Escape Artist

The days of secure confinement of our two-year-old have officially passed. One of my best purchases of this year was a 3 x 3 play yard for Leyland. She is such a good little girl, and is content to play there or watch TV while her mom goes about doing chores, nursing Baby Corey, taking a shower, or whatever necessitates her being out of the room. It has certainly been a godsend. Perfect for afternoon naps too. A week or so ago, Whitney told me that Leyland, who had been content watching Barney while Whit was nursing Corey in the bedroom, came into the room and nonchalantly said "hi mommy!". The time we were dreading had arrived. We knew that once she figured out how to sling that little foot over the rail, wiggle her little butt just right and pull herself over the side, there would be no looking back. Since that morning, she has become quite adept at the art of escaping, and quite frankly is showing some real signs of athleticism. Yesterday morning, while Whitney was nursing Corey in the bedroom (that boy loves to eat!), Leyland was watching Nemo in the playpen. I was busy in the kitchen, when I heard my phone alarm. (Apparently I had forgotten to disable the alarm when I finally crawled out of bed.) I turned around to see Miss Leyland standing at the gate (that separates the kitchen from the living room), holding out my phone to me, saying "here grandma". The little munchkin had heard my phone, climbed out of the playpen, toddled back to my bedroom, retrieved said phone from my purse, and had brought it to me in the kitchen. I had no idea she had even escaped. How cute is that!! Well, it's cute all right, but I sure do miss the security that the playpen once afforded! I guess we'll have to tie a cowbell around her ankle so we can keep up with her now. We've baby/kid-proofed the living room, and normally keep all the bedroom/bathroom doors closed anyway, but still, it's a scary thing knowing that she can escape so easily. I think the kitchen gate is safe (impenetrable) for a while. I sure hope so. I'm not ready to come into the kitchen and find her cooking just yet!