Today was an important summertime first. No, Axel's not old enough for bomb pop-induced brain freezes or hot dogs and beer at a baseball game, but he's the perfect age for the chlorine and pee- filled pool water.
I spent all afternoon packing up our bags, making sure we were ready - extra swimsuit and rashguard, dry clothes, diapers, sunglasses, hat, pool floaty thing that wouldn't blow up, multiple towels, three kinds of sunscreen, etc. etc. etc. If our car had broken down on the way to the pool and we'd be stranded in a secret ditch in the middle of the city, we had enough gear with us that we could have camped out for four days and survived.
After being tortured with gobs of thick white sunscreen, Axel arrived at the pool ready for action.
He waded right in to the baby pool, dressed for a safari in his head to toe SPF wear.
He did his best Gilligan impression.
Then Axel made a new friend, who generously shared a naked baby doll with him. Axel bit down on the baby's hard plastic head. At the same time, he did the unthinkable - no, not peed, though he probably did that, too. He pooped.
And some of it leaked out of his swim diaper and trunks and into the pool. At least, I think it was his - it did look a bit more solid than usual, so it might have belonged to his new friend (legs pictured above), but, as CSI: Denver wasn't on scene, we'll never know for sure. We did change his trunks and swim diaper, and they were soiled. I know, ewwww..... I had the brilliant idea that I'd clean up by trying to pick up the poop with a napkin. Yeah, the paper napkins disintegrated, and the poo floated away toward the filter. If you're reading this and you were at the same pool we were at, I'd like to offer my sincere apologies that my son infested the baby pool waters.
The little girl who had been in the pool with Axel soon got out, and promptly put the baby doll inside of a pink bucket, head first. Maybe she was trying to communicate her disgust over my baby's accident, or maybe she was apologizing for her own.
After about thirty minutes in the water, one accident, and one outfit change, Axel was done, and we dried him off and got him dressed to head home. He then discovered the best thing about the pool - the chance to play with the beach bag.
He had a far better day than the baby doll.
