October 2005

Think you’re crazy now? Here’s a way to make sure you actually become crazy.

Repeat a rhyme a whole bunch during one day to see if hearing it more teaches your baby to anticipate a surprise ending. Something like Pop goes the Weasel or This Little Piggy. I’ve found that knowing something funny is about to happen makes Julian think that it’s even funnier.

Sometimes I start singing a song to Julian and realize that I don’t really know the words. Oh well. I do know the words to “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”, so he’s gotten more than his fair share of that song.

Remember that wacko song about “Miss Lucy” and the lady with the alligator purse? I use it all the time. And of course, there’s the old standby of the alphabet song. I sing it in the car.

If your half-baked memory of one of these songs from your past is bugging you, it’s easy to find the lyrics online. Search a couple of the words you do know and the word “lyrics”.

Maybe I’m becoming very motherly, but I think it’s very cool how these songs get passed on through the generations (before the lyrics were available on the Internet). If you are looking for something to appreciate about your mother-in-law, ask her what songs she sang to your partner.

Put your lips together and blow – our baby thinks it is pretty funny if you blow or whistle. He inhales really deeply. Give it a try.