Tonight, as my sweet little one snuggled into me tighter than usual, afflicted by a 102-degree fever, I sang her favorite lullaby to her. And she joined in.

She knows every word, and tonight she sang some of them, interrupted by yawns and attempts to doze off, and it melted me. So we sang it again, this time recording it with the Voice Memos app on my iPhone.

She should know every word of this song, as it's the only one she usually allows me to sing when I'm rocking her at night. Ever since she was TINY, if I attempted to hum or sing any other song, she would interrupt me and hum the first three notes of this lullaby, over and over, until I gave in.

I love that this is her favorite, because it's completely unique to her. I made up most of the words and even altered the tune a little.

While we were visiting my grandma Neva, who was thrilled for a calm baby she could actually hold onto for a while, grandma held Keira and sang the words to a tune that was so deeply familiar to me.

As I sat there watching the sweet scene, the tune resonated so deeply that I knew my mom had sung it to me, and probably that her mom sang it to her. I even remember my other grandma, Mona, singing a variation of this, too. But I had forgotten all about it until that moment. I don't know if the song is local to southeastern Idaho, where both of my parents grew up, but no one around here has ever heard of it.

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry.
We will go to grandma's
Over the hill, behind the mill,
To see the ducks and lambies.

That's all there was to it. And with Keira insisting on no other song, I simply needed more verses in order to avoid singing those 21 words in an endless loop every night for 2 years.

Here's our duet. Please overlook (overhear?) my tired, late-night voice and focus instead on the vocal stylings of Keira Jane, age 2 3/4, who is half-asleep.

Here are my bespoke lyrics, in case we're mumbling unintelligably to the unfamiliar ear.

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry.
We will go to grandma's
Over the hill, behind the mill,
To see the ducks and lambies.

Once we're there, we'll find some chairs
And sit out under the apple tree
We'll feed the ducks and pet the lambs
And have a picnic party

Later that day, we'll gather to play
Out in the backyard meadow
We'll kick the ball, play hide-and-seek
And stay out 'til it's time to sleep

When we go in, you'll have a swim
In grandma's great big bathtub
With suds in your hair and bubbles to spare
I'll scrub you 'til you're clean, my love

When it's night, I'll snuggle you tight
And rock you 'til you're fast asleep
While mama sings, you'll start to dream
Of ducks and lambs and apple trees

Lullabye for My Little One