eliza's playlist

This photo shoot brought to you by Eliza! She only agreed to let me take her picture if she could art direct this one. "Mama, I want you to take the picture while I do my ABCs." I was just happy to get that squinty-eyed smile at the end.

I thought I would share a bit about Eliza through a carefully curated playlist of songs that she constantly requests for living room dance parties, impromptu dress-up performances, and backseat car sing alongs. These are all songs that she considers hers, "Play mine song!" Or, "Play mine best, best song"- which is a term close to "favorite" in Eliza's world. They will always make me think of her...




God Only Knows- Beach Boys (BBC Music)
Eliza fell in love with this magical video a couple of years ago, and still requests it. She only likes this version of the song, though. It's such a beautiful video!




Shake it Off- Taylor Swift
A little T. Swift, of course. This was one of the first songs where we noticed that Eliza was singing along. She was never really into singing, until this summer or so, when we caught her singing the last word or so of each phrase. .".... cruising!.... grooving....muuuusic!... it's gonna be allright!" One of my favorites is to watch her shake it. She leans over, balls up her fists, and shakes her booty. But, the result is more like her booty stays still and her entire body moves instead.




Hello, Goodbye- The Beatles
And now we come to our series of Beatles songs. Eliza LOVES the Beatles. As you can see, her musical taste is heavily influences by Sam, which I think is so special. I love catching her singing to herself while she plays. We love to listen to her sing because she really, honestly can't carry a tune at all. But, if you listen closely to the words you can figure out which song she's singing. "Hey na, hey, hey na! Wooowooo!"




Hey Jude- The Beatles
Also known as "Hey June." This one is often requested in the car. I love hearing her tiny little voice from the backseat, just a couple beats behind the music, "Hey Joooon..."




Blackbird- The Beatles
Sometimes I walk in on Sam and Eliza dancing to this song. He holds her in his arms, with her head on his shoulder and her hair flowing down. She loves her Papa.




Sofia the First Theme Song
You know, Eliza has only seen this show a handful of times. Partially because the animation creeps me out, and because some of the characters are not my favorite examples of kindness. But, Eliza LOVES Sofia. And, so she has a Sofia dress with a funny, little hoop skirt that pops up when she bends over. And, she requests this song on repeat all day long. She knows every single word. But, it's such a fast song that she can't keep up with it. It's hilarious. So, we embrace it and belt it out with her. She loves it when we sing together.




How Far I'll Go- Auli'i Cravalho (Moana)
Eliza did NOT like this movie. We went on a date together to see it, and she asked to leave the movie twice. I was a terrible parent and didn't take her our because I was hoping it would get better, But, those darn scary monsters kept coming back! She hated that crab, and any time the lava monster came on, we covered her eyes. Looking back, I probably should have left. Whoops. Anyway, she tells everyone that the movie was way too scary. But, she does love this song. Sometimes, we belt it together in the kitchen and climb on top of the chairs with our arms stretched out like Moana. Eliza's face lights up and she can't stop smiling and twirling, and Sadie sits in her highchair and laughs at us. Some of my favorite memories of my shining girl.




She's a Rainbow- Rolling Stones
Eliza loves these Sony Bravia commercials. She used to request them all the time when she was little. Now, she calls them her own. If it comes on the radio, "That's mine song! That's the bunny song!" This song also reminds me of Sam, because we used to play it on our road trips when we were younger. We would hop in the car and drive down those red dirt roads in middle-of-nowhere Southern Utah, with the windows down, the song blaring, and the dust blowing through that old CRV. We need to do that more often.




Heartbeats- José González
Another Sony commercial that we used to show her a lot. It's the most beautiful and calming video, filmed in San Francisco. She loves this song.



 
Black Jack David- Loretta Lynn
We love us some Loretta Lynn around here. I love her sass and wit, and that endearing drawl. And, Eliza loves to dance with Papa to "Lella Lynn!" She doesn't know the words to her songs necessarily, but Loretta is often requested on sunny, lazy afternoons. When Sam puts this song, she shakes her head side to side while he stomps out the beat.


Eliza is getting so big. Almost every day lately, I have those weird motherly moments where I look at my firstborn with a sudden start- how did she get so big!? And, how did she get so smart? And, how did she get so beautiful? She is utterly exhausting, and some days I really don't know how to deal. And, on those days I sneak into her room and watch her sleep. I love those long, long eyelashes and those beautifully tan cheeks. I love how she sprawls out wildly, limbs in all directions, but still manages to cradle her baby doll so perfect and sweetly.

When Eliza goes to bed, she requests songs from the both of us. Lately, those bedtime songs have evolved into two specific requests- one per parent. We ask her, "What song would you like?" And she says, "The song that you always sing to me."




Teach Me To Walk in the Light
A song that she sings in her primary class at church, and one that I have been singing to her since she was born. When she was a baby, I would sing her about 15 songs in a row to get her to fall asleep. And, for some reason this was always the one I started with. So, it's now our song.




Lead, Kindly Light
A beautiful hymn, also sung at our church. Eliza calls it "Lead Kind" and only Papa can sing it. Sam is sweetly self-conscious about singing in front of me, actually. So, I sing my song first, give her kisses and leave the room. And, I let Sam sing to her while I sometimes listen to his raspy voice in the next room. 

Now that Sadie is usually already asleep in the room, we tiptoe in and sort of whisper the song over the rails of her bunk bed. She refuses to let us sing it ahead of time, but loves to be snuggled up in her covers while we sing. Oh, how I love this girl.