his face. He toddled over and fell into my lap…it was so cute! I could tell he was happy to see me, but not as happy as I was to see him.
I don’t have any solo trips planned until AMTA conference in November, which is just fine with me. Parker gets to tag along on our next trip, which is coming up in less than two weeks. We will be off to Denver to visit my brother and sister-in-law! Can’t wait.
“Under the Sea” Playroom
On the morning of Parker’s birthday, we took him downstairs so that he could open up his BIG gift: a brand-new playroom! I’m so happy we caught the reveal on video, although he has since grown much more excited about it than he was that morning.
This playroom has been a work in progress since the day we moved in. We referred to it as the “Bozo room” for the longest time, because this is how it looked originally.
I wrote a blog post about the beginnings of our playroom makeover way back before Parker was born; it only took 15 months to complete this little project! Isn’t it amazing what a coat of paint and foam tile flooring can do to a room?
The last week or so before Parker’s birthday, we spent just about every evening downstairs putting in the floor, decorating the wall with decals, putting together the furniture, and slowly moving in the toys. I took some photos before that last step, so in these photos the room is looking pretty stark. Trust me, it’s chock full of toys now.
It was actually my mom who came up with the ocean theme for the room. I had chosen the wall color last year just because it was bright and pretty, but I didn’t really have a them in mind. Once we agreed on the ocean theme, we ordered the blue foam tiles. Zach found the decals online to complete the look.
My mother-in-law ordered the Carolina craft table from Pottery Barn Kids as a gift for Parker. It comes with two different sets of legs, so there are longer ones for when Parker gets bigger. We also have chairs for the table, which we are storing in the closet until Parker is old enough to use them.
The nautical rope mirror is also from Pottery Barn Kids. I found the frames at Target, and filled them with some of my favorite photos from Parker’s first year. Never did I expect that those photos would be one of his favorite parts of the room!
Here is a close-up shot of the photos. It’s so funny to watch Parker go up to the frames and touch them, and then look at each photo. He is a little vain when it comes to pictures of himself ;)
The wooden letters are from Hobby Lobby. I have added a few more decorative touches to the room since these photos were taken, though I wanted to keep the walls pretty sparse (besides the decals). I imagine one day they will be full of Parker’s art work.
Parker received SO MANY TOYS for his birthday that this room was pretty much a necessity. I love that it is self-contained; there is a door to the downstairs family room that can be completely shut, so when we are playing in the playroom, he almost forgets that any other rooms exist. It’s big enough that we don’t feel claustrophobic, and with all the toy choices, he doesn’t get bored easily.
This summer has been insane so far, and we haven’t had much time to spend at home as a family. After Zach gets home from the World Cup in Brazil (yeah, that’s a different topic for a different day), the plan is to start hanging out in the basement more often. I don’t think Parker will have a problem with that!
I’ll See You in the Morning
Turning books into singable stories has been a little hobby of mine since my first music therapy practicum in grad school (almost 10 years ago!). I’ve used dozens and dozens of them in my work as a therapist, and now they are serving double duty in my newest career as a mom.
Parker was gifted an entire bookcase worth of books when he was born, and we have been steadily adding to the collection throughout his first year of life. Just this afternoon I was going through them and realized a baby-centered singable story series might be a great addition to the blog…especially since so many of my music therapist colleagues have recently become moms!
One of my very favorite books in Parker’s collection is one that he received for Christmas from my mom. It’s called I’ll See You in the Morning, and it made me cry the first time I flipped through it. The story is sweet, the illustrations are lovely, and best of all, it makes for the perfect singable story.
Singing this book has become a part of our bedtime routine, and I’ve started sharing it with other moms too. We have quite a few “going to bed” books on the shelf, but this one is definitely our favorite. What’s yours?
1st Birthday Bash(ful)
Parker has always been a charmer, but based on his birthday party, I think it’s safe to say that he specializes in small groups rather than large crowds. As more and more people arrived and showered attention on him, it was clear that the birthday boy was feeling more than a little bashful. But the straw would break the camel’s back a little bit later.
We went all out with the nautical theme to match his nursery and new playroom (more on that coming soon!). So naturally Parker dressed the part in a sailor suit as the guests arrived. But before long, he made his first wardrobe change into swim attire so that he could join all his friends in the pool.
My mom and stepdad went above and beyond by not only hosting the party — which included opening up their pool to a gaggle of babies and toddlers! — but also preparing almost all the food. The spread was pretty fantastic. My mother-in-law contributed with fruit and desserts, and my mom’s friend Terri created the awesome cookies. I’m not much of a chef, so I stuck to decorating and making sure everyone was having a good time.
Parker made the rounds throughout the party, but spent the majority of it chilling in the pool with his buddies. He loves his friends! It was so cute watching them interact in the water. Parker looks like such a little peanut next to them (though to be fair, he is the youngest by several months).
The weather was beautiful…a perfect day for a pool party. It was fun watching everyone splash around and have a good time. That is by far the most people ever to swim in that pool at once.
After we filled up on hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta salad, and lots of other yummy food, it was time to sing “Happy Birthday”. Parker wasn’t thrilled about sitting in his high chair, and it only went downhill from there. He burst into tears as soon as everyone started singing to him, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with his smash cake.
I smiled for this photo, but inside my heart was breaking for my overstimulated, overwhelmed, overtired little buddy. I rescued him from the hot seat a few moments later, but not before Zach dangled him over his cake. I’m sure you can guess how I felt about that!
At that point, the 30+ person crowd began to thin out and Parker had a chance to chill out. He opened a couple gifts, including a pair of Air Jordans from his friends Augie and Charlie. Pretty fancy!
He also got his very own personalized soccer jersey, which of course Zach put on him immediately. One of my mom’s gifts to Parker was an engraved Louisville Slugger bat with his name and the Cubs logo. I think Daddy was much more excited about it than Parker :) Parker’s cousin Mason helped him open the rest of his gifts.
I’m so grateful first and foremost to my parents for hosting and doing all the hard work involved with throwing the party. The rest of the grandparents (especially my mother-in-law) helped out and made it such a special event. So many of our friends and family traveled to Springfield to help Parker celebrate; we are super thankful for the great company and of course, all the awesome gifts Parker received!
After the party was over, we loaded everything up and took our exhausted one-year-old (!) home to get ready for bed. Needless to say, he slept VERY well that night. We all did, actually. It was a wonderful day, but I’m glad first birthday bashes only happen once.