Big trouble in little chinos

Everybody is happy when their kids are smart, and I am no exception. I'm delighted every time one of my boys figures out something new. But this newest trick of Daniel's, while adorable, has kinda creeped me out.

He's stacking things into piles and using them as stairs to climb. Sofa pillows, toys, you name it -- if it has mass, he piles it up and starts his ascension. So far he has attempted to get over his baby gate, up onto the sofa, and over the arm of a chair. He did not succeed with the baby gate, mostly because we caught him and took away the stackables. We watched and let him go with the sofa and chairs because we wanted to see if he could actually do it. He could.

So now I'm waiting to come out of the kitchen one day and see him perched up on top of the TV, or splashing around in the fish tank. We don't leave him alone, of course, but there are times when we put him in a childproof place (the living room) and let him play while we monitor him from the next room. He's quick, though, and all I have to do is grab something off the stove, run to the bathroom, etc and the little munchkin sees this as a window of opportunity.

Fortunately, Josh has lately proven to be not only an excellent big brother but also a stellar warning system. Echos of "Mom! Troublemaker!" sound across the house and have me sprinting to remove Mr. Mischief from whatever he has managed to get into.

So overall, the system works. I do love life with boys!