bathtime, part 2: a family affair

It's becoming a habit around here to bathe Bridget on Wednesday and Sunday nights before Al goes to hockey. If Bridget could have it her way, she'd bathe every night. Every time she gets in the bathroom now she pulls herself up by the tub and bounces up and down like she's trying to jump in. At the rate things are going, some day I'll find hear a big boom and find her sitting in an empty bathtub, tears in her eyes and finger in her mouth because she tried climbing in and couldn't figure out how to land. Some day. Thankfully, not yet.

Bathtime, though, has quickly become a family affair. Picture this: A long, narrow bathroom with the bathtub along the right wall and a double-sink vanity/counter to the left. I go in, shut the door partway (otherwise, I couldn't reach the bathtub faucet), and start to run the bath. An 80-pound rottweiler eagerly shoves her way past the partly open door and me, sticking her head into the bathtub and trying to get a taste of the water and bubbles that are quickly filling up the tub. She stands there eagerly, tongue out, looking at me with hope in her eyes. But if I stuck her in the tub instead of my daughter, she'd want out as quickly as I let her in--that is, of course, unless I let her play with Bridget's toys. In that case, she'd grab one in her mouth and then run off when she could. But I digress.

Meanwhile, Al is with Bridget in her room stripping her down and cleaning up a dirty diaper. (If you're thinking, "What a great husband/father! Changing the dirty diapers!" Yes, he is, but he only changes one diaper a day if that, so don't get too excited.) When they're ready, he brings her in. If the water's not done running yet, we'll let her stand at the side of the tub bouncing excitedly up and down, both of us sitting on the floor by her side and Mya (the rottie) doing her best to shove her way into the middle of the action. Finally, Bridget gets to get in the tub and the splashing commences. She kicks with her legs to get the water going, she chews on her toys (she's picked up a new habit of putting things in her mouth since she learned how to feed herself), she crawls around, and she pulls herself up to standing and tries to walk around the tub. Meanwhile, Al is churning the water with one hand (I think he thinks he's making waves for her, and that's exciting, but she doesn't really pay attention) and I'm nervously watching and ready to grab her in case she falls. And Mya, of course, is trying to drink the water, eat the toys, and be on top of or in between Al and I. After a shampoo, a soaping up and rinsing off, and a few minutes of play, it's all over. And Al confessed to me the other night, "This is one of my favorite times of day."

Hmmm. I'm pretty sure the saying doesn't go, "The family that bathes together stays together." At least it's Bridget's bathtime and not mine! And since I don't have any pictures yet of the new bathtime in the real tub (I can't locate my camera), I'll give you a pic of an old one in the sink she tried climbing out of the last time I put her in it. Enjoy!