I took these pictures back at the beginning of December - that's how far behind on blogging I am! You'll have to forgive me for not editing them. Every morning, usually after Katie's 9-ish bottle, we have bathtime. It's probably one of my favorite parts of the day. And I know it's going to change soon...we'll have to start doing baths at nighttime when mornings get hectic and feedings get messy, but for now, morning baths are the best. I love having her smell so fresh and so clean, clean all day. And since it's all going to change soon, and since she's growing like a weed, one morning I decided to let my camera tag along and capture some of these sweet moments.
The whole bath process starts off at the changing table where she gets stripped of her pj's and usually a stinky diaper. We talk about what we're going to do that day and what we should wear. And oh the raspberries that get blown on that bare belly!
As you can tell, when I took these, Katie was hard-core trying to find her thumb. (She has since found it and, oddly enough, isn't quite as interested in it anymore.)
Since she's still not mobile, I usually let her lie on the changing mat while I get out her clothes for the day and get the bath water going.
As soon as the sink is full of warm water, we play our first game of Risk - I pick up my nekkid baby and we walk asfastaswecan into the bathroom and land in the sink, hoping not to let loose any tee-tee along the way.
She almost always takes a big deep breath in when she first sinks into the water.
We use a Blooming Bath, which we love! (It's yellow because I bought it before we knew her gender, otherwise you know it'd be pink!) She still can't completely sit up on her own, so I put the big flower cushion on the counter and let two petals dip down into the sink. She sits on these and leans back on the rest of the flower kinda like a recliner (I wish I had one of these for my own tub).
See how she's looking at me like I'm crazy in the photo above? That's because I'm probably telling her we've got to wash the Eye-Winker, Tom-Tinker, Nose-Wiper, and the Mouth-Eater. Yep, we start with the face and sing the song my grandmother used to sing to me. It usually makes her laugh...or maybe stick out her tongue and try to eat the washcloth.
Once the face is clean, I always ask her if she's ready for the slippery, slimy, soapy bubbles. She's always ready. The bubbles are fun!
And then comes her very favorite part...flippin' over for a back massage!
I swear she would lay like that all day if she could. She has enjoyed this part from her very first bath. Although lately she's really trying to push up on her legs and I keep thinking she's just going to crawl up onto the counter.
Baby muscles. Swoon.
And every morning, right around this time, her arm becomes the tastiest thing she's ever put in her mouth! I don't blame her, even a soapy arm probably tastes better than formula.
Unfortunately for my girl, all good things have to come to an end. I pull the plug on the soapy water and turn the faucet back on so we can rinse off.
This picture? Cracks. me. up.
No more slippery, slimy, soapy bubbles on this baby!
I usually ask her if she's ready to get dried off, as if she has any say-so in the matter. I'm sure if she could talk she would say no, because this is her least favorite part (probably because I clean her ears while she's in her towel). I plop her up on the dry side of the Blooming Bath and wrap her up in her towel so that she's snug as a bug in a rug! This picture is terrible - bad angle - but it's the only one I could get. She's wiggly so all hands have to be on deck!
While getting dried off (or really, getting her ears cleaned) is her least favorite part, it's followed by my favorite part - getting lathered up in lotion! I declare, Johnson and Johnson knew what they were doing when they made that pink baby lotion! Seriously. Smells so good it makes me want to kiss all over her!
Then we play our second game of Risk. Nekkid baby once again flying through the air, over the carpet, and landing back on the changing table. To date, she has not yet watered the carpet. Thank goodness. She has, however, tinkled all over the blooming bath and bathroom sink. And the changing table, but that's a given. I'm sure by typing this I've totally just jinxed us, and tomorrow morning I'll be on my hands and knees scrubbing the carpet.
Back on the changing table, we slap on a fresh, dry diaper (after guessing which Sesame Street character will be on the diaper we pull - a game I learned from her Daddy). Then, we face the toughest challenge of parenthood: getting a long-sleeved onesie on a just-lotioned baby. Come on fellow parents, am I right or am I right?
The pictures below were actually taken on a different day, but they fit in with our morning routine. After getting dressed, we always make one last stop in the bathroom so I can brush what little hair she has. Lately, this step has taken a bit longer because someone likes to admire herself in the mirror.
I try not to let that last too long...I don't want my girl to be vain. :)
After bathtime is complete, Katie goes into her big! giant! crib for a few minutes while I clean up the bathroom and take her clothes to the laundry. (Check out that gut!)
Most days, unless I'm feeling lazy, I've already gotten myself cleaned up too, so at this point we can hit the town! Or watch the DIY Network...whatevs.
