our little music man

When picking up Will from the nursery today, I asked his teachers how things had gone. They replied that he was pretty good (which means he probably cried and got upset a few times), but that he seemed to enjoy drumming and is the best drummer in the class. Apparently they had an activity where the kids got to drum on the table and most of the kids pounded haphazardly but Will tapped a quiet, steady beat. This made me literally LOL because Will spends HOURS each day drumming.


And it's not just drums he loves. He loves marching bands, singing and instruments as well. It's safe to say music is a big part of his life at this point. He is constantly telling me he wants to watch marching bands on the " 'puter." I think our family has contributed to at least 100 of the hits this video has received in the past week. Anthony has found a Japanese marching band with several videos on youtube that Will also enjoys. Yes, he has gotten quite selective in his tastes.

He loves to read the book Animal Orchestra. If you haven't read the book before you should check it out. Or just ask me to recite if for you. I'd say I have it 2/3 memorized at this point. Basically the animals of Animaltown are gathering to put on a show. The handsomest hippo in the land is the conductor. Their performance is well received. My favorite line is the very last, "Hip - hippo - ray!" He also enjoys naming all the instruments in his Baby Einstein First Word's Book.

Will the conductor.

On Papa John's suggestion we checked out the Music Man from the library. Will's not really into dialog at this point, so we typically skip to the musical numbers, and if he is feeling especially impatient, the grand finale. He loves those trombones.

TJ got out his trumpet a few weeks ago and has been playing for Will on occasion. Will LOVES it. Now he tells me that Will and Daddy and Papa play the trumpet and that Lauren and Nana play the flute. When I asked him what mommy plays he replied, "Mommy watch." He has since relented and now I can play the trumpet too.

One of Will's favorite games to play is marching band. How do you play? Everyone has a pretend instrument and follows Will around the house as he beats his drum. So far none of his friends have been very enthused about the game. Probably because the pretend instruments (pen = flute) don't make any noise. So far only Lauren seems to enjoy the game and that is because Anthony or I carry her around behind Will and she seems to genuinely like his drumming and moving about.

It will be interesting to see if Will joins the marching band when he's in high school, or even if he wants to play an instrument. But one thing is for certain, he clearly enjoys music at this point in his life.