Malia doesn’t like setting her alarm in the summer, so I usually wake her up at 8:00. I was super focused on other things this morning and lost track of time so at 9:00, Matthew asked if he should wake her up. I answered in the affirmative and apparently, he grabbed his trumpet enroute because 30 seconds later I heard “Reveille” playing from Malia’s room. 😂
Needless to say, she was not amused. 😜
Showing posts with label trumpet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trumpet. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Another Teen
As of today, I only have one child who is not a teenager. Matthew has crossed the threshold into the teen world by turning 13. His birthday happened to fall on a Sunday that we have our extended family dinner, so he got to have his cake on his actual birthday. He requested the recently conquered coconut cake with a pineapple filling instead of coconut. Honestly, I think I liked it even better with the pineapple. It was a huge cake and we had three desserts to feed everyone so I assumed there would be a goodly amount of leftover cake. But I was completely wrong about that. It was a hit and we came home with only a couple of slices. Since Matthew is technically no longer a child, he asked if he could light his own candles. So he played with fire, blew out the candles, and then ate three huge slices of cake.
Matthew’s gift requests were modest and he was perfectly pleased with the trumpet stand and sheet music that he got. He has turned into a band kid, finding great joy in the music, and band has quickly become one of his happy places. His skill has improved so quickly that both the middle school band teacher and the high school band teacher (who teaches the before school jazz band) have commented on how quickly he has learned and how good he is. In fact, he is skipping the intermediate band and moving on to the advanced band as an 8th grader. Every time I hear his practice (which is often), I’m impressed by how much progress he is making. He has been playing for only a year and he’s pretty darn good.
Matthew most definitely adds some spice to our lives. As a baby, he taught Kevin and I about the power of music and a new way to eat. As a toddler, he taught us how to laugh again as the challenges of adult life had weighed us down. As a child he taught us patience as his stubbornness pushed us to develop new parenting skills. As a preteen he has taught us what courage is as he’s worked to bring new foods into his diet, foods that he’s been told all his life will kill him. As a teen, I expect he will have more to teach us. As parents, it is expected that we will teach our children, but I find that the learning goes both ways. I’m very grateful for Matthew and all that he contributes to our family. Being his mother has been very challenging at times, but I’m definitely a better person because he is in my life.
Matthew’s gift requests were modest and he was perfectly pleased with the trumpet stand and sheet music that he got. He has turned into a band kid, finding great joy in the music, and band has quickly become one of his happy places. His skill has improved so quickly that both the middle school band teacher and the high school band teacher (who teaches the before school jazz band) have commented on how quickly he has learned and how good he is. In fact, he is skipping the intermediate band and moving on to the advanced band as an 8th grader. Every time I hear his practice (which is often), I’m impressed by how much progress he is making. He has been playing for only a year and he’s pretty darn good.
Matthew most definitely adds some spice to our lives. As a baby, he taught Kevin and I about the power of music and a new way to eat. As a toddler, he taught us how to laugh again as the challenges of adult life had weighed us down. As a child he taught us patience as his stubbornness pushed us to develop new parenting skills. As a preteen he has taught us what courage is as he’s worked to bring new foods into his diet, foods that he’s been told all his life will kill him. As a teen, I expect he will have more to teach us. As parents, it is expected that we will teach our children, but I find that the learning goes both ways. I’m very grateful for Matthew and all that he contributes to our family. Being his mother has been very challenging at times, but I’m definitely a better person because he is in my life.
Monday, February 25, 2019
A Music Themed Birthday
Matthew’s birthday was last week Saturday. He has been looking forward to twelve, but most of the stuff he was really looking forward to occurred last month due to the church’s change in advancement policies. Nevertheless, twelve is still a pretty big birthday. For this birthday, Kevin’s parents jumped on the experience gift bandwagon. They took him to an archery range and let him shoot a bunch of arrows. Matthew had a great time and was so proud of his bullseye!
Present giving happened post archery. The big-ticket item was a brand-new trumpet. He decided he wanted to play trumpet about five years ago and his interest in playing has not waned in that time. Due to his numerous allergies, playing a used instrument is a source of stress for him so for that reason (and a few others), we opted for a new one. We had always planned to get him one in time for seventh grade band but pushed up our timeline a little bit. He was thrilled…and so grateful. That is one of the many wonderful things about Matthew. He is always so thankful for everything that it is easy to do things for him. I think people are more willing to go out of their way for someone who they know will appreciate it and Matthew always does. He never takes those things for granted.
Daniel and Nathan both opted to go with the big gift theme and got him presents to go with his trumpet. Nathan gave him the beginning band book our middle school uses and Daniel asked around and gave him the contact info for a fellow high school student who teaches trumpet lessons. By the end of the day, Matthew had used the fingering chart in the back of the book and could play a scale. Daniel told us that it took some kids all of the first semester of beginning band to get that far. Not bad at all for a beginner! (Malia broke the trend and gave Matthew a wireless mouse to use with the laptop. Matthew hates the track pad.)
Yesterday was Matthew’s birthday celebration at my parents’ house. We sang and ate cake. Nothing too crazy there. It seems the older the kids get, the calmer the birthdays become. Matthew didn’t even have a party with friends this year. All he wants to do is have a big cousins’ day at the temple followed by lunch. Due to all the crazy schedules, we don’t have that on the calendar yet, but we’ll get there. I think it’s amazing that a temple trip is really, honestly what he wants. This kid definitely has his priorities in the right place.
I’m so glad Matthew is in our family. By the time he came along, Kevin and I had gotten very serious. The pressures of life and parenting can do that to you. When Matthew joined our family, he taught us to laugh again. Whenever I need a good chuckle, all I need to do is read the blog book from his toddler days. There were many times when I would play the stern mama, doling out the punishments and life lessons, and then go into another room and laugh. Even now, remembering all his antics can cheer me up like nothing else can. I get a bit nostalgic remembering his Ironman phase, when he wore his costume every day for two years and rode his bike around the neighborhood pretending to be the “man in a can.” Ironman is my favorite Avenger and I’m pretty sure it isn’t just because of his cool suit. The Lightning McQueen phase was fun too. Occasionally I will still find one of the tiny cars hidden somewhere in the house. It’s great having a blue-blooded BYU fan in the house. Kevin loves having someone who will watch football with him. Our home would definitely not be the same without Matthew in it.
Present giving happened post archery. The big-ticket item was a brand-new trumpet. He decided he wanted to play trumpet about five years ago and his interest in playing has not waned in that time. Due to his numerous allergies, playing a used instrument is a source of stress for him so for that reason (and a few others), we opted for a new one. We had always planned to get him one in time for seventh grade band but pushed up our timeline a little bit. He was thrilled…and so grateful. That is one of the many wonderful things about Matthew. He is always so thankful for everything that it is easy to do things for him. I think people are more willing to go out of their way for someone who they know will appreciate it and Matthew always does. He never takes those things for granted.
Daniel and Nathan both opted to go with the big gift theme and got him presents to go with his trumpet. Nathan gave him the beginning band book our middle school uses and Daniel asked around and gave him the contact info for a fellow high school student who teaches trumpet lessons. By the end of the day, Matthew had used the fingering chart in the back of the book and could play a scale. Daniel told us that it took some kids all of the first semester of beginning band to get that far. Not bad at all for a beginner! (Malia broke the trend and gave Matthew a wireless mouse to use with the laptop. Matthew hates the track pad.)
Yesterday was Matthew’s birthday celebration at my parents’ house. We sang and ate cake. Nothing too crazy there. It seems the older the kids get, the calmer the birthdays become. Matthew didn’t even have a party with friends this year. All he wants to do is have a big cousins’ day at the temple followed by lunch. Due to all the crazy schedules, we don’t have that on the calendar yet, but we’ll get there. I think it’s amazing that a temple trip is really, honestly what he wants. This kid definitely has his priorities in the right place.
I’m so glad Matthew is in our family. By the time he came along, Kevin and I had gotten very serious. The pressures of life and parenting can do that to you. When Matthew joined our family, he taught us to laugh again. Whenever I need a good chuckle, all I need to do is read the blog book from his toddler days. There were many times when I would play the stern mama, doling out the punishments and life lessons, and then go into another room and laugh. Even now, remembering all his antics can cheer me up like nothing else can. I get a bit nostalgic remembering his Ironman phase, when he wore his costume every day for two years and rode his bike around the neighborhood pretending to be the “man in a can.” Ironman is my favorite Avenger and I’m pretty sure it isn’t just because of his cool suit. The Lightning McQueen phase was fun too. Occasionally I will still find one of the tiny cars hidden somewhere in the house. It’s great having a blue-blooded BYU fan in the house. Kevin loves having someone who will watch football with him. Our home would definitely not be the same without Matthew in it.
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