To back up just a bit, Billy is an imitator. This is fun and new for us, since Ricky never was one to want to do what we were doing or eat what we are eating. He has always been his own thinker and still very much is. Billy won’t play the “repeat what I say game” but he loves to do what we do and eat what we eat. He tries to help clean himself during diaper changes; he takes the spoon out of your hand if you try to feed him; he wants to eat whatever you are eating (or at least put it in his mouth and then spit it out when he realizes he doesn’t really want it); he tries to put his shoes on, brush his hair and teeth, dress himself. The list could go on and on.
With that knowledge, tonight the boys were taking a bath together. Billy almost immediately grabbed a bottle of soap, acted like he got some on his hands, and started rubbing Ricky’s back and head. He’d rub a few times and then dip his hands in the water, get some more soap, and keep going. He even attempted Ricky’s face. Ricky, who was contentedly playing with his boats, just let Billy do whatever he wanted, pretty much ignoring the fact that his baby brother was even in the tub with him. Even when Billy filled up a bucket and dumped it repeatedly on Ricky’s head, Ricky barely acknowledged him.