We Are So Doomed

[billroper]

daisy_knotwise had an appointment with Dr. Bob this morning, so when she finished up (delayed by a woman who was about to have a heart attack), she dropped by and met me for lunch. We went to a little Mexican place on Wolf Rd. and had burritos, which were pretty tasty, if not quite as good as what we got at Taqueria Fiesta.

decadentdave had expressed an interest in going to Fry's to pick up a 4 GB SD card. I suggested that we do it after dinner, since Dave would be full of stir fry and not really ready to sing. :) sexybass and sueposter joined us, as daisy_knotwise argued that we could all go, since she could sit on the floor of the family room with Katie and keep her from getting into too much trouble, even if she couldn't lift her.

When we returned from Fry's with our assorted goodie bags, we found no one in the family room. In fact, we found no one downstairs at all.

"Gretchen?" I called.

"I'm upstairs."

"Where's Katie?"

"Also upstairs."

"You carried her upstairs?"

"No, she carried herself."

It seems that Gretchen had a bit of intestinal distress (Burrito? Maybe...) and had hied off to the second floor bathroom, it being a bit more congenial to her post-surgical condition. She left Katie behind downstairs. When she finished up in the bathroom, she heard Katie crying at the foot of the stairs.

Except Katie wasn't at the foot of the stairs. She had crawled dutifully up the stairs in search of Mommy and was now two stairs away from the open gate at the top. Gretchen coaxed her up the last two steps and closed the gate behind her.

And so we found them watching TV on the bedroom floor.

Katie just climbed up the full flight of stairs on her own.

We are so doomed.

Comments

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

Yup.. you're doomed. Now you're in that horribly scare stage where she can wander off yet cannot communicate well enough to respond if you call after her. Time to start working on the "Come when I call" game.

[tollermom]

Wow... and yikes!

Brave new world for baby Katie! :-)

[catalana.livejournal.com]

Completely doomed, yes.

[jrittenhouse.livejournal.com]

Yep. Doomed.

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

Yep. Doomed.

But in such a *fun* way :-) This is the "baby-stage" that I loved most - mobile and exciting and fun and... oh, I'm so glad that you get to have these experiences with her.

Enjoy :-)

To quote a dreadful 1970s song

[saagaadaa.livejournal.com]

It's only just begun. Your friends will hold you in our hearts. Hang on for the ride. It's like living Disneyland, without all the lines.

[oreouk.livejournal.com]

Yay - go Katy! Time for another gate at the bottom of the stairs (what we did with Alex), or careful disposition of a chair to stop her getting to it when your backs are turned (what we did with Amy).

[oreouk.livejournal.com]

Katie, even.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

I think the first stair climb takes every parent by surprise.

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

Yep, she'll be wanting the car keys next week!

[daisy-knotwise.livejournal.com]

She already wants the car keys. She likes to chew on them. She has even set off the alarm a time or two.

GHR

From my mom who has been through this several times

[controuble.livejournal.com]

Since Katie likes keys, I'd suggest a ring of her own (won't really matter if they get misplaced). Use one with a neat doo-dad (that can be chewed on) and put either keys that no longer fit anything or else just key blanks. I've found that using a combination of colors and lengths makes them more interesting - and you can sometimes get "spoiled" ones from a key place for nothing.

[controuble.livejournal.com]

Yes, once they discover that they CAN get up the stairs, that becomes their favorite thing to do for quite some time. We were lucky that the house we lived in when Alex was that age didn't have any stairs going UP from the main living area of the house, so we only had to put a gate across the stairs down to the front door. Since up is much easier for them than down is, I do suggest gates at both ends of the stairs so Katie can't get part way up and not be able to figure out how to come back down safely.

[pheltzer.livejournal.com]

I'll chime in witha yup you're doomed as well... but you're infintiely better off. Alex's first attempt at the stairs was a full on sprint from the top of the stairs with no indication of stopping at the gaping void that opened up beneath him. Of course this demonstrated to me that instantaneous transport over short distances is in fact possible.

[mia-mcdavid.livejournal.com]

We are so doomed.

Oh, yes you are!!! Congratulations to Katie and best wishes to the both of you!

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

Indeed! DOOMED! Life is never the same again once they figue stairs and walking out. Have fun!

[scarfman]

It was nice knowing you.

[scarfman]

Say, I guess I haven't mentioned that we spent last weekend seeing my stepgrandsons (11 months and 23 months) through their first weekend away from their parents. qtrhorserider always tells me that I missed the best part by not coming along till scarfkids were older than this, but I remain unconvinced (and scarfboy backs me up).

Doomed

[(Anonymous)]

Well, yes, you're doomed. You were before this too, you just didn't know it. :-) You can stave it off for a while by putting a gate at the bottom of the stairs but there are lots of exciting times ahead of you. Tree climbing, opening second floor windows and going out on the roof, driving, dating, and many, many, more. Enjoy.

Jack

[cary-lee.livejournal.com]

The stairs of DOOM. (Had to say it before Dawn or Greg) Shannon was going up at 8 months and down (standing) at 10. The fun part is once the child can do stairs they move on to chairs, couches, gates (yes Shannon climbed the gates). It is exciting and scary to watch. Have fun with this because it really is an amazing developmental step to watch them learn new things.

[qnofhrt.livejournal.com]

Katie just climbed up the full flight of stairs on her own.

Necessity is the mother of invention :-)

[marmot63.livejournal.com]

Time to start thinking about ordering Squeaky Shoes.
http://www.pipsqueakers.com/

Mere came with a pair from the orphanage. She loved them and we always knew where she was. When they stopped squeaking, you were in trouble.

[carolf.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. There is no such thing as "the sweet sound of silence" where children are concerned.

(Hmmm. The same could be said about techie nerds...)

I guess now is not a good time to tell you that once I mastered
climbing up enough, I attempted to fly off the roof? I was
unhurt, honest. (But it was a one-story ranch, come to think of
it.)

Congratulations! Condolences! Take your pick.

[scs-11.livejournal.com]

Yep, doomed.

Don't worry, they get better in 20 or 30 years. Or so I'm told.