Bunny-Dunking

Our baby, Nicolas, just turned 17 months. And oh, is he ever cute. He is currently in a stage of life where he is developing new skills quickly, and he gets more and more interactive with each week. Even thought he doesn’t talk very much yet, we know from experience that he can follow some simple directions, such as “please take this phone and go give it to Daddy”. Though I have no doubt as to his intelligence, he does do one particularly ridiculous thing fairly regularly. And he doesn’t seem to yet understand the consequence to his action.

Nicolas’ favorite sleepytime friend is a bunny, actually a stuffed version of the famous “Pat the Bunny”. He refuses to go to bed without it. But he also loves to take Bunny on adventures around the house and even out and about town. These adventures usually involve trying to drown Bunny, whether it be in the toilet, bathtub, or Sid’s water dish. There is usually at least one attempted drowning per day. After each successful dunking, Bunny has to get washed, and in general I’d say he makes a trip through the washing machine 3 times a week. Each time this happens I have Nicolas touch the sopping wet Bunny and show him the process as I put Bunny in the machine, you know, just in case his little 17 month old brain might start getting an inkling that after the “dunking”, Bunny disappears for quite a time.

Tonight, upon returning home from TNPC’s Festival of Lessons and Carols (which was wonderful, a hearty congratulations and thanks to the many musicians and participants who worked so hard) Bunny was yet again dunked unceremoniously into Sid’s dish. This before we’d even gotten all the coats and bags out of the car. Nicolas is getting to be too quick for us! Well, of course, into the wash went Bunny, and shortly thereafter into bed went Nicolas. Where he remains, and where he continues to cry because he wants his bedtime Bunny (who is currently spinning through the dryer, trying very hard to get dry and fluffy again). It’s now 11pm and the cries from the Pooh nursery are pitiful and sad. Poor Nicolas!! He really does love that bunny…I’m just waiting for him to put two and two together about what happens when he pulls one of his dunkings.

5 Replies to “Bunny-Dunking”

  1. We felt much pity for Nicolas. It got to where we couldn’t stand to hear him cry any longer so we let him get up. He was very happy to wander around the living room playing with various toys, and stopping now and again to tell us “hi”. He and Bunny went off to bed around 11:30pm and all was quiet till he (Nicolas, not Bunny!) woke me at 12:50 screaming lustily from his crib, I know not why. Perhaps a nightmare about having to sleep without his beloved Bunny? After that, we all slept till around 7am.

  2. That’s the cutest story! What is it with toddlers and water dishes? Our dog bowl has hosted a few dunkings by various nephews and visitor’s kids. I’m going to name our dog bowl “magnetic springs”! But…it’s not just human toddlers. When my dog was a pup he used to drop his toys in his water bowl too!

  3. We’ve also had many a visitor’s child “dabble” in the doggie dish. They go back again and again. Regarding your puppy, at least he plays with toys! Our dog has never gotten the hang of what it is to enjoy toys. The things we buy for him end up in the children’s toybox eventually! He does love to chase a tennis ball though!

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