Eric got a new slide! Grandpa D was able to get a slide for Eric. Grandpa built a ladder and platform to support the slide. It is really a lot taller than his old slide. Eric loves it! Grandpa delivered it on the weekend of our annual cookout. It required some assembly, so Grandpa and I worked until dark Friday night setting it up. Of course we had help from Eric. He was our test pilot. We observed some of his difficulty climbing the ladder, so we made modifications to increase the angle and added handrails. He now climbs it easily and with confidence. But most importantly, he loves to slide down! Thank you Grandpa!
Earlier this week, Mommy called me at work to tell me about something that Eric had done. Eric was running around the house, following Mommy as she did some household chores, laundry and such. Mommy was in our bedroom, when Eric went into his own room. Mommy soon heard Eric ask for help. “Help” he said very calmly, but Mommy could tell that he really needed help, not just playing for attention. So Mommy went into his room and found him half way over the side of his crib. He needed help, because after climbing up, he was not sure how to get down. He was too high to jump back down to the floor. If he jumped into the crib, he would not be able to get back out. He was experiencing a dilemma. He was not panicked. He had himself securely on top of the crib rail. He simply did not know how to get down. Mommy calmly walked over and helped him down, surprising herself that she did not panick. She set Eric back on the floor and explained to him that he cannot climb on the crib. It turns out, he wanted his star pillow out of the crib. Of course after all this, when Mommy retrieved the star pillow, he promptly tossed it back into the crib and moved on to other toys.
The next day, Mommy went into Eric’s room to wake him up. She found him with one leg up trying to climb out of the crib. From the inside, there are no footholds for climbing, so he was not making much progress…yet. Eric is a very good climber and surely would have figured it out soon.
Tonight, Eric is sleeping in a big boy bed. I converted his crib to a regular bed that he can climb into and out of by himself. Eric was very interested in the process, since it involved his bed. When I had it finished, he was so excited to have a big boy bed. He climbed in and out several times. He was practically begging to go to bed early. He could hardly wait for bed time! It was still too early, so we managed to distract him with other toys and activities until bed time. This was a very significant milestone for him. He was not carried to his bedroom at bed time. He gave Mommy a kiss. He gave Daddy a kiss. Then we both walked down the hallway to his room, and he climbed into bed. He climbed in, picked up his blanket, and laid down pulling the blanket over himself. I straightened the blanket and tucked him in. I kissed him on the forehead and said “good night!” He seemed very happy to be in his new bed.
Sweet Dreams!