Splish Splash

I was takin' a bath, long about a Saturday night . . .

So, one day your life is fairly normal and the next you find yourself maneuvering a giant, inflatable duck out of the bathtub in order to take a shower in the morning.

How did that happen exactly?

Well, that's what parenting is like, apparently. Or so it's been in our experience. As a new parent, your life slowly evolves over the course of many small (sometimes bizarre) changes. Hence, the duck. It lives in our tub and it's where our son takes his nightly bath. And while I might find it inconvenient and perhaps somewhat frustrating to be faced with this daily obstacle to my morning shower at 6 am, its very presence in our house gives our son nothing but joy.

So I guess it's not all that bad.

Seriously, you wouldn't believe how much this kid likes taking a bath. Correction: Loves it. I mean, aren't kids supposed to hate taking baths? Maybe I'm jinxing us. Maybe that's coming. People keep saying that kids don't like taking baths, that babies don't like taking baths. Typically. But it seems our son is anything but typical. Since his very first bath some time in his first few weeks of life, he's loved being in the water. He loves the bubbles, the bath toys, the wash cloth. The wash cloth. Really. I've never seen anybody get so much enjoyment out of such a mundane, everyday item.

His affection for the wash cloth sometimes makes it difficult for us to actually bathe him as he won't take it out of his mouth, nor relinquish his kung fu grip on it, long enough for us to see that it is used for its designated purpose: washing. Even after it's used on his backside, he tries putting it in his mouth. We chastise him for this attempt, reminding him that he doesn't want to suck on a wash cloth covered in dirty bum water. He doesn't seem to follow.

On occasion, when we've given him a bubble bath, he's tried to grab the bubbles as if they are actual, tangible objects he can grasp. His sense of wonder at something so simple is pretty incredible to watch.

I almost forgot to mention the crayons. They now make washable crayons which you can use to draw on the tub walls. There was nothing like this when I was a kid. Using crayons on any surface that wasn't paper was a bad thing. Of course, being able to draw on the tub wall and not on the regular wall could lead to some confusion and ugly incidents down the road with my son. But for now, my wife and I are going to enjoy the mini-masterpieces he produces.

Okay, so what he draws can't really be considered drawing. Yet. But maybe someday, he'll be like Simon.

We can only hope. Well, I've gotta go. I have to go blow hot air into a giant inflatable duck. This is my life now.

Rubber ducky, you're the one . . .