Singing Jada

So there we were, in the car on a hot day, trying desperately to get
home after a long and enjoyable day at my brother-in-law's house.
Jada's whimpering had turned into a full-on cry, and Amy and I were in
that in-between place, not knowing whether to do something about her
or just let her be. She was sweaty, cramped, and tired. And our
little car could only go so fast.

So we decided to start singing. We sang old church hymns, harmonized
old Christian a capella tunes, even busted out the good old Doxology.

It worked. She went from crying to listening, and from listening to
singing along. Well, singing along as any 15+ month old could: making
somewhat melodic noises and cooing out non-words. We got home with
nary a whimper from her, and bedtime was a breeze. And Amy and I had
some fun singing together, too. This is certainly going to be
something we reach for again in our parenting toolkit.