The Visitor

Josh & I had a visitor this morning. It actually started sometime in the middle of the night, when Claire suddenly yelled out for me. I went to check in on her, but by the time I put on my glasses and walked to the door, she was quiet again. Since it sounded like she was already back asleep, I decided to do the same. A few hours later, Claire woke up to start her day. I heard her start talking to her toys and singing songs over the monitor. Then, I heard a door, followed by someone rattling our bedroom door. For a moment, I thought it was Josh leaving the room, but I looked over and saw him still lying next to me, obviously confused by the noises we just heard. "What was that noise?" I asked. "That's a good question," he said as he headed for the door. I found my glasses and started to walk toward him. There was our Claire, standing at our door. Apparently, she had climbed out of her crib, opened her bedroom door, and was coming to greet us with her sweet toddler smile.

So, it's time for a big girl bed. Claire's crib doesn't have a toddler rail, so we went to the store to find her a toddler bed. Josh set up her new bed this evening and Claire loved it!

I really thought she would be a little nervous about her first night in the new bed, but she could not have been more excited. She was rushing us through her bedtime routine and asking us to turn out the light before we even brushed her teeth. When it was finally time for her to get in bed, she practically sprinted to it. She had a huge grin on her face when we tucked her in. We haven't heard a peep from her room, so I think (fingers crossed) that she might actually stay in her new bed. We'll see how nap time goes tomorrow, but so far, Claire loves her big girl bed. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. She loves all things "big girl".

Child Proofing Is A Losing Battle

Update: Before I jump into Claire's anti-childproofing antics, I just wanted to give a quick update on the miscarriage for those who are interested. I was, thankfully, able to have a natural miscarriage with no complications this time. While I had some discomfort, the pain level wasn't even close to my previous miscarriage (you can read about that here) and everything was back to normal within a few weeks. I am grateful that it went quickly and hopeful that we will be able to expand our family successfully in the next year or so. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughtful words. I am so blessed to have such caring people in my life.

Child proofing has been a process in our house. We really didn't bother doing much until Claire started crawling. Then we covered the outlets and put locks on the cabinets. We put up a baby gate to keep her away from the stairs. "There," I thought, "now that the baby-proofing is done, the house should be safe forever." Sometimes, I look back and laugh at the silly thoughts I had as a new mom.

As experienced parents know, our crawler soon learned to pull up and walk. She found a whole new world of breakable knick-knacks, drapes, and blu-ray player buttons to antagonize. So, we found ourselves toddler-proofing. We removed almost every decorative item in our home, which makes dusting easier (or would make it easier, if I ever decided to dust). We added door knob covers to keep her from getting into the bathrooms or out of the front door. We installed an oven lock and removed the knobs from our stove, just to be sure she wouldn't try to cook a grilled cheese sandwich and burn down the house (which I actually almost did as a teenager... several times).

At that point, I really thought the child proofing would be done. There was nothing left in our home for her to get - it was all locked up in cabinets or in a box in the garage. Then, one day, Claire walked over to me and proudly handed me a gift - one of the outlet covers. The battle began. We changed all the outlet covers to really hard-to-remove versions, so now, every time I want to vacuum (thankfully, that's not often), I almost break a nail trying to remove the stupid outlet cover. Still, we won the outlet cover battle.

Undeterred, Claire moved on to the cabinets. It wasn't long before she figured out that all she had to do was open the cabinet a little, find the plastic piece, push it down, then pull. She was opening every cabinet in the house. Seriously?!? So we went to the store and bought the fancy (and expensive) magnetic locks. Now, when I'm cooking I have to use a magnetic key to open and close every lower cabinet and drawer whenever I need a pan, spatula, strainer, or bowl. Super convenient. At least she's safe right? Cabinet battle goes to the parents. (Raising my fists in victory).

Wrong. Because, you see, toddlers like to climb. And Claire happens to be on the tall side, so she can scale great heights. I discovered just how solid her climbing skills were when I came around the corner of the kitchen to find my toddler standing on the counter top, playing with the coffee maker and rearranging the coffee mugs in my top cabinet. How do you defend against climbing on the counter tops? She wasn't even 2 years old yet. I felt the battle tide shifting at that moment - Claire definitely won that one.

Then Claire noticed that she could easily open the folding doors to our laundry closet, so now she likes to randomly load toys, doll clothes, and snacks into my dryer. I haven't been able to find any locks that fit the doors, so I just have to remember to check the dryer for Claire's "laundry" before I put my own load in. Another win for Claire.

Yesterday, I was again faced with defeat when my two-year-old came to me with another gift - the door knob cover that kept her out of the bathroom (she likes to play with the water in the sink and splash it all over the floor). So, I know it's only a matter of time before she has access to every room of the house.

Today, she was eyeing the oven lock. I'm hoping it's advanced enough to stand against her as my ally in this child proofing war. But honestly, I'm losing hope. So many have fallen bravely in battle - outlet covers, cabinet locks, door knob covers. They fought valiantly, but there is a strong force at work against them - the force of a curious and active toddler.