a peek inside the fishbowl

I know I start every one of these posts talking about how adorable these families are. It is an absolute truth. THEY ARE ALL ADORABLE.

Is it the love that I’m seeing? The joy? I don’t know what it is, I just know that I see these photos and I want to give these people a great big hug.

Here are a few of my favourite pics from this photoshoot:

Recently we found ourselves explaining The Truth About Santa to our oldest daughter. At some point during this conversation, the Tooth Fairy was also discussed.

I came home from walking Sarah to school this morning to find that Mark had shown Emma The Box of Teeth (WHAT ELSE ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WITH ALL THOSE BABY TEETH?) and right after that we were suddenly showing her how to type the word BOOBLESS using a calculator.

I guess she’s not a baby anymore, huh?

We love music, but I have to confess…  we’re not very musically inclined here at the Fishbowl. We do, however, appreciate musical skillz and recognize the value of kids learning about music, and possibly picking it up as a hobby.

But as much as I love music I have to admit that I value quiet nearly as much. How to reconcile the two?

ASK SANTA TO BRING QUIET INSTRUMENTS.

I know this is nearly impossible, but it can be done.

1) Avoid drum sets with cymbals and child-size bagpipes. (You think I’m kidding about that last one, don’t you? Well…)

2) I have written about this one before, but you should check out the Melody Harp. I’d recommend this for kids five and up. It’s a table-top harp and the sheet music slides underneath the strings, allowing kids to follow along. Not only does it sound really pretty (and quiet!) but children can play it right away and progress to recognizable music fairly quickly. Sarah’s had hers for a couple of years now and she still really likes to play with it. You can buy extra sheet music and a carry case for it too.

We love our harp, although I have to say that we have trouble tuning it because Mark and I are almost completely tone deaf.

3) Have you ever heard of the ocarina? I was sent one to try out awhile back (from this site). It’s really neat. (I bet you’ve seen one before but didn’t know what it was called.) An ocarina is a small wind instrument. Mine is ceramic, but clay ocarinas were played by the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas of South and Central America. It comes with instructions on how to play it as well as some music. It’s actually quite pretty, and can be worn around the neck.

4) In a similar vein there’s also the good ol’ recorder and kazoo. They fit into stockings fairly neatly too!

5) Bob LeDrew (whose opinion I trust on this matter) recommends something called the guitalele. I have to admit, this idea really appeals to me. I had a stretch of uke playing in fourth grade and the appeal of it has never left me.

What about you? Are you a musical family, or just thinking about introducing music to your family? Any suggestions you can offer for the rest of us?