Bath Brothers

Nick and Nathan love each other.

I really am grateful for that. I mean, Nick doesn't try to hurt Nate. Sometimes he'll try to poke him in the eye, and there was that time in France he emptied an entire bottle of shampoo on Nate's head. But he doesn't do these things out of jealousy or malice. It's mostly play or curiosity.

Nathan can sit up now, if you sit him up. And he's pretty stable, usually. So I've been sitting him up in the tub and I'm actually able to do something like reach for a washcloth or a towel, or even put the dirty clothes in the clothes hamper. Nathan LOVES the bath. As soon as he hits the water he starts flapping his arms, sending water everywhere.

Nicholas will tolerate a bath, as long as you don't try to touch him with a washcloth. But when Nate starts splashing and sending bathwater, water that may contain SOAP into his face, he cries.

When he cries, Nathan laughs. For some reason he interprets Nick's distress as something funny, perhaps laughter? Or maybe he hears something phoney in it and thinks Nick is faking? Whatever the reason, Nathan begins laughing and waves his arms harder, thrashing his feet, getting them going, too. The water in the tub is churning (a little) and tiny drops of water are going everywhere. And Nicholas is looking at me, crying without tears, and saying "Nay Nay Done? Nay Nay Done?" basically begging me to take Nate out of the tub.

But Nathan is having such a good time I can't do it!

OH - and yesterday Nathan pulled himself up (with my help) to standing and actually looked as though her were going to start walking around. "Look how short you are!" I said. "Nicholas could kiss you on the top of your head! And thenNick came over and did. And I tok a picture with my mental camera, and framed it and hung it on one of the bare walls in my brain.