Saturday, February 12, 2011

Bathtime Elevated to a New Level.


I hope he gets into cleaning as he gets older! Insisted on carrying these around for a while. Dad's hat with the bibs made me smile!

Wearing dad's jacket.
This is a little "bonding" thing Elliot and I do- he asks for his Thomas the Train dvd here and there, but we don't typically turn it on. However, about once a week, I will give in and turn it on just before bed as a wind-down. He gets really excited... we get his Cheerios (which he sits there and eats like popcorn), his milk, and his blanket, and nuzzle into the corner of the couch. He stays focused for about 15 minutes, then he's up playing again. It's fun.

We graduated Elliot from the baby tub to the normal bathtub-- mainly because Border's had paddling bath creatures for 25 cents and there just wasn't room to see them go in the little tub. Well, let me tell you, bathtime always was a fun part of the day, but it has now been elevated to new level. (Funny part was the first night I couldn't find the darn bath toy-- I had taken it away from Elliot for throwing it when he was mad and never thought to look in the laundry pile!)

It has gotten so that now, if I even mentioned bathtime, he runs giddily to the bathroom with his arms in the air, hikes his leg up on the edge of the tub, and tries to crawl in with all his clothes on, no water in the tub yet. This, obviously, takes some explaining and results in a disappointed, whining/crying toddler. So, b-a-t-h is not mentioned before 7pm.

The first time I put Elliot in the big tub, he sat in the water and just looked up at the walls of the tub in awe, like they were 10 ft tall. Then, he realized the new parts to explore and that needed naming-- the drain and the faucet, the sea horses on the rubber mat... over and over. "Heh, heh?" = his way of asking what the name of something is. Finally, he realized the vast amount of space he now has to explore and started crawling around. There were a few slips and mouthfuls of water, but he took it in stride. The actual timing of bathtime has doubled for entertainment value (for all parties).

Bathtime is now treated as "we have an indoor pool!" and he goes nuts. He prances around on his knees, literally dives into the water, lays on his belly and kicks his legs like he's swimming. Mind you, there is about 6" of water in there. The only real way of getting him out is strictly enforcing the no-standing rule by whisking him out the minute he stands to reach for something or to experiment more.

The big plus (well, beyond us sitting there cracking up at him) is that he seems to be wearing himself out sufficiently and crashing at bedtime well lately. Excellent!

Oh, and another first today! I looked in the tub after a big session of playing and said to Pat, "What's that dark in the water... OOOOHhhhhh...." Elliot was quickly shifted to the second bathroom's shower for a rewash.

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