Hush, Little Baby

The picture you see is from last year's Christmas card.  The greeting read, "May you sleep in heavenly peace this season."  My daughter is going on two and half years old, and sadly, I have experienced only one silent night in that span of time.  

As you can imagine, bedtime in our house is not just a phase of day, it is an event.  After receiving mounds of advice (mostly unsolicited), and reading books, articles, and websites on the subject, I have found only one thing that soothes Clara's spunk: music.  

Typically, my voice is all she needs to calm down, but there are some nights I'm just too wiped out to sing every single verse of "Rainbow Connection."  Luckily, while I was pregnant with her, I created a "sleepytime" playlist that included the following songs (I must have anticipated a high-energy child).  It really does work.  In fact, when I play it today, she makes a face and starts whining because she knows what my motives are.  

1. Midnight Lullaby - Tom Waits, Closing Time
   
2. All the Pretty Horses - Laurie Berkner, Whaddaya Think of That?
   
3. Annie's Song - John Denver, The Essential John Denver
   
4. Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Harry Nilsson, You've Got Mail soundtrack
   
5. Rainbow Connection - Sarah MacLaclan, For the Kids
   
6. In Your Dreams - Barenaked Ladies, Stunt
   
7. When the River Meets the Sea - John Denver and the Muppets, A Christmas Together
   
8. I Don't Want to Live on the Moon - Ernie, Sesame Street's Platinum Album
   
9. Butterfly - Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell, Catch the Moon
   
10. Baby Mine - from Disney's Dumbo
    
11. La La Lu - from Disney's Lady and the Tramp
    
12. My Mom - Tony Bennett, The Playground
    
13. Russian Lullaby - Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
    
14. All Through the Night - Shawn Colvin, Holiday Songs and Lullabies
    
15. Goodnight My Someone - Jessica Molaskey, Make Believe 
    
16. Stay Awake - Julie Andrews, from Mary Poppins soundtrack
    
17. Baby Mine - Bette Midler, from Beaches soundtrack
    
18. Fais Do Do - Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell, Catch the Moon
    
19. Birds and Ships - Natalie Merchant w/Billy Bragg and Wilco, Mermaid Avenue 
    
20. Slumber My Darling - Allison Krause, Heartland
    
21. Appalachia Waltz - Edger Meyer, Heartland
    
22. Braham's Lullaby