Hazel's love of bath time is immense and enthusiastic. When we tell her it's time for a bath, she will excitedly and quickly crawl to the bathroom. She bounces and squeaks when she hears the water running and will try to climb into the tub. She helps to get ready by pulling off her shoes and socks and by stepping out of her pants, once we pull them down past her diaper. Once in the tub, she loves all of it--playing in the running water, splashing, kicking, pouring. It's all good.
Juniper's enjoyment of bath time these days is a little more complicated, full of the negotiations that characterize her 3 year old life. Aside from needing a little help reaching the very back of her long hair, she can fully clean herself. Her ability to get clean far surpasses her motivation to get clean. We try to back off and give her the space to do it on her own, with occasional intervention to promote a reasonable bedtime or avoid excessive filth. Sometimes we strike the right balance; sometimes we don't. I'd like to think we're getting better at finding that balance, but the real solution to our occasional bath time dramas probably has more to do with Juniper's maturation than with our parenting skills. I have no doubt that we will get there one day.
And, for the record, the first photo is Hazel; the second, Juniper.
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