Helicopters, Airplanes, and Rockets

The boys' bath routine has evolved as they've gotten older. They now go into the master bathroom (the only one of six bathrooms in this house that has a bathtub), take off their own diapers, and sit on their potties to attempt to pee. No, I'm not officially potty training them yet. This step of the routine came to fruition when Liam kept peeing on the bathroom floor as soon as I took his diaper off. For quite a while, only Liam would pee in the potty, but now Graeme is also going almost every night. I think we may be getting closer to starting the real deal in a few weeks.

Anyway, then they take their vitamin. They sometimes then get acetaminophen for their molar pain. After that, the teeth brushing commences. They begin by "brushing" their own teeth, and then I brush their teeth to actually get them clean. One at a time, they stand on the stool, rinse with water, and spit. They just started spitting one week ago after their first visit to the dentist (which was hilarious and went much better than I expected). They are able to spit in the sink most of the time. Sometimes they completely miss and spit straight down, hitting their feet and the stool.

Finally the actual bathing starts with both boys in the tub. Even though I don't put much water in the tub, the boys usually manage to splash so much that the floor gets pretty wet. They particularly enjoy filling up their small rubber ducks with water and trying to squirt each other and me with them. Occasionally we get more attempts at Riverdancing. Somehow I'm able to clean them during all of the commotion.

Before Grandma Ar and Aunt Mar's visit, we did a technique called the Airplane when it was time to get the boys out of the tub. Sean and I would each hold a child in one arm and hold up our other arm in front of us as though we were flying. The boys would wear a hooded towel deemed the "cape" (or "cake" in earlier months), and also hold up one flying arm. Then we would all face the mirror and make a flying noise. After that, drying off would begin.

The routine became more complicated when we saw and heard a helicopter flying one day. That night, the boys decided that they wanted to be helicopters too. Holding one of the boys, I held my arm straight out to the side, made a sound that sort of sounded like helicopter blades while spinning around slowly. Then we "flew" like airplanes again, did the Helicopter with the other arm and opposite turn, and did the Airplane again. The boys loved it.

After our recent visit to the Singapore Air Force Museum, we had another addition to the flying simulations. At the museum, the boys enjoyed looking at a missile which Liam called a rocket because it looks like the rocket in his Things That Go book. The kids also have a toy rocket that counts down to blast off. That night, we added the Rocket to the Helicopter and the Airplane. They hold their hands together over their heads while we count down from 5. After one, we say "blast off!" and jump up in the air while holding the kids. They really love this one.

Graeme and Grandma Ar demonstrate the helicopter

Rockets ready to blast off!

After blast off, we finally dry the boys, then wrap their towels around them like togas. Then we support them as they stand on the counter in front of the mirror and yell "Toga, toga...". Finally, we apply lotion to both boys and eczema cream to Liam, comb their hair, and dress them in their pajamas. Most of the time we'll sing softly during the dressing part to help calm them down.

Toga, Toga, Toga, Togaaaaaaa!

Tonight I did bath time alone since Sean is in Hong Kong, so I have to do the parts separately for each child. I started to forget the Toga and was quickly corrected by Liam. While combing Liam's hair, I said that his hair was getting long, and Liam surprised me by saying, "need a haircut" without me mentioning haircuts. He then said, "spray with water, use scissors". I thought it was pretty smart of him to make the leap from my comment about his long hair to a description of what happens during a haircut.

Up soon - the Many Nicknames of Graeme, the Many Walks of Liam, and more.