Bath Soup

One of my favorite parts of our nightly routine with John Patrick is bath time. On nights when he has a bath, Jude takes him upstairs to the bathroom in our bedroom and turns on the water in the clawfooted bath tub. I follow close behind and, usually, lay down on the bed while John Patrick runs from our bedroom into the hall and back again, chattering and laughing. From time to time, he'll run over to the bed, slap it with both hands (he's right at eye level with our bed now), smile and me, then take off into the hall.

Often times, I'll sit in the bathroom, on the closed lid of the commode, and watch while Jude bathes John Patrick. Really, though, there's more playing in the bath tub than actual bathing. He splashes the water as Jude bathes him, surrounded by floating boats, books, shampoo bottles, water bottles, etc. After she finishes, Jude unstops the drain, John Patrick says, "bye bye" to the water and she lifts him out of the bath tub. She wraps him in a towel, hands him to me and I carry him into his room so I can dress him in his pajamas and get him ready for bed. Lately, I sing "J.P. Burrito," one of my patented, made up songs, this one a takeoff on the "Baby Beluga" song by Raffi.

Tonight, I was in the bathroom with John Patrick while the water was running in the bath tub, just before the official beginning of bath time. Jude was coming in and out of the bathroom to check the water. For some reason, John Patrick decided he needed to drop into the bath tub anything he could get his hands on. He leaned over the edge of the bath tub, looked down at the water, then dropped in his shampoo, soap, wash rag and various toys. Then, after he had emptied out a plastic basket that Jude keeps all of those things in, he lifted it up and dropped it in the bath tub, too. At that point, I began handing him things, all of which he dropped into the bath tub. Miniature shampoo bottles, Jude's plastic contact case, it was all going into the bath tub.

Jude walked in, finally, looked at John Patrick, me, then the bath tub. "Look, it's bath soup," she said. Bath soup, indeed.