Mama Byrd

When you have three kids, you have to expect that each of them will find new ways to get into trouble that the others haven’t thought about.

Caleb was Baby Houdini. He could climb out of his crib at 14 months old– no amount of taking the wheels off or lowering the settings could keep him contained. By 20 months, he could knock down a baby gate with a single body slam. When he was 23 months old, we had to install extra locks on the door to the attic (at adult eye level) so that he wouldn’t go exploring.

Ellie had no real interest in moving, so we didn’t really have to worry about containing her in one spot. Her issues were of the biting, hitting, foot stomping variety. When she was old enough to talk, she never stopped bossing people around. Her second understandable word was “now.” As in, get my sippy cup NOW. I have a feeling she will not outgrow this phase.

Phillip seems to be some what of a combination of the two, although he has found the re-mixed updated versions of the same tunes. At daycare last week, we had to sign an incident report because he bit another child. After he hit the child. Because he wanted a toy. The child was 10 months older than Phillip. What can I say, he lives with Ellie?

Phillip also got into a bit of a Houdini mess of his own while I was taking a shower yesterday. Lannie was awake, so he enjoyed the brunt of the clean up. Why do the really interesting things always happen when Mom is indisposed?

Lannie was still in bed when Phillip greeted him with wet hands. That means only one thing– the kids left the bathroom door open and the toilet seat up. When you have a toddler that is interested in the toilet, it really messes up your strategy to have older children who forget to shut the bathroom door.

Lannie picked Phillip up to investigate further and found that his sleeper was wet up to the elbows. Not only that, but his foot was wet– no, wait. Both feet were wet. He carried Phillip into the bathroom only to discover a puddle around the toilet, topped off by half a roll of toilet paper which was now a soggy, sticky white mess.

Lannie surmised that in order to get BOTH feet wet, Phillip must have put one foot in the toilet, only to find that it didn’t have much of a steady surface for standing. He then took that foot out of the toilet and tried the other foot. He really is that smart, if not all that concerned about hygiene.

People who don’t have kids often wonder why moms are always complaining that they’re never able to find time to take a shower. What’s the big deal? I’ve heard more than one childless friend wonder. Maybe now you won’t wonder what happens when Mom is in the shower. I’m really not one of those moms that complains about that. I like to live life on the edge. I’ll let you know what happens while I’m in the shower tomorrow.

Filed under: Uncategorized on November 27th, 2006