children's music

Over the last few weeks, Annabel has become quite the little singer.  She sings in the bath, she sings in the car, she sings in the grocery store (although last week she could be heard screaming "Ock-a-doo-da-doooooooo!" at the top of her lungs as we cruised down the aisles as fast as possible...if you happened to be in Kroger that day, I'm sorry), but most of all, she sings in her bed while she's trying desperately NOT to fall asleep.  There's no doubt in my mind that she gets this love of music from her older brother who, in his silliest moments, pulls out his hilarious (and slightly ear-piercing) opera voice.  Priceless.  And since Annabel does whatever Tommy does no matter what, she goes ahead and attempts her opera voice, too.  It's quite a sound I tell you.  Especially first thing in the morning when I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee.  <Deep breaths.>  

Since I want her to sing nice sweet songs instead of Taylor Swift's "Mean" which Tommy always chooses when given the opportunity (he thinks it's funny to sing "Why's Mama gotta be so...MEAN" at the top of his lungs) I pulled out our old kid CD's and have been playing them non-stop.  I thought I'd share our favorites with you here today in case you're in need of some new tunes for your little ones.  

We absolutely LOVE Elizabeth Mitchell and have four of her CD's.  

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Our at-the-moment favorite is "You Are My Little Bird" with several catchy songs that tend to get stuck in your head long after you finish listening to them.  But they're so sweet and calming that I really don't mind a bit.  Before falling asleep at night, Annabel always requests a few songs for me to sing, and lately it's been "Who's My Pretty Baby," "Little Elephant," and "Little Bird Little Bird."  She doesn't seem to mind that singing is way (way) down at the bottom of my list of talents and always stops wiggling to listen to the familiar words.  Sometimes she even sings along.  

The other day as we were driving out to see how our new house is coming along (there were windows stacked in the garage!!), "Peace Like A River" started playing.  Next thing I knew there was this sweet little voice coming from the back seat singing, "My got peas yike a wiber, my got peas yike a wiber."

Um, adorable.  Love her.

Although Tommy loves the Elizabeth Mitchell songs, too, now that he's a little older he seems to prefer our Frances England music a little bit more.  

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We have "Mind of My Own" and love all the songs, but Tommy's all-time favorites are "Jacques Cousteau" and "Red Balloon" - he knows just about every word to both of them.  

I've also found that Pandora has a great Children's Music channel that plays lots of cute songs.  We usually turn that on while Annabel and I make dinner, and although I try to write down artist names and song titles when good ones come on, more often than not I miss them in favor of making sure the garlic doesn't burn or that the cookie mix that Annabel's stirring stays in the bowl and doesn't end up all over the counter (and the floor and down in the crack beside the refrigerator and all over her).


Anybody out there have any recommendations for good children's music?  We're always on the lookout for new songs.  Happy Thursday! 

P.s.  Both of these CD's and others by these talented artists are available for purchase either through their websites or on iTunes. 

P.p.s.  Tommy lost his first tooth last night!  (Photo coming tomorrow!)  Will pulled it out with a paper towel while I covered my eyes and tried not to throw up.  I hate teeth!  Ick.

P.p.p.s.  Mom, I blame you for the opera singing :)