Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Get Ready!


Tomorrow are school pictures...oh my. Ours start at 8am. Because that's the best time to ask a preschooler to smile after you've dressed him up and told him not to touch anything and slicked his hair down.

And a violin update. Our Little Prince has asked for-make that pestered us about--a violin. He talks about violins, picks out the sounds they make in the music we hear, mimics being a violin by rubbing his legs together...and of course when we took him to earxtacy in Louisville, he LOVED the listening stations and chose out of EVERYTHING he heard an instrumental CD featuring Bela Fleck (banjo), Zakir Hussain (tabla), and Edgar Myer (double bass), called "The Melody of Rhythm," recorded with who else but the Nashville Symphony. He loved visiting our friends the Dillards and listening to Jonathan and his dad play their way through the house, and he was undone at a recent fiddle competition in downtown Franklin (where, of course, he fell in love with the harmonica). In the car, he wants to hear the Bela Fleck CD or Alison Krauss and Union Station. At my sister's house, he grabbed his uncle's Rock Band drumsticks, and before I could move fast enough to avert the damage he'd make by beating the wall & furniture & cousin Reagan, he tucked one stick under his chin, rubbed it with the other, and smiled, "Look! It's a violin!"

So, we get the hint. Even now, we're trying to wedge our way into Suzuki lessons at the same church where he goes to preschool. And we've picked out the perfect violin, one sixteenth size, of course, so he can grow into it. Good grief. Just to make sure, before we start eating Ramen noodles to finance this endeavor (that's what parents do, right? I thought Ramen noodles were limited to college and first year of marriage!), I asked him again the other day, as we watched Elmo's world feature violins--"YoYo, do you still want a violin?"

"No, Mama."

Well, there you have it, I thought. It has passed. We've begun the cycle of "I must have this, it's what I've wanted to do my whole life," to be replaced 2 hours later with, "No, I never wanted that, I have thought about doing this for ever!"

"I don't want to play violin, Mama. I want to fiddle. Do you hear that there, Mama? That's fiddle music, not violin music. That's what I want to do."

It took Nashville 16 months to get to our boy, but it got him. Hard.

7 comments:

Gigi and Grandy in Katy said...

I can't wait to hear him fiddle! I love it! So cute!

Miss you!

Andrea said...

My perfect little redneck nephew... Awe...

Kimberlie said...

So cute! My #1 Dumpling has been asking for violin lessons since he was first adopted at 4 yrs old. Last year, we said, "OK, you take piano first, then we'll see about the violin when you are older." He quit piano after 6 months. Much to his teacher's chagrin. He's got natural musical ability and can play something after being shown it once. But it was not the violin and he didn't want to practice.

You know, back when we first got married and thinking about kids, I had visions of a string quartet - violin, viola, cello, and bass. I LOVE the cello. I am going to have a quartet, but I wonder if I can get them all to play strings. ;)

Wouldn't my little princess dumpling look so pretty sitting behind a cello?

I hope YoYo can get into the lessons at his preschool!

Robin D said...

That a boy! I am hoping against hope that he won't turn into a snobby violinist!

Unknown said...

We don't get to see any updates after Oct 09. This is wishing Yoyo a blessed and happy 5th birthday on 4 April 2010.

From uncle Kiat Joo & auntie Seok Bee from Singapore

Unknown said...

Sorry, typed too fast. We mean 6 April 2010

KJSB

Div :) said...

he is very very cute :) wish u all the best ... good deed u r doin , i must say .. good luck ..! :*