TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME.

You never think you'll become that dude. Never––growing up a hiphop fan, a skateboarder, a besotted twenty-something in New York––could you imagine yourself as the kind of person who sings "The Wheels on the Bus" or "Twinkle Twinkle" on a regular basis. But it happens.And you know what? Heck yeah it happens! It happens all the time with us and frankly, I love it. The other night, coming home from market, Hannah was in the front seat with me (as opposed to her usual back seat, nursing position) and Further was crying. Since Hannah couldn't just nurse him, we decided to sing. We sang "Twinkle Twinkle". We sang "The Rainbow Connection." We sang "You are my Sunshine". And, a personal favorite, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Twice. So long as we were singing, he was happy.Now, Hannah and I really work to not judge the way other people parent their children. Having one of our own, you just can't. It's a hard business, parenthood. We're learning that quickly. But singing like this, interacting with Further, having these ridiculous family moments, is important to us. We want him to grow up in a environment where we don't just hand him a device (again, no judging), but where our solutions to his discomfort encourage his, and our own, creativity.We won't always succeed at this. We know that. A movie or a tractor YouTube video will be, and has been, utilized. Sometimes we get frustrated and do nothing but grin and bear it. But by creating the goal itself, we can at least have a direction in how we deal with a disgruntled toddler, how we want to parent through the hard times: all together, creatively.And I like when it's singing. Hannah is the musical one, and hopefully he'll get a little of that. But it's okay if not, so long as he remembers that it's "Root root root for the CUBBIES," just like he learned in those ridiculous car rides home from the farmers' market.-Jesse.