Vinny's Lullaby

Jude has recently started singing. It is the sweetest, cutest, most entertaining thing my ears have had the privilege of hearing. I'm sure every mother feels that way when they hear their child sing for the first time.

Richard and I were eating dinner and entertaining Jude ("dinner" & "entertain" seem to go hand in hand when talking about a 2 year old, don't they?) when he unveiled his latest talent. We were taking turns singing to Jude because we recently discovered that he doesn't like hearing Richard sing and, well, it's kind of funny to hear him ask his daddy to "stop, please." We were trying to see if he had the same reaction when I would sing, so I started singing this lullaby:

Close your eyes, little one. 
Close your eyes, little one.
Sleep time is here.
I'll hold you near.
And when you wake,
I will be there.


Jude's eyes lit up, and he started swaying back in forth in his high chair and singing along to the best of his ability. It sounded something like this: "...eyesss...oneeeeeee. hereeeee...nearrrrrrrr. wakeeeeee...thereeeee. Yea!!! I DID it!!!"

I really shouldn't have been surprised that he recognized the song. I've sang it to him every night for over a year now. But to realize that he actually had the words memorized was pretty cool. And now I have to share with you the back story on this lullaby.

I heard this lullaby as a child. I was 5 years old when I watched the 1985 Alvin and the Chipmunks episode, A Chipmunk Reunion. And I remember this endearing moment in the movie when Alvin, Simon and Theodore's mother sang them this song:

That song always stuck with me, even though I haven't seen the movie or heard the song in over 25 years. But when I became a mom, the song--the tune, the words--it just seemed like the perfect lullaby for my baby boy.

Yesterday morning, Richard came downstairs to find me crying hysterically. While searching for Vinny's Lullaby on the internet, I came across several other videos from the same episode and I had the realization that the chipmunks were orphans. Their mother gave them up as a last resort because she knew she couldn't take care of them and wanted to give them a chance at life. You can go ahead and laugh now. Richard did. Especially when he realized I was crying to this:

I guess there is a reason that song always stuck with me :).