and so everyone has to get showered off in cold water.

{i really really really do love this picture though.}

...

one day they're 

gonna be all grown up,

and they won't smell like soapy goodness of johnson and johnson anymore after a bath.

and that will be sad.

sad!

this is what i tell myself when chase dumps five 32oz cups of water onto the tile floor,

after it runs off of my body first,

brennan sticks his butt in max's face until she cries,

and chase grabs brennan's penis like he's trying to milk a cow.

and then somebody slips and falls or hits their head on the faucet,

or dumps water on someone's head that doesn't want to be dumped on,

or all of the hot water runs out because brennan let it all go down the drain when he was filling the tub without the plug in it,

and so everyone has to get showered off in cold water.

because our water heater is about 1 gallon big.

memories:)

i sure do love these clean gibbies!

man oh man, i do.

i can almost smell them now.

mmmmmm.

heaven.

when the dog bites, when the bee stings.

rub a dub dub,

3 men in a tub.

or 2 plus max.

chase gets beat up.

but he holds his own,

and secures his own territory,

sometimes multiple territories,

and he drinks all of the bath water.

it's gross.

brennan and max love to wash his hair.

they especially like to give him "weird hair."

and then request their own to be done the same way.

sometimes he has to hold his breath,

chase,

not his hair,

and he almost always end up swallowing even more bath water while they do it.

but he never cries.

ok, almost never.

what a little champ:)

i let them soak in the suds like this until chase starts crying 

b/c i won't let him dump another cup of water out of the tub again,

and then the other two get to play a little while longer while the dirty bath water drains,

and by the time i have chase all lotioned, dressed, and hair combed,

max is crying, and brennan is demanding a towel for his eyes.

these are a few of my favorite things:)

...

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad..."

i can remember my aunt mary singing this song to me 

when i was a little girl, 

trying to fall asleep in my grandparent's house in iowa.

i don't remember if it was summer or not.

i just remember laying in the bed by the window,

the tree just outside,

with the hall light dim in the background,

and her dark curly hair,

great big smile,

and hardwood floors.

i tried to sing it to brennan and max while they were falling asleep tonight,

but i always get lost at bright copper kettles and skip to brown paper packages tied up with strings.

it works out awesome that my kids don't know the words.

that way i can skip around to girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,

and snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,

{my VERY favorite part},

b/c i always forget the cream colored ponies and silver white winters,

but i always

always

always

remember

the chorus.

and when the dog bites.

and when the bee stings.

and then 

i don't feel soooooo bad!

{ly}

your perfectly clean baby smelling state

dear chase,

i can't get over your squishy body.

cheeks.

face.

pudgy feet.

little mouth.

your upper lip.

oh how i love to kiss your upper lip!

cabbage patch arms.

and hands.

i could poke your Michelin body over and over and over again.

with my index finger.

right in your tummy.

just above your belly button.

i do it, and you laugh and laugh,

and then after awhile you cry so i stop.

i especially love to scoop you up out of the tub and hold you in front of the mirror.

i always think i don't need anymore more pictures of you this way,

but then i look at you, 

and i think that even though i thought it was impossible,

you MUST have actually defeated all odds 

and gotten cuter than you were the last time i got you out of the tub.

two days ago.

so i pawn dad's phone off of him, 

and i take about 10 more pictures of you and me in front of the mirror 

b/c i want to document this exact moment when i am feeling so happy and in love 

with you fresh out of the tub.

and then i take you to my room, 

lay you down on your soft cream covered baby changing pad,

and slather you in pink baby lotion.

your skin is so soft and gushy.

like satin.

if you are really tired you scream like you are hurt, but i know you aren't.

if you are not tired,

you squirm all around and bang your toys against the wall beside you.

there are scrapes and scratches in a variety of colors from you doing this over and over again.

i love it.

i have never tried to clean or wipe any of the marks off.

i bite your hip.

but really it's just more of a kiss.

you chuckle so deep and try to roll away.

usually it's just the right one b/c it's the one closest to me.

then i sneak a kiss on your lips.

we listen to dad wrestle the other two in the tub around the corner.

sometimes you do your baby man squawk at them.

i always make sure to lotion your face,

put your diaper on,

slip you into a clean outfit or a pair of your fleecy footie pajamas,

and then i comb your little red hair.

you always try to eat the comb or grab it so you can bite the rubber end.

then i give you a kiss on the side of your forehead,

right next to the side of your eye,

and i ALWAYS ALWAYS take a big deep breath when i do it,

so i can smell you in your perfectly clean baby smelling state.

and for that moment,

i float away to what i know must be heaven.

i just can't imagine life without you.

i am bursting i love you and your baby man state so much.

love,

MOM

p.s.

i love dad, max, and brennan just as much too.

let there be no confusion about that.

operation fatten up

operation fatten up chase is large and in charge.

i noticed some extra rolls on his chubby thighs during his bath this morning.

he loves to put his feet right under the faucet and hold them there.

sometimes he sucks on his big toe too.

max loves to wash his body and tickle his tummy.

usually her fingernails leaves red streaks behind,

but he never cries about it.

he loves to sit there in the sun and look up at us.

and then max loves to over do it on the lotion.

we all smell like johnson and johnson for the rest of the day.

not a bad way to smell;)

old faithful

when they're outside, i can't hear the screaming as much:)

and they don't have to hear me as much.

win/win.

it's worth every clothes change they can muster.

b/c i have a washer and dryer.

and a bath tub.

i don't think brennan is capable of feeling the elements.

he'd just rather be in his underwear.

now if i could just convince him to not get dressed at all...

chase slept for 5 hours last night.

two times in a row.

who knew the right latch could help him sleep so long?!

the air bubbles are plaguing him on a regular basis.

from a click clacking latch.

we sound like a ticket counter.

it is sad.

it's a work in progress.

he got his first real live bonified bath.

he cried until i warmed up the water.

he prefers the sauna bath.

then he fell asleep.

a happy man.

in the tub.

and he peed on me.

but not in that order.

i giggled .

b/c by now i know

that all boys pee

right when you put them in the bath.

straight up like old faithful.

he has white eyelashes and eyebrows.

have i mentioned that yet?

a redhead for sure.

baby alive, not the doll

"mom, seriously? i'm just fine."

(and very well hydrated!)

and i only checked on him once!

look how far i've come!!!

back in the saddle again

back at

this

and

this

again.

additional paranoia today:

used draino in the tub yesterday to unclog this.

three hot showers have been taken since then, and the smell is completely gone, but my urge to never let him bathe in the tub ever again is still there. what if there were traces left of the draino? i attempted to keep all of the bath water out of said baby's mouth. failed. he took three plunges into the bath water, three big gulps, and one face plant. good job mom. way to keep the water out of the baby's mouth.

i need someone to talk some sense into me! help me feel better about this morning's bath 'cause ya' know i'll be checking on him twenty times during his morning nap. help me fight the urge!