Sunday, July 4, 2010

The last frontier has been conquered

The last frontier has been conquered. The world, as we know it, will never be the same again. Ok, I'm being slightly melodramatic. But it is a milestone that I was hoping would take a while to come. Unlike every other milestone that is so eagerly anticipated, hard fought and longed for.

And the cause of my melancholy? Ethan has finally learned how to open the gate. And it is not just any gate. It is the gate at the top of our stairs. The gate that for 3 years and 9 months has keep him safe from the stairs. Well, other than those two incidents where he tumbled down the steps many years ago but we won't mention them will we? The gate that has meant when we wanted him upstairs and not in the garage, laundry, Luke's office, the bedroom or the rumpus room (i.e. anywhere downstairs where I couldn't see him and he could get into far too much mischief!), we could close it and know he was confined. Those days are history. Sigh.

Georgia learned to open the gate at goodness knows what age. But thankfully Ethan has taken a while. Unlike everything else Ethan has done which has been in double quick time! We have had to train Georgia that when Ethan asks her to open the gate, she says 'No, ask Mummy or Daddy.' Rather than her helpful natural response which was 'Sure. There you go' and to wave him off downstairs with a smile and then come and tell me what she'd done.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the picture above. An open gate when I was sure I'd closed it. And then I went hunting for Ethan. And found him downstairs. Hmmmm. Maybe I just forgot to close the gate? So I brought him upstairs, closed the gate and he walked up to it, opened it and proceeded downstairs again.

I didn't know whether to sob, laugh, yell or all three at this achievement. So instead I made a note to myself....when a moment presents itself, blog about it! And now I have :)