Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Sweetest Little Voice

I remember when Alyssa was a baby, I wondered what her voice would be like. I got excited when she first started talking. Now, I occasionally find myself wondering when the talking will stop. There's something amazing about hearing your child's voice. It's the things she says, questions she asks, and expressions (like "I love you, Mommy!") that make me smile. Her voice is the sweetest little voice I've ever heard.

There's nothing sweeter than hearing that little voice sing. I've been singing to Alyssa every night since she was born. She started singing songs on her own like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and evolved into belting out full songs from her favorite movies like Beauty & the Beast and The Little Mermaid. I'm so tickled by her singing that I keep playing her favorite songs in the car just so I can listen to her. Here's a link to a video of her singing "Something There" from Beauty & the Beast:

http://gallery.me.com/fraulino#100315

I'm impressed that she remembers the lyrics and entertained that she directs me and Daddy as to which parts to sing in a duet. If you try singing the wrong part, you get yelled at. She takes her singing very serious! Lately, her favorite song to sing is "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from The Little Mermaid. I really need to try to get this on video because it's hilarious!

Self-expression though music, dance, or art is so important, especially for young children. Music teaches speech and movement and builds self-confidence. It also helps with language learning and building vocabulary. One night, I played the soundtrack from the "Cats" musical and she loved it! We were dancing around and singing about the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees. I think she just might end up on Broadway someday. I hope her love for the arts will continue throughout her lifetime. Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy serenades from the sweetest little voice I've ever heard.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am loving hearing Nate's voice develop too and boys talk almost non-stop as well! He has this deep, husky sounding voice and I love it. Nate doesn't like to sing much like Alyssa does but when he does join in, I'm surprised that he knows the words and hand motions to songs when I thought he was listening or didn't care. It's so cool watching them develop!