Because Babies Grow Up

My musical journey has been an interesting one. I am not musical by nature. I enjoy music and even taught myself how to lead music. I took piano lessons, violin lessons and trumpet lessons, but they were short-lived and I’m not accomplished at any of them. I didn’t own many CDs and I rarely went out of my way to listen to a specific song or artist. I would say that up until I met my husband, music was not a priority for me.

All that changed when I met Brent. He is passionate about music. He knows all the bands, songs, concerts and pretty much anything else there is to randomly know about music. The night he told me he loved me for the first time he couldn’t quite figure out how to bring it up. He was bringing me home from a date and we had just pulled up to my apartment. He hesitated for a moment and then he said, “I want to share this song with you.” And he put in “It’s Alright” by Boyd Tinsley. It starts, “Can I tell you all that you are to me, girl? You’re really something And I give all my love to you.” Then the chorus says, “I wanna tell you I love you; it’s alright.” My heart melted.

One last example about Brent’s passion for music. During our first year of marriage we went on several long road trips. I would be anxiously running around, doing laundry, washing dishes, packing bags and getting snacks ready. I would haul luggage out to the car. Brent, on the other hand, was always found in the middle of the living room floor with all his CD books open and CDs sprawled about as he carefully chose what he thought would best fit our road trip. At first it irritated and then angered me that he would spend so much time choosing music for our trip. But, we’ve always had very fun road trips and a lot of that is because of Brent’s attention to music.

So it was no surprise to me that Sammi loved music and rhythm from an early age. I was a little, okay, a lot rusty on my nursery rhymes and kid songs. I found the laptime program at our local library and started going. I was reminded of all the classics and learned so many new songs, too. Sammi and I have definitely bonded over sharing music together.

But that only prepared me for little Elli who is the spitting image of her father in her passion for music. At first I accepted how important music was for Brent, but with our children, I have developed my own sense of how important music is. Through songs I can relate to my children in ways that would otherwise be impossible.

We laugh, we play, we fall asleep, we travel all to the original soundtrack of our life together. We love finding new artists and listening to great musicians doing music right. But at the end of the day, Sammi asks for Mommy and Daddy to sing. “Not the car. I don’t want to hear the car. I want you!” she said one day as we were driving home late at night from a fun day at Grandma’s house. She chose us over anything else. That’s the power music can have in your relationship with your little ones.

Because I want everyone to have as fantastic a time sharing music with their little ones as we do in our home, and because I know that not every library has a laptime program to get you started, I put together my first eBook all about how to do laptime with your little ones. Laptime Songs for Mommies …and Daddies and Grandmas and Grandpas walks you through introducing music to your littlest ones on up through preschoolers. It has music, classic nursery rhymes, terrific variations, crafts and book ideas. In short, it’s the ideal way to spend 20 minutes a day in front of your computer with your baby on your lap. But it also creates opportunities to take that music with you where ever you go.

This week’s giveaway is a copy of Laptime Songs for Mommies …and Daddies and Grandmas and Grandpas for two lucky readers. The giveaway will run through Jan 17 and the winner announced Jan 18. This whole week I’ll be exploring how music can fit into every aspect of your life with your little one. This will give you lots of chances to enter to win! Here are the details:

Leave a comment on this post to enter. What is your little ones favorite song or nursery rhyme?

Earn extra entries:

• Tweet this: Another great giveaway from @ajpassey: http://bit.ly/6uKKQ0 Share the power of music with your little ones!
• Facebook this: I just entered to win Laptime Songs for Mommies from Because Babies Grow Up. Share the power of music with your little ones! http://bit.ly/6uKKQ0
• Blog about why you think it’s important to share music with your little ones and at the end of your post, include something like this “This post is part of my entry in Because Babies Grow Up’s giveaway for Laptime Songs for Mommies.”
• Come back each day and leave a comment on that day’s new post about music in the life of little ones.

I don’t expect you to do all of the things to get extra entries! Just if your interested, pick the ones that fit your schedule. I’d just love any help in sharing the message that music is a great way to bond with your little ones.