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.
Performances
Events
Videos
Members of Listen & Learn Plus have access to ALL of my songs, resources, and session plans. Learn more about the perks of membership, and get a free sneak peek inside.
This is the book that will help you shape your music therapy career in order to make more money and live your ideal lifestyle.
Written by Listen & Learn Music creator Rachel Rambach, MM, MT-BC, Innovative Income for Music Therapists combines her own experiences with those of other trailblazing music therapists to illustrate the virtually endless ways in which to generate revenue using your unique training, knowledge and skills.
Let’s Connect on Instagram
{Parker Weekly} 15 Weeks Old
I have fallen behind in my blogging efforts, but this is my attempt to catch up and remember what happened two weeks ago. The days seem to whiz by in a total blur as I try to balance quality time with Parker, progress on work-related projects, laundry and keeping the house clean…all before I go to work at 3 pm.
I have always had lots of respect for stay-at-home moms, but now I can relate to how busy and stressful a job it can be. Same goes for working moms, since I feel like I fall into both categories. It’s a good place to be, but it definitely has its challenges!
As usual, I only have wonderful things to say about Parker. He is such an angel baby, and makes me smile SO much. He has been laughing a lot all of the sudden this week, so my new favorite thing is figuring out ways to make him giggle. A few things that never fail are patty-cake, tickling his face with my ponytail, kissing his ears, and giving him rides up and down on my knees.
Parker and I survived our first solo weekend when Zach went out of town for a few days, and it went very smoothly! Sadie rarely left our side, and especially enjoyed supervising Parker’s playtime :)
We definitely missed having Zach here (especially at 3 am when he usually handles diaper duty), but it was good practice for when he goes to Brazil for 10 days next summer. Again, I am very very lucky to have all of Parker’s grandparents here in town!
Our cousin Kim sent this adorable turtle hat for Parker. Clearly he loves it! I don’t think taking photos of this baby in cute outfits and accessories will EVER get old.
And here is the biggest event of week 15: Parker transitioned from the rock ‘n play next to our bed to the crib in his nursery. I wasn’t 100% ready, but Zach had been encouraging the move so we went for it. Night 1 was rough…he was much more interested with finding his toes than actually sleeping.
But we had a complete 180 on night 2, and ever since he has been sleeping like a lamb! He usually wakes up once a night to nurse, which is just fine with me. Eventually he will get around to sleeping through the night again.
{Parker Weekly} 14 Weeks Old
It’s finally starting to feel like fall, and we took advantage of the nice weather this past weekend. Zach had a soccer tournament on Saturday, so Parker and I cheered him on from the sidelines. Then of course we had to take a photo to commemorate Parker’s first soccer game:
Overall, it was a pretty laid back week around here. I’ve been pretty tired since going back to work, so most days we just hung around the house. We weren’t total homebodies, though: we did venture out to meet my friend Crystal for coffee on Wednesday morning, followed by mom-baby group at the hospital (we’ve been going since Parker was just a week old).
Zach left on Thursday for a bachelor trip in Las Vegas, so it’s been just the three of us — Sadie, baby, and me. Poor Sadie is such a good sport. She doesn’t get nearly the attention she did back in the old days of having “only child” status, so I have been making a conscious effort to spend more quality time with her when Parker is asleep. She makes a good snuggle buddy while Zach is away!
In other news, we did well with weight gain this week. Parker is creeping closer and closer to 12 pounds, which is still small for his age and height, but it’s progress. He’s been eating pretty frequently this week, which is definitely a good thing (albeit exhausting for me). I am loving the extra pudge on his cute little thighs…no more chicken legs for this guy!
Fall Freebie Alert!
If you aren’t familiar with Tuned Into Learning®, then there is no better time to hop on over and check out this amazing resource. Their collection of music for special education is unparalleled, and I am beyond flattered to have the opportunity to offer one of my songs as a free download today. Get the “Fall, Fall, Fall” mp3, instrumental mp3, and lead sheet here.
Tuned in to Learning® helps special learners ‘tune in’ through the powerful medium of music. They offer a wide range of special education songs and curriculum designed by an Autism Specialist and team of Board Certified Music Therapists. Their songs, books, videos and downloads help teach essential skills to students with autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, brain injury, learning disabilities, speech disorders, orthopedic impairments, and other special needs.
It’s awesome to have so many high quality options when it comes to finding new material for my work with kiddos who have special needs. After you download my fall freebie, be sure to check out all that Tuned in to Learning® has to offer!
Three Months Old
Check out this big boy. Three months…that’s a quarter of a year! As sad as it makes me that time flies by so quickly, I love that Parker is becoming more and more fun and full of personality every day.
Along with the three month mark have come several milestones and changes. The BIGGEST milestone is that he slept through the night 3 nights in a row! Zach and I woke up that first morning (September 11, so I can add it to the baby book later) and were in complete shock — neither of us remembered what it felt like to get a full night’s sleep, since it hadn’t happened since around the 6-month mark of my pregnancy (thanks to all those trips to the bathroom). I had to take a picture of Parker after he finally woke up to celebrate this monumental event.
Another milestone is that Parker has discovered his feet. Whereas he used to be obsessed with looking in the mirror while on his playmats, now he just wants to grab his feet and try to put them in his mouth. He has actually succeeded in that a few times ;) He is like a little roly poly, even during his diaper changes, which is just too cute.
Speaking of roly poly, he has rolled over again (belly to back) but only once since the first time. Luckily Grandpa Alan was there to witness it. I think he is getting close to rolling from his back to his belly, too…and we’re pretty sure that he’s going to be an early crawler. He already can maneuver his body 180 degrees to get to me or a toy during tummy time using just his arms. For such a little string bean, Parker is super strong!
In general, Parker just seems to be a very happy baby these days. He has such a sweet personality, and that smile…oh man. My favorite is when he is in the middle of crying (especially when I start changing his diaper) and all of the sudden he stops and gives me the biggest grin. It is seriously impossible to have a bad day with this little boy in my life.
Life is good around here. Parker is still eating great, and I’ve been working on getting more calories and drinking tons of water in order to produce more milk — I pumped 6 ounces this morning, which is HUGE for me! He’s still on the (very) low end of the weight spectrum, but I’m hoping to see a big gain on the scale today when we go to baby group. Fingers crossed!
The Dolphin Song
I’m doing a little happy dance as I type this post, because I finally have a new song to share after a several months long songwriting hiatus. I can’t tell you how good it felt to go through the process of writing, recording, and most importantly, using this song in a music therapy session.
The Dolphin Song was written specifically for a student who is quite fond of these sweet mammals, though it could be easily adapted to feature any sea-dwelling creature. In the song, I pose the questions “where is the dolphin swimming to?” and “who is the dolphin swimming to?” because my student is working on answering “wh” questions.
When we sing the song, I use a stuffed dolphin to “swim” to different places and people, and then I ask my student to answer the questions posed in the song. There’s room for lots of creativity and endless verses, though in my version, I only included a few and left two blank for the listener to fill in.
{Parker Weekly} Twelve Weeks Old
All good things must come to an end, and in this case, it was my maternity leave. I feel so lucky to have spent the past 12 weeks at home with Parker, even if it meant an entire summer without my main source of income (one of the very few downsides of self-employment). But on Tuesday, I kissed him goodbye at 3 pm and was off to my studio for my first full afternoon/evening of work since May.
To be honest, I really loved it. Seeing all of my students again was so wonderful — they were excited to be back, and wanted to know all about baby Parker — and I remembered how much I enjoy the work I do. Knowing that Parker is only a few rooms away from me, and that he is in the care of his grandmas and our awesome sitter Greta, is what has made this transition manageable.
There were definitely times throughout the summer that I thought I would enjoy being a stay-at-home mom, but heading back to work has confirmed that this is what is best for our whole family. I get to spend the entire day with my baby, and then do a job I love from the comfort of home. Financially, it allows us to save more, pay off our mortgage quicker (we’re shooting for 40 — that’s less than ten years away!), and still have plenty of money after expenses to do the things we love, especially travel.
Anyway, enough about me. Let’s get to my favorite topic in the whole wide world: my beautiful baby boy! Unbelievably, he is turning 3 months old tomorrow. Each week, he seems to become a little bit more chill and is smiling so much!
He was so cute this morning when Zach brought him to me after changing his diaper at 6 am; I said “hi” and he had the hugest grin on his face. It was almost like he woke us up on purpose just so that he could see us! Luckily after I fed him, he went right back to sleep so that I could begin my 6 am routine of coffee, breakfast, pumping, and getting things done around the house.
Parker is getting much better at taking the pacifier, which is a big plus since he’s spending so much time away from me now. It comes in super handy when we’re out in public, like yesterday when I took him to Target and he started getting a little fussy. It made me cringe thinking back to a few weeks ago (before he got the hang of the paci) when we were at Kohl’s, and he had a complete meltdown in the Ergo carrier. Hopefully we won’t relive that traumatic experience again.
The one bummer about this week is that Parker still isn’t gaining as much weight as he was up until now. He is right under the 10% mark for weight, even though he is a good eater, and seems happy and satisfied after his feedings. He continues to grow in length like a week, so I’m just hoping that during his 3-month growth spurt, his weight catches up.
This blog post is getting ridiculously long, so I’m going to end with a video of Parker’s first dip in grandma’s pool last weekend. He loved it!
So Long, Summer: Back to Reality
I could try to explain just how wonderful this summer has been, but words would never do it justice. My sweet baby Parker was born just a week after ending the spring session in my studio, and I’ve had the past 12 weeks to soak up every minute with him. They flew by so quickly, and now it’s time to leave him for a few hours every day so that I can work with my students.
Parker will be in wonderful hands while I’m busy working, and I know that once I get started, the hours will go quickly. But until then, I have to admit that I have butterflies in my stomach. It’s a mix of nerves and excitement (mostly the latter), and in all honestly, I’ll be glad to have this first day “back to reality” under my belt. I’m sure it will only get easier from here!
{Parker Weekly} Eleven Weeks Old
This week brings lots of mixed emotions, because it is my LAST week of maternity leave. On one hand, I am totally excited about seeing all of my students and their families again, but on the other, I am sad that I won’t be with my baby 24/7 anymore. I am going to miss him so much! But then I remember that I get to spend the entire morning and early afternoon with him, and I feel a little better.
Mornings are my favorite, because Parker is almost always in a good mood when he wakes up. I absolutely LOVE unwrapping him from his swaddle and watching his arms go up to stretch, not to mention the adorable smiles he gives me:
The weather was super hot this week, so we didn’t get out of the house too much. We spent a lot of time in Parker’s two favorite spots: the kick ‘n play piano mat and bumbo chair. So much time, in fact, that I made a little video. How cute is this:
I’ve also been putting Parker on his tummy a lot more lately, and he seems to hate it less and less. He’s getting so much better at pushing up and holding up his head, as you can see:
As you can see, I went a little video crazy this week. Of course it would figure that the one time I didn’t have my iPhone in hand, Parker rolled over from his belly to his back for the first time! He had just taken his bath on Friday night, and we had him on a blanket in his nursery. Grandpa Steve was here taking some pictures, and asked Zach to put Parker on his belly for a few shots. As he was checking out the photos on his camera, Zach, Grandma Libby and I watched him roll over all by himself. I couldn’t believe it, but Parker didn’t seem the least bit fazed! So cool that we got to witness this first big milestone.
That was an awesome start to Labor Day weekend. We’re spending the rest of it just hanging out and relaxing before my first big day of work on Tuesday. I get butterflies just thinking about it!
{Parker Weekly} Ten Weeks Old
Oh my goodness, we have reached double digits! I have such mixed emotions as the weeks fly by: on one hand, it’s so much fun to watch Parker grow and change, but on the other, I know I am going to miss these tiny baby days so much.
During the first few weeks of Parker’s life, he slept on me all the time. He would fall asleep nursing, and then be perfectly content just lying in my arms for hours. After his last early morning feeding, he would usually sleep on my chest for an hour or so, and words cannot describe the sweetness of having my baby boy right up against me like that. Nowadays, he sleeps so well in his swing and rock ‘n play that he doesn’t spend nearly as much time on me — and I miss it!
But the next best thing is when he falls asleep in either the Moby or Ergo carrier. I put him in the Moby today (using the “hug” hold since his loooong legs are no longer comfortable being froggied up inside the wrap) while I did some chores around the house, and he was asleep in no time. After I finished my chores, I just sat on the couch with him up against me in the wrap and enjoyed those precious moments.
Speaking of precious moments, I have been lucky to capture quite a few on camera this week! On the left, Parker is modeling his new outfit from our friends Sally and Enrique, who we saw in Florida last week. Bonus points that it matches his nautical nursery! And on the right, he makes his career aspirations known ;)
The past few days have been pretty chill around here, after our whirlwind vacation. A bit of a routine is emerging, which I’m hoping will continue in the weeks to come. That will really help when it comes time to return to work (in just a little over a week!). During Parker’s morning nap, I’m able to eat breakfast, pump, do some work on the computer, and tidy up the house so that I can fully enjoy his awake time. We fill that up with story time in his new bumbo seat, making music on the kick ‘n play piano, stroller walks, and tummy time (though this is Parker’s least favorite activity).
One last notable happening in week 10: buckets and buckets of drool! This baby is seriously a faucet all of the sudden…might this be an early sign of teething!?
{Parker Weekly} Nine Weeks Old
Parker is looking less and less like a newborn and more like a little boy every week :( Where did my tiny little baby go? He crossed the 10-pound mark, but it turns out that he is only in the 7th percentile for weight. He’s still measuring super long at 24.5 inches — that’s 84th percentile! — so we are hoping that his weight catches up with his height soon.
This was a BIG week for Parker: he took his first airplane ride to see his great grandma in Naples, Florida. Everyone’s advice was to nurse him at takeoff and landing so that he’d sleep for most of the flight, and that was exactly what happened! He did have some awake moments on the way there, which we captured in photos.
It’s a good thing Parker is such a great traveler, because we do a lot of it. In fact, we are already planning a trip to somewhere warm this winter. Dominican Republic, perhaps? Luckily, Parker also loves the beach and ocean.
But of course, the highlight of the trip (and the reason for going) was Parker meeting his great grandma — my “Grandma Florida”. We brought along the blanket she made for him, which is one of his very favorite things.
We were only in Naples for a few days, but they were action packed. We went out to eat lots, took two day trips to the beach, visited with our friends Sally & Enrique and their little boy, Ricky, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Oh, and Parker is getting the hang of the pacifier as a result of this trip (we figured it would be a good idea to have one along in case he got fussy in the airport/on the plane/in restaurants).
Now that we’re home, my days of maternity leave are dwindling. I return to work two weeks from today, which is a bittersweet feeling. I will miss the lazy days of summer, hanging out with my baby boy!