Waterbabies

It's official: We have a water baby.

I know I haven't blogged in forever, and I could rehash the employment drama engulfing my family for the last several months but I'm not going to. Suffice to say My Fair Lady and I both are unemployed, hopefully that will change this week or next (or the next, etc.) and we're both looking for work.

But in the afternoons, we've started taking Max to the pool. And lo, the joy unleashed upon yon baby's face revealed great depths of sheer bliss. Verily.

The area where we live has a giant rec center with an outdoor pool that closely resembles a water park. There are massive slides, a big kiddie area with water spouts everywhere, and an adult pool that's only about 3.5 feet deep. Also, the place is never packed except possibly on the weekends. In short, it's perfect.

Max has discovered Heaven.

He gets excited at the house when we ask him if he wants to go to the pool. From the minute we get there, he just stares at the water, chomping at the bit. We initially take him to the kiddie area and when he gets there, he immediately sits down in the water. He gets wet, splashes a bit, then heads for the water spouts. He thinks it's hilarious when they blast him in the face. He runs and runs and runs around splashing in the water, all the while wearing an ear-to-ear grin.

But today he did something new in the adult pool.

When you first get in, to your left are two smaller areas where people can sit on a ledge next to some other spouts. Max enjoys walking around these edges since the water only comes up to his mid-chest there. We've been trying the last few times to get him to jump to us, but he hasn't. Until today. And after he did it once, it was on.

My Fair Lady or I would float in front of him and say, "Come on. Jump to me!" He'd then walk off the ledge and splash in our arms as we caught him. Then he wanted to splash into the water by himself. Fortunately, there are life jackets aplenty there and he's firmly secured into one. Watching him close his eyes and step off into the water was hilarious, as was his reaction later when he yanked the sunglasses off my face and threw them to the bottom. Oh, was that a fun game.

Max has a squealing cackle when he gets infinitely excited, and he was cackling at full volume with this game. He thought it was the greatest thing ever to pull my glasses off, drop them to the bottom, watch me retrieve them, and then we'd start over. This went on and on, even after I added a twist. He'd drop my glasses, and I'd drop him and let him bounce in the water while I got the glasses back. He'd bob, splash, and get dunked in the split second I was under. I'd pick him up, he's be smiling ear to ear again as water ran down his face.

In short, it was a great, great time. We're doing this every afternoon too, which makes putting him to sleep that much easier. He usually craters at night anyway, but this ensures it. Plus, it gets us out of the house, into the sun, and exercising while staying cool. It's a win-win for America.

Now if only the job I'm waiting for will be mine....