Know how to make a little Kaz girl cry? Give her a bath!

Well, the honeymoon is over. There are no pictures to mark the occasion-- just the reverberating cries of a little girl who is just a little bit mad at her mother tonight. And crying may not be the most accurate term to describe Noelle's reaction to her first real bath. Wailing might fit. Keening would work too. I knew going in it was going to be an event-- every blog has a story about that first bath, and how the kids hate them in the beginning. And I tried to be practical about it: I have been sticking to a sponge bath method to get her clean over the past week until she was more comfortable with me and her surroundings. I kept the water level low and skipped the bubbles. I held her close to talked to her as I undressed her, kept her warm and explained what was going on. I provided a distraction, in the form of a toy and her cousin who talked to her from the sidelines. But man, was it sad! She was shaking, and she cried more than I have ever heard, all times combined. The bath only lasted about two minutes, but Noelle is holding a little bit of a grudge. Dinner followed shortly thereafter and any time I said her name, she would turn her head away from me! At one point I thought she was warming up to me again-- she grabbed my hands and started walking toward me, but it turned out she was just trying to get the taco I was eating. (The girl never stops eating, did I mention that today?!) I hope she has forgiven me by tomorrow!