Enjoy the silence.

Decided to borrow the title to a Depeche Mode song. :) I'm not sure how all of you are in the morning, but this momma of two little ones needs her coffee and some time to wakey up. So my routine (up until recently) has been...roll out of bed, microwave some milk for my toddler, put it the sippy and go get her out of bed (waking her up with a song of course!), do the diaper change and sit her on the couch with her milk and Meredith, Al, Matt and Ann (yep! the Today show) while I go and get her baby sister. After I get her diaper changed and bottle made and my morning coffee I sit down for the only real bit of news outside my home that I will see all day. Well, my husband didn't turn on the Today show one morning when he got them up and later was telling me how much more the girls talk if there is no other outside stimulus. He suggested that we don't turn the TV on in the morning until Sesame Street and see if this helps them with their language and social skills. So, I agreed (with a little bit of inner selfishness in that I like to hear what is happening around the world rather than just in Yo Gabba Gabba land and on Sesame Street). They now make declarations (not sure what those are since they don't really speak English yet, they are still in toddler speak), they talk to the cats, to each other, to their toys and bring books for us to read. Overall...turning the TV off in the morning has been a good thing. We pretty much limit what they watch anyhow but have decided to take it up a notch and limit what we are watching too so that there isn't as much outside stimulus and the silence in the room actually spurs them to hear their own voices. So I encourage you to turn off the TV and have a little more quiet in your house...the silence won't last for long. :)

With a song in my heart....

If any of you have ever received an email from Miss Cyndi, you know her signature includes "with a song in my heart". I just think this is the coolest thing. It is so important to have a song in your heart and this is one thing that Kindermusik does for our family. I am married to someone who always has a song in his heart and he has more joy to share with those around him as a result. We have two little girls and they both really love music and of course love to come to Kindermusik.

We are currently in the Fiddle dee dee class which meets on Fridays from 9:30-10:15 and one of our favorite songs lyrics are "when dogs wake up in the morning they always say good day!" and it goes through all sorts of animals. Miss Cyndi asked how we wake up in the morning and we went around singing. But this got me to thinking, we always wake up our girls with a song. It is a song my husband made up on a whim and it has turned into our "wake up" song.

Wakey Up Sweet...
Wakey up sweet in the morning, wakey up sweetie sweet.
Wakey up sweet in the morning, wakey Boober d (this is what we call our oldest)
Wakey up sweet in the morning, wakey up sweetie sweet!
Wakey up sweet in the morning, wakey up sweetie sweet.

It's fun when you wakey up sweetie sweet.
With a song in your heart, it makes you light on your feet...sooooo...
Wakey up sweet in the morning, wakey up sweetie sweet.

It is true that when you wakey up with a song in your heart, it makes you light on your feet and really, it makes your whole day start off right. I hope that you continue to have a song in your heart (one that doesn't drive you crazy like Row Row Row Your Boat! haha) and that Kindermusik is blessing your home as it is blessing ours.