Lull-a-bye, Little One

Here's a book I think I may try to learn by heart. Lull-a-bye, Little One, by Dianne Ochiltree and illustrated by Hideko Takahashi, has a very nice, easy rhyme that takes you through all the usual bedtime routines, from dinner, to bath, to bedtime story, to sleep.

I say memorize because individual parts could be sung at the different stages of the evening. I don't think I'd want to sing the whole song over and over for a half hour.

Though our nighttime routine does not always go this smoothly, I'm sure a repetitious song each night could only enhance the process for Maya.

Have we talked about repetition? You've probably noticed by now that babies love repetition. In fact, they need it. Sometimes it's a bit boring for you and I, but not for them. If you think about it, being able to read the same book over and over takes away the pressure to always be finding something new, right?

It's that fifth, or tenth, or twentieth time I read a book or sing a song with Maya that she takes one of those tiny developmental steps, like laughing at a picture, lifting the flap, growling like a bear, or clapping her hands.

So take one for the team and crack open Goodnight Moon one more time.