Ella Bella

This weekend I am visiting my very new niece! She is 3 weeks old today and she is so precious!! After working with one-year-olds for almost a year, I've come to appreciate the calm quiet deep sleep of an infant lying on my chest... especially one that is so precious to me! I also get to see my sister take on the huge responsibility of being a parent. Breastfeeding day in and day out, through all of the challenges. I've been playing guitar and my sister and I have been singing to Ella a lot this weekend. Sometimes she stays awake to listen and other times the songs seem to lull her to sleep.

I am taking an infant and toddler course in their development and I learned that in this stage (early early infancy) they find it really interesting to look at stark contrasts. I told my sister this and she said she had received these black and white picture cards for babies. When Ella was in an "quiet alert" stage, one that is best for learning.. when her eyes are open and she's quiet and calm and taking things in, we got out the cards and put them 8-16 inches away from her eyes until her eyes seemed to lock in and focus. She had an intense stare and would even move her eyes to follow the picture! It was really amazing to see her starting to learn to focus on things and follow things with her eyes.

It's also so amazing to see the place where human life begins... so small, and not yet in control of your body or your muscles. So something as small as intentional eye movement is a big accomplishment!

This whole experience of my sister having a natural birth also has made me interested in Doulas. My sister keeps telling me I would make an excellent Doula, and I kind of think she's right. I usually bring a sense of calm with me into challenging situations of others. Maybe its why I like being around babies so much; I like being able to calm and soothe them. I think singing is an excellent way to do that...

How Music Therapy Fits into the Equation

I'm leaving Easter Seals this summer so that I can pursue another passion that has been brewing since I graduated college and met a music therapist at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation while we were both volunteering for Re-member (so many stories here). In a nutshell... months after this volunteer trip, I was in Ann Arbor where I was able to go to a Children's Hospital (where Bob the music therapist works) and sit in for a number of music therapy sessions. I played guitar and sang songs to children from age 4 to adults around my age. I talked to parents who were visiting their children. We sang with a child who was about to enter surgery before she got her anesthesia to try to keep her calm and positive in what can be a scary or intimidating environment. The experience absolutely changed my life. A couple months later, not knowing what to do with life post college, I looked into music therapy programs, found a voice teacher and sang Italian arias day and night practicing for my music audition. In the end, I was accepted to Marylhurst University, but I had already moved to Washington DC in search of work to save up money for school--so I deferred for a year. It's been two years since I graduated from Lewis & Clark College Undergrad, and I'm going to be moving back in August to start school part time, and hopefully find an amazing family to nanny for while I study!

The program will take at least 3 years, so it would be a great length of time to really bond with an infant and/or toddler as they grow up! I could of course work at another day care facility, and I am also looking into it, but I think if I find the right match in a family, I'd prefer to work alongside a family and really strengthen those relationships over time.

My interest in music therapy has made playing guitar and singing a part of every single day with the toddlers at easter seals. Now the older ones make song requests with their limited vocabulary, and they sing inches from my face in a loud voice with occasional words (we are singing the ABCs and at some point I hear "I!" "Peee!"). I rarely get through a whole session of playing music without bursting out laughing with happiness. These kids are learning so much and they love music! I usually get hugs while playing guitar and one child kisses my guitar each time its time to say goodbye to the guitar. So cool to see children already expressing such a strong interest in music and musical instruments. Even though I'll be so sad to leave the kids here, I'm excited to really delve into music therapy and hopefully start building some new friendships with little ones in Portland! My next home for quite some time!

Easter Seals CDC

Working for easter seals has been incredible. From the in-class interview where I got to play guitar for happy children clapping their hands and dancing and attempting to jump, to actually working in the room and getting to know how each of them functions... what is difficult for each of them, what to do for each of them when they are having a melt down, or when they are frustrated and unable to communicate.

I also walked them through walking, I read books over and over until they started pointing to things in books and telling me: "boots!" "fire truck!" "apples!" And getting responses to "What color is that apple?" "Red!"

Then they move on to the two year old room, but whenever I visit I get hugs and kisses and exclamations that always show how much older and smarter these children are getting... "Jo-ee! It's summer time! You came to my classroom! It's raining outside, I need my raincoat!" Everything seems to be an exclamation, which I appreciate -- why shouldn't all of those things be so exciting??

I also had the gift of getting to know parents, of babysitting some children outside of the center, and of learning from and getting to know my amazing co-workers from Somalia, Camaroon, India, you name it! We were an eclectic bunch and many of my co-workers are parents themselves so I've heard so so many stories about children, parenting, giving birth, living in other countries... I've learned far more in this job than can really be expressed on paper on my resume. What a gift!

The birth of my first niece, Averie Jane

My very first niece was born on June 10, 2010 and I was there at the hospital and among the first to get to hold her. Talk about love at first sight! She was beautiful. I made sure to visit just about every weekend so I could get chances to hold her and lull her to sleep. As weeks and months went by, she was jumping in the jumper chair toy (not sure the name of it!), and smiling and laughing. We would stand in front of the mirror and make faces at ourselves and eachother. She would stare and stare and stare and take so much in with her big wide eyes.

I was her first babysitter when my brother and sister in law finally allowed themselves to go on a date. She slept most of the time they were away but I happily returned text messages to her mom saying -- yes she's still breathing, she's sleeping soundly, she's doing just fine. Can't blame mom for being worried about her precious baby!

I happened to be in a job transition when Averie was about three months old... that is when I decided to work for Easter Seals Child Development Center as a toddler teacher in the one-year-old room.

Nannying for Henry

After college, a good friend of mine left the country for two and a half weeks, leaving her nanny position of caring for a two and a half year old to me! Henry and I did so much every day. Lucky for both of us, his neighborhood is a sort of play ground in itself. There are chickens in the chicken coop, he has a bicycle with training wheels (and never forgets his helmet which he calls his "hat"), and down the road there is an apple tree, and a house being built by one person named Brian. We liked to visit Brian and play in dirt piles or use pretend tools to saw wood and hammer boards together. Of course there were many things to watch out for around the construction of a house, but together we had a good balance of exploration and safety.

Working with Henry reminded me of what I love about working with toddlers. So much curiosity and interest in the world, and I get to be the one to share those experiences! It's really a magical thing to be a part of.

Cedar Ridge and the Early Days

I started caring for babies in the 6th grade during morning church services. Throughout middle school I looked forward to Sunday mornings craddling sleeping babies, or trying to sing them to sleep. I looked forward to the toddlers, one who learned how to say "ahhh-some!" and give high fives. I looked forward to holding tiny hands and guiding steps across the room. And... I learned to change diapers! This routine carried on every Sunday though 8th grade. It led to some of my first baby sitting gigs with infants and toddlers, and got me interested in early childhood development.

During afternoon service, I'd go to youth group and play guitar and sing in the band. So it began... my interest in music, my interest in babies.