Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Making the Band
I am sure that for all of you out there that read this you know Tyler well and know that ever since he was little he has shown a lot of interest in music. Personally, I love this about him. I have never known how to play an instrument and it is one of my regrets. So, you can imagine how happy Tyler was when in the second grade they started teaching them to play the recorder. He loves that crazy thing and plays it all the time all over the house. I remember he used to play it in the morning and Deborah would be sleeping. It was pretty funny. Anyhow, can you imagine how happy he was when they came into his classroom and passed out the papers to join the band! He brought the papers home and was just so excited! "Guess what mom?!? I can be in the Cadet Band now that I am in the 3rd grade!" It was pretty cute. So I took the forms from him and read them over. Of course there is a fee just to put him in it and then it gives you all the information on what instrument he could play and how to go about getting it. So I asked him what instrument he wanted to play and he said the trumpet. So I told him I would look into it.
The next morning I was driving him to school and he said to me, "Mom, I have a secret to tell you. I don't want to play the trumpet." So of course I asked him why he told me he did and he said that it was because he couldn't play what he really wanted to play. So I asked him what it was he really wanted to play and he replied, "the clarinet." So I asked him why he couldn't play that and he said he knew it was for girls and everyone would make fun of him. Just to hear him say this breaks my heart and to be honest I was torn. I didn't know if I should encourage him to do what he wants to do or try and save him from getting made fun of. I just told him that instruments weren't made for boys or girls, they are for both. I told him that he should do what he wants to do and to think it over. He said he would.
Of course I went right to work and called his music teacher. I mean I don't know a thing about music so how could tell him something I wasn't really sure about myself? I mean is the clarinet for girls? I called her and she was just the nicest lady. She told me several things that made me feel very good. First she said third grade is the first year that they introduce the band and she said just about all of them want to do it. So, he could change his mind or love it - who knows. Second, she said that there are currently 4 children that play the clarinet and 2 are boys and 2 are girls. She also said that in most professional orchestras, men play the clarinet. Last, she told me that the clarinet was a difficult instrument to play because of the breath control it takes. She was very helpful and informative.
The next night I told Tyler all the things that the music teacher told me but I also let him know that kids are mean sometimes and there may be people that make fun of him but he should not care. He should always do what he wants to do no matter what anyone thinks or says. He was so happy to hear the clarinet and said for sure he wanted to play. SOOOOO, I told him that I still needed to look into the cost and talk to his dad about it. To which he said, "Do you have to talk to my dad?" I said of course, why wouldn't I? And he said that he didn't want me to because Scott would be mad at him. I was livid! I hate that my son was afraid to tell his dad what he really wants to do. UGGGG!! So needless to say I called Scott and told him about my conversation with Tyler. I told him that he needed to encourage Tyler to do what he wants to do. I told him that he should be proud that Tyler is more like him in that respect. I mean Scott does what he wants no matter what anyone thinks. No one would ever call him a follower. The same can be said for Tyler. Year after year I have his teachers tell me that he is a leader. They tell me that even if no one wants to follow him he still does his own thing. I love that about him. So Scott said he was going to call Tyler and talk to him about it. Needless to say I was nervous. There is just never any telling with Scott! Deborah had Tyler that afternoon and said she heard the entire phone call. Scott called and asked Tyler what was new. He replied nothing and so Scott probed further....
S: You are not doing anything new in school?
T: Yeah, I am in the band.
S: Oh yeah - that's great. What instrument are you playing?
T: The clarinet.
S: Do you know what I think of that?
T: No.
S: I think that is awesome! Be sure and let me know if you ever have a show or a concert so I be there too.
Deborah said she almost shed a tear. Tyler hung up the phone and was smiling from ear to ear. He even called me to tell me his dad was not mad at him! Sometimes I swear Scott can just shock you. He's never been a bad dad or anything like that but you know he is a GUY. But, more importantly he's Tyler's dad and the one person he tries hardest to please, so I was so proud of Scott.
The next morning I was driving him to school and he said to me, "Mom, I have a secret to tell you. I don't want to play the trumpet." So of course I asked him why he told me he did and he said that it was because he couldn't play what he really wanted to play. So I asked him what it was he really wanted to play and he replied, "the clarinet." So I asked him why he couldn't play that and he said he knew it was for girls and everyone would make fun of him. Just to hear him say this breaks my heart and to be honest I was torn. I didn't know if I should encourage him to do what he wants to do or try and save him from getting made fun of. I just told him that instruments weren't made for boys or girls, they are for both. I told him that he should do what he wants to do and to think it over. He said he would.
Of course I went right to work and called his music teacher. I mean I don't know a thing about music so how could tell him something I wasn't really sure about myself? I mean is the clarinet for girls? I called her and she was just the nicest lady. She told me several things that made me feel very good. First she said third grade is the first year that they introduce the band and she said just about all of them want to do it. So, he could change his mind or love it - who knows. Second, she said that there are currently 4 children that play the clarinet and 2 are boys and 2 are girls. She also said that in most professional orchestras, men play the clarinet. Last, she told me that the clarinet was a difficult instrument to play because of the breath control it takes. She was very helpful and informative.
The next night I told Tyler all the things that the music teacher told me but I also let him know that kids are mean sometimes and there may be people that make fun of him but he should not care. He should always do what he wants to do no matter what anyone thinks or says. He was so happy to hear the clarinet and said for sure he wanted to play. SOOOOO, I told him that I still needed to look into the cost and talk to his dad about it. To which he said, "Do you have to talk to my dad?" I said of course, why wouldn't I? And he said that he didn't want me to because Scott would be mad at him. I was livid! I hate that my son was afraid to tell his dad what he really wants to do. UGGGG!! So needless to say I called Scott and told him about my conversation with Tyler. I told him that he needed to encourage Tyler to do what he wants to do. I told him that he should be proud that Tyler is more like him in that respect. I mean Scott does what he wants no matter what anyone thinks. No one would ever call him a follower. The same can be said for Tyler. Year after year I have his teachers tell me that he is a leader. They tell me that even if no one wants to follow him he still does his own thing. I love that about him. So Scott said he was going to call Tyler and talk to him about it. Needless to say I was nervous. There is just never any telling with Scott! Deborah had Tyler that afternoon and said she heard the entire phone call. Scott called and asked Tyler what was new. He replied nothing and so Scott probed further....
S: You are not doing anything new in school?
T: Yeah, I am in the band.
S: Oh yeah - that's great. What instrument are you playing?
T: The clarinet.
S: Do you know what I think of that?
T: No.
S: I think that is awesome! Be sure and let me know if you ever have a show or a concert so I be there too.
Deborah said she almost shed a tear. Tyler hung up the phone and was smiling from ear to ear. He even called me to tell me his dad was not mad at him! Sometimes I swear Scott can just shock you. He's never been a bad dad or anything like that but you know he is a GUY. But, more importantly he's Tyler's dad and the one person he tries hardest to please, so I was so proud of Scott.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Bunk Beds!
For as long as I can remember Tyler has been wanting a bunk bed. He finally got his wish! I got him a bunk bed and it got delivered last week. When he walked into his room all I heard was, "Woo hoo!" He was so excited. So his new thing is he takes turns sleeping one night on the top bunk and one night on the bottom. He loves it. I also finally gave in to him for the camo bedding he wanted so bad. I found some pretty cute stuff online and ordered it. Last night the comforter came in and he was so happy. I will take pictures to post soon.
3rd Grade
Tyler started school last week. He was so excited! I love that he still likes school and seems so happy to go each day. I dread the day he starts hating it. He was happy to find out that he got the teacher that he wanted but disappointed to find that his best buddy Gregory is not in his class. I think having the good teacher has made up for his hard feelings! His classroom has a ton of animals! They have 2 fish tanks, 2 baby ducklings, 2 hampsters and a bearded dragon. He was very happy about all that. He said that one of the jobs you can get in the classroom is the "vet". Of course he said he wanted to be the vet but instead he has to erase the chalk boards. It was funny when he told me because he said if you are the vet you get to feed the animals but, "the only problem is you have to clean the poop too!" So, I guess he was OK with the boards. His cousin Lindsey is in his class and he seems to love that. He says he sits with her at lunch time. Cute. His girrrrllllfriend Natalie is in his class this year too. She sits diagonal from him. When we went in to meet his teacher for the first time, he noticed immediately where she sat. I thought that was funny.
So far everything is going great. He still gets to play with Gregory at recess so that is good news. It's funny because last year he wanted me to drop him off and that was it. This year he wants me to walk him in to class. Every day I will say - should I just drop you off today and he will say, "no, how about just one more day?" He cracks me up because he acts like he need me and then once we get within the gates of the school he pretends he doesn't even know me! The other funny thing was that every year on the first day of school I take him to school and get a picture of him with his teacher and in his classroom and this year he wanted no part of that! He would not even pose for one picture for me! I got one picture of him from a distance - but that is it! My boy is growing up.
So far everything is going great. He still gets to play with Gregory at recess so that is good news. It's funny because last year he wanted me to drop him off and that was it. This year he wants me to walk him in to class. Every day I will say - should I just drop you off today and he will say, "no, how about just one more day?" He cracks me up because he acts like he need me and then once we get within the gates of the school he pretends he doesn't even know me! The other funny thing was that every year on the first day of school I take him to school and get a picture of him with his teacher and in his classroom and this year he wanted no part of that! He would not even pose for one picture for me! I got one picture of him from a distance - but that is it! My boy is growing up.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Is it a Boy of a Girl?
Since Tyler found out about the baby he has been just a bag full of questions! He was dying to find out what the baby was. Every day when I would pick him up from camp he would say to me, "Do you know if it is a boy or girl yet?" So once I set my sonogram appointment I told him the day and that he could come with me too. I told him he would be able to see the baby on TV and then we would get pictures of the baby like the pictures that we already have. (He had already seen some of the early sonogram pictures and if you have seen those you know they look a little distorted so when I first showed him I told him first that we could see the baby but it was not exactly what the baby looks like because they take the pictures through my belly. He was very curious about that. I told him that the baby looks a little weird in the picture but it would be fine when it comes out. So when I should him the pictures he goes, "Oh! The baby is so...... cute? Well, not cute, but nice.") So anyway, he wanted to know if the doctor was going to have to take the baby out and then put the baby back in for the pictures. I explained to him what they do. He was pretty excited about going with me and started a count down. Anyway, his new question to ask me every day was what do I hope the baby is? I always answered it didn't matter as long as the baby is healthy. Then he asked me what healthy is. I explained to him and he said he knew some kids that were not healthy and he told me about them. After that conversation every time someone asked him about the baby he would just say he hoped it was healthy. Then one day I picked him up and he said, "Is the baby still healthy?" I said yes, as far as I knew. He then said that someone at camp told him that sometimes the babies are healthy but the moms are not. Great. So he asked me if I was healthy. I told him I was very healthy and everything would be fine. Ever since then he wants me to reassure him that even though I am having the baby in the hospital that doesn't mean that there is something wrong. He is for sure the most caring child I have ever seen, he worries about me the way that I worry about him. Any ache or pain I have he is right there... "What's wrong, are you OK?" I couldn't ask for a better helper.
At last the day to find out what the baby was came and when she told us, "It's a boy!" Tyler punched his fist in the air like he won some huge victory. Can you imagine how great a big brother he will be? I can't wait to see. I tell Tyler all the time that I want him to teach baby Peter how to be just like him because I could not ask for a better boy.
At last the day to find out what the baby was came and when she told us, "It's a boy!" Tyler punched his fist in the air like he won some huge victory. Can you imagine how great a big brother he will be? I can't wait to see. I tell Tyler all the time that I want him to teach baby Peter how to be just like him because I could not ask for a better boy.
Tyler the Big Brother
Sorry it's been so long. Things have been pretty busy this summer.
So as most of you already know, Tyler is going to be a big brother! Most likely the best big brother there ever was. Here is how he found out:
We went out to eat one Sunday and I had been trying so hard to find a way to tell him but I wanted to do something special or something! I still hadn't figured out a master plan but with my bulging belly starting to poke out we were pretty much out of time. So, we were eating and after we were done I sat back in my seat and held my belly and said, "Woah! Look at this!" He looked over to me and said, "Is there a baby in there?!" I shook my head yes and his face was just priceless. He had the biggest grin on his face. I wish I had a picture of that moment! He looked so happy and repeatedly kept asking, "Are you serious?" I kept saying yes and he was just like in shock I think. He was pretty silent with his big grin on his face. Finally he said, "Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?" No. "Well, I hope it is a boy but even if it is a girl that is OK too because then she won't want to play with my toys and I can still have my privacy!" Is he so cute?
So as most of you already know, Tyler is going to be a big brother! Most likely the best big brother there ever was. Here is how he found out:
We went out to eat one Sunday and I had been trying so hard to find a way to tell him but I wanted to do something special or something! I still hadn't figured out a master plan but with my bulging belly starting to poke out we were pretty much out of time. So, we were eating and after we were done I sat back in my seat and held my belly and said, "Woah! Look at this!" He looked over to me and said, "Is there a baby in there?!" I shook my head yes and his face was just priceless. He had the biggest grin on his face. I wish I had a picture of that moment! He looked so happy and repeatedly kept asking, "Are you serious?" I kept saying yes and he was just like in shock I think. He was pretty silent with his big grin on his face. Finally he said, "Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?" No. "Well, I hope it is a boy but even if it is a girl that is OK too because then she won't want to play with my toys and I can still have my privacy!" Is he so cute?
