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Originally uploaded by one deep drawer
when the little one is sad or hurting or tired, we each have our different ways of helping her feel better. my go to move is to offer to breastfeed. sleepy? have some milk! upset? sad? no matter the ailment, nursing will help. but what about Andy? he doesn’t really have that option. and still he finds ways of helping her relax.
when she is beside herself and just won’t settle, he often wraps her tight in the soft green blanket given to us by Mrs. Cully. then he bounces her on the red ball. and if she still doesn’t quiet he’ll play “Little Bird.” he doesn’t sing or play on his guitar, though we often do both of those things. his trick is to look up Elizabeth Mitchell and listen as she sings with her daughter. it might take a few times through, but soon the cries stop.
you might try it yourself.
by the by, the top picture was taken by her aunt Jessica when she was 11 days old. the bottom was a few weeks later when she was baptized by her grandpa. the little bird? she came to us from our sweet friend Jessica in Yakima when the girl turned one.
we love elizabeth mitchell. the little bird cd was in the most popular album spot for a while, but gilly has a current obsession with laurie berkner’s buzz buzz. The Land of Nod has a podcast and the second to most recent one features Elizabeth Mitchell and her husband and her daughter going to visit Ella Jenkins (ella jenkins! love!) and it’s really sweet and good.
oh, April! what a gift. listening to that podcast was just what we needed to get over the late afternoon hump. and Ella! i know her only from Mister Rogers. someone new to look up!
Ella Jenkins made a number of albums under the Folkways Recordings, like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. We love her.