Katie has seemed to make another mental leap the past few days. All of the music in her has suddenly taken flight... She sings along with me to everything. Today we were eating lunch and I started singing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes," and she sang the words and melody with me. It was so amazing to be singing with my daughter... We have also been singing together to some of the music from our Music Together class.
For the first time, also, she initiates singing when she plays. I spent a couple hours with her this morning after our Sunday pancake breakfast cleaning the upper story. Most of the time she helped me with her sponge and her dust cloth, but she did have some moments when she played on her own, and she started singing "A Ram Sam Sam" from our class.
Then, we were making pumpkin cookies with browned butter icing, and she made up her own song. It had a definite melody:
"Pumpkin soup, where are you?
I want to eat you!"
This has never been a song we have sung.
I loved her freedom to make up some lyrics and a song... When we're on our own, we sing about everything we do. Silly things like "Let us now mix with a spoon/And we'll have our cookies soon." Things like that. ALL THE TIME. In fact, some days I find myself singing to her more than just plain talking. It's more fun to sing everything in life and to try to make up silly rhymes. So I am loving that she is now replicating this...and making up her own songs and rhymes that relate to what we are doing.
It's such an awesome feeling to know that maybe some of our music work has taken root in her mind and heart. Bill and I have set out from the first day of her life to give her music...it is so exciting.
Also, when I was pushing her on the swing tonight, we started doing riffs on "Hello, Everybody." We started singing it and naming as many things in the yard as we could. I would do a line, and then she would do a line, like, "Hello to hummingbird feeder, so glad to see you" (one of hers) or "Hello to plants up high..." (her description of the hanging plants).
I also showed her part of Phantom of the Opera today. Those who know me best know that Phantom was, and still is, an obsession of mine. The first time I ever heard the score, it was seared onto my heart for life. I was at my aunt and uncle's house and their neighbor was playing it and the music drifted over the fence, and I just knew it would be part of me forever.
Anyway, after we watched part of it, Katie pretended to be "Phantom" and said that she liked "candles" and "the piano" and that her house was by a lake. She has been playing her toy piano more lately and sometimes pretends to play piano on other objects. It may be the case that piano will be her choice of instrument, but we'll see what happens in the next year or two. However, regardless of what instrument she eventually gravitates toward, we can't go wrong giving her piano as her base.
So music has been huge for us the past few days!
Also, for the first time tonight, she asked me to sit her over the big toilet by her bath. We have been using the potty chair successfully (for #2's), but she has always shown great fear of the big toilet and not ever wanted me to sit her there. But tonight she initiated it and seemed fine while I held her over! She ended up going #1. Success! I was proud, too, of how long she was able to wait to see if her #2 feelings came back (they didn't). What a big girl!
Finally, all day she has been asking me so nicely for things, "Mommy, please get my sippy." Sure, there have been a couple fussier requests, but she has used the polite way several times today, complete with a "please" and even my name!
So I think she has made another jump. She is so excited for her party this Saturday, by the way. I have the plates and pinata and things sitting out on the dining room table and she loves to look at them and at all the princesses. While she was napping today, I wrapped her presents in Disney princess paper. I am so excited, too! We are counting down the days together... Also, we glittered part of Daddy's trident today...
A fun day with my maturing young two-year-old!
