Our plans to keep Mal in his crib until we move appear to, like all good plans, not have survived first contact with the enemy toddler. He was pitching a fit in his crib tonight, had thrown everything out, and was bouncing up and down so hard I had to pick him up. I set him on the floor to get a book, and he raced around, flinging everything back into his crib, then tore into the big bedroom, flung the covers back on the bed, and crawled in. Then beamed at me.

We're done for.

Ah, I remember those times. We eventually settled on keeping the crib side down so that Owen can crawl in and out of his bed whenever he wants. A few (ok, more than a few) horrible nights were spent with him screaming and crying at the door of his bedroom (thankfully, he couldn't turn the door knob) and falling asleep on the floor. Now he knows to play but to crawl back into bed when he's tired. We're planning on a twin bed for the spring, but he still gets along ok in the crib.

There were also a few incidents of him falling out when in the middle of a screaming fit, he decided to try to crawl out but I suspect those were more traumatic for me than for him.

Depending on how long you guys have until you move, you may be able to continue to make the crib work for you.

I'm referring all my smiting to Miracleman. He does good work.

Kristen--My dad had balloon angioplasty in his carotid and it was the easiest and most helpful of all the many surgeries and procedures he had. Instant results and very quick recovery. I hope that your mom doesn't need anyhting done, but if she does I am vibing for it to to be simple and helpful.

A few (ok, more than a few) horrible nights were spent with him screaming and crying at the door of his bedroom (thankfully, he couldn't turn the door knob)

Oh lordy.

Also, we have the lever-type doorknobs (Klinken in German, I don't know if there's an English word for them), and he just became tall enough to work them. So that's an issue, as are the stairs.

You still can't shackle your child to the bed, right?

Also, we have the lever-type doorknobs (Klinken in German, I don't know if there's an English word for them), and he just became tall enough to work them.

Like a velociraptor!

Next he'll start testing the fences...looking for weakness...

You still can't shackle your child to the bed, right?

No, but I put a door-knob safety devise on the door knob on the inside of Owen's bedroom to prevent him from opening it and wandering around at night. I just have to make sure not to lose the little key thing so that I can unlock the door from the outside when he accidentally pushes the lock while trying to fiddle it open.

They do make child-proofing kits for the lever-doors, too. And I'd be gating those stairs.

Welcome to the Toddler Cold Wars. Your enemy is younger, more creative and has had more sleep than you. Your job is to put up as many blockades to freedom as you can devise, no matter how expensive or complicated they make YOUR life. You're fighting a losing battle to uphold the status quo, knowing, all the while, that they will eventually find away around, into or out of whatever you've set up.

But at least it slows them down long enough for you to catch them before they maim or kill themselves.

I'm fairly certain that Em is part velociraptor. Or so my sitting-on-baby experience tells me.

I'm fairly certain that Em is part velociraptor. Or so my sitting-on-baby experience tells me.

Well, my labelling system is a little "iffy", I confess, but I could've sworn I used "mammalian DNA" for my in-vitro genetic manipulations. Though it is stored next to "Dino DNA - VR" on my shelf...

Uh...I mean...HA HA HA WHAT A GOOF YOU ARE, KRISTIN! TO THINK THAT MY DARLING BABY WOULD HAVE BEEN GENETICALLY MODIFIED BY ME! HA! HA!

I'm still waiting for the heat vision to kick in, though...

Velociraptors also spit acid, right? Or some kind of crap that causes paralysis....

At least they did in that movie....

At least they did in that movie....

No, that was the dilophosaur. I'm sure MM wouldn't have tried to splice in DNA from two raptors...

Velociraptors also spit acid, right? Or some kind of crap that causes paralysis....

Those were dilophosaurus.