Wild Child

When Big Al was little, he was WILD! He was (and still is) a ball of energy. He wasn’t a “bad” kid, just very energetic. He just never stopped! And he was fearless. At three years old, he begged us to put him on top of the house so he could jump off. He thought he could fly if the wind blew his Superman cape, which he wore every single day. He had no fear of getting hurt. He’s still like that, for the most part.

When Smarty was little, he was calm. He would sit and look at books or play quietly by himself. Don’t get me wrong, he still got into trouble. For instance, he was a climber. He would climb on top on the counter to get on top of the microwave so he could reach the chocolate cake I had hidden on top of the fridge. Or he would climb the shelves in the pantry like a ladder to get to the cookies on the highest shelf. Smarty loves junkfood, just like his mommy.

I was so sure that my little girl would be different. Girls are supposed to be different than boys, right? I thought she would be a quiet child and would want to play dress up and have tea parties every day. I never dreamed that she would be a fearless ball of energy who likes to climb and sneak out of the house!

I can’t keep this girl contained! I don’t feel like I can take my eyes off of her for one minute. Seriously. She’s into everything. And she’s fearless.

She’s going to be the death of me, I tell ya!

She can unlock every door in this house, including the dead bolts and the screen door latches on the covered porch. So, I can’t keep her inside. Our yard is not fenced and people drive like maniacs down our street. I’m hoping that some of those plastic doorknob covers will help with this problem.

She can climb over both baby gates that we own. If she doesn’t feel like climbing it, she somehow manages to knock it down. So, I can’t keep her in any room or particular area of the house.

She does things like jump off of the couch without holding on to anything and comes within inches of busting her face on the coffee table. She also likes to stand on the back of the couch and free-fall onto the cushions. She also likes to stand on the coffee table. So, I can’t leave her in the den or the formal living room alone, for fear of a trip to the ER.

She climbs on everything – the chairs from her little table set, the step-stool in the bathroom, her baby doll stroller, her airplane ride-on toy, any container or box, kitchen chair, stackable blocks – you name it, she will use it to climb up on something else!