Another Bath-Related Post

William loves baths. I have never seen a child love the water as much as he does. If William hears the bathwater running, he will come crawling in from wherever he was and immediately try to climb in the tub (fortunately for me it is quite a bit too high for him to manage by himself). He dances and bounces with anticipation as I undress him, and the second his body touches the water, he starts splashing.

Splash, splash, splash, splash! William grins and laughs as the water flies everywhere--on Ashley and Everett, on the bath mat--and he never slows, even when it sprays his own face. William never gets tired of it, and even though it would ultimately prove pointless, I don't have the heart to try to get him to stop.

Ashley and Everett have learned to tolerate the splashing pretty well, even with the understanding that William is the only one allowed to make such a watery mess. Of course, they usually call it quits and want to get out long before William has even considered it.

These are some snapshots I took in December. This was the first time William was in a bath with the other kids, and it was later this night that he learned to love the wonders of splashing. These pictures are pretty calm and nice, but they are not as fun as what happens now.

The kids are very good about accommodating a baby in their tub, even if it means a lower water level. (I believe the original plan this particular night was not to have William in the bath as well, or the water would be even lower than you see here.)

Everett does a great job looking out for William. Occasionally William will try to go after the soap and Everett rescues it without fail before it reaches his slobbery little mouth.

William had a lot of fun getting a feel for the water. Yes he got his face in it once or twice, but he just laughed.

Since this was the first time with them all together, I was a little too paranoid to let everyone play the way they normally do. I got over that pretty quickly. The kids were satisfied with the novelty of a baby, though.

William switched from sitting on his heiney like a little teddy bear to crawling through the water to standing along the edge, grinning and jabbering at me.

Were I to take pictures now (I will once I get a new camera, believe me), you would see William splashing in the water, arms blurry and water droplets coming down like a rainstorm, but the best part of the picture would be his deliciously wet, dark eyelashes and the smile that enraptures his entire face.