The Best of Times...The worst of times

Post Bath-- Cuddled in for the afternoon.



This is a pre-bath Tua, having just woken from a noon nap.

There's an amazing calm that enters the room when Tua slips into warm bathwater. She's happier than ever and so contented just to sit in the temperate 10 inches we've just poured. So far, Bug is the bath-master, posessing an ability to pour bath, undress baby, place baby into bath, wash baby, dry baby, etc in the course of only a few minutes time. I'm still learning how to adjust the temperature of the water to a perfect 78 degrees.
This evening, Tua went down for her 9:00 nap with not so much as a dull whimper. Her whimpers are getting pretty convincing. We're learning to distinguish between the "I'm not ready to sleep yet" and the more popular "why am I not being held?" We try to keep our ears tuned to the latter, as it can grow into a resounding wail if not attended to.
Note of the day: Lullabys come in many forms. I would say that this goes for all childrens music. We took a crash course on parenting a month or so ago. There were about fifteen couples, all in their mid twenties, all new to the experience. At the end of the day, we separated into two groups (fathers and mothers) and were asked to come up with lists of expectations (hopes, fears, doubts, etc). After a few minutes apart, we reunited and the lists were read. The mothers had filled their lists with excitement and anticipation. The fathers lists were quite opposite, filled with doubts and fears mostly relating to the apparent onslought of responsibility. I'll never forget that one common denominator amongst the men was the decided stance most of them had taken against bad childrens music. There were one or two comments made about the dangers of singing dinosaurs and the ill effects Sesame Street might have on young, impressionable minds. The consensus was, according to the men in the group, that the current offering of popular childens music in the country was very poor. Application: Bach works so far for us, as does Handel for that matter. Tua seems to prefer baroque but that may change. Jazz also works. She loves it. Tua was rocked asleep tonight listening to Pat Metheny. I shall turn in now myself and be lulled to sleep by the same.