Do you see what is wrong with this picture? At one point I walked past the dining room chandelier and noticed that the brass decorative thingy (I don't know the vocabulary) that is supposed to be flush with the ceiling had dropped down low on the chain. I made a mental note to mention it to Chris. I walked past the chandelier later and noticed that the entire thing had lowered to within about 18 inches of the table and was now suspended by its electrical cord. (Chris promptly fixed it.)
Do you think perhaps this cheeky monkey had anything to do with it? Swinging on chandeliers when I am not looking?
These photos are of Mary sitting in the second-story windowsill, putting in the audio CD of "The Story About Ping" (thanks, Grandpa!), and nestling in to "read" it.
The cowboy boots were a birthday gift from Grandmom and Pop-Pops and really do suit Mary's personality.Speaking of climbing, I was bouncing ideas around with a friend of mine--excellent mother of ages 7, 5, and 2-1/2, with one on the way: what do I do about the fact that Mary is very independent and goes upstairs when I'm downstairs, or downstairs when I'm upstairs, and huge tantrums ensue when I'm trying to keep her near me? Doors that can be locked are locked, but baby gates are no longer effective against my toddler, nor are they workable with having a four-year-old in the house. My friend suggested I simply babyproof the house better and not worry about it, Mary is two after all (getting to be a big girl).
I have most everything babyproofed, I replied, but how do I babyproof against climbing? Even when we're in the den and Mary leaves to go into the adjoining kitchen, there is a 100% chance that within one or two minutes, she is getting into mischief, having climbed the counters and is opening all the cupboards (e.g., pulling out the wine glasses), or getting down all the school supplies from the shelving, or is trying to take pictures with our new camera. If she's upstairs, she's climbing a bookshelf or climbing out on the ledge above the stairs, so she's standing on something two inches wide with a 15-foot drop. The other day, my cell phone began ringing and caller ID identified that our house line was calling me, and yet I was at home. Immediately, I knew it was Mary. I marched upstairs into the bonus room to find her sitting on top of the filing cabinets (a favorite perch), calling me on the phone (quite by accident), and she greeted me with, "Help me down, Mama!"
Anyway, my friend agreed that she was stumped because she's not yet had a climber.
I certainly haven't solved what to do about trying to allow growing independence, but keeping Mary safe, when she can and does climb to the level of the ceiling as long as there is something sticking out a couple of centimeters that she can cling her toes to.
Perhaps all that is in order is more fervent prayer to her Guardian Angel.
Oh, she's probably safe. If she's anything like Agnes she has a pretty good sense of her own limits. She'll probably tumble down a few times but nothing major. I suggest getting tethers for all your bookshelves and non-installed cabinets and keep anything dangerous under lock and key (such as pills and chemicals) and really just don't worry about it. Certainly involve her in cleaning up her own messes even if they seem daunting.
ReplyDeleteI find even when Agnes gets into 2 yr old mischief it's something that is supposed to be done, just not by her - if that makes any sense? Example: Jireh getting into the hair goop = hair goop in every crevice of the bathroom. Agnes getting into hair goop = hair goop on agnes' hair. Not a spot of it anywhere else.
I suspect Mary's the same!
I do love stories about that child!! :)
I agree with your friend. We have four floors in our house and there is no way that I always know exactly where each child is... even the two year old child. Sometimes mischief happens, but we have taught the kids wat is and what isn't okay and things usually go smoothly.
ReplyDeleteI'm obviously not as experienced a Mommy as Sarah Faith and Modest Mama, but I concur with them. As long as the dangerous stuff is out of reach, she'll be fine. Take it from this Mommy of TWO daredevil climbers who love getting into mischief.
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