Table Dancing and Toilet Diving

 Joel loves to climb!  The problem is he is not scared of anything and he is quiet when he is climbing.  With in the last few days he has tried to climb on top of a dog kennel (its about 3 feet tall), climbed on a couple end tables, the top of the piano, the columns in our living room, the radiators, couch, a couple of beds, and the kitchen stools.  Joel also decided to be creative and take pots and pans out of the drawer to use to reach the light switches in the kitchen.  When he realized that wasn't quite tall enough he pulled the little chairs we have in the kitchen over to the light switch to fix the problem.  He gets quite upset when you stop him from climbing, we are talking full melt down.  Although, the melt downs are getting a little better.  Joel used to climb and then he was doing better for a long time and then this week it has escalated again!

Table Dancing on the little table

We used to keep the chairs on the table, but after several weeks that got a little ridiculous and inconvenient.  My cousin told me how they tied their chairs to their table legs to stop their son from climbing and I suggested to Brad that we try that, but he was against that (he also isn't the one home to deal with it).  I get tired of fighting the climbing on the table.  Joel climbs on it, dances a little (it is really cute, I need to get a video) and then climbs down.  I realize that this is not acceptable behavior, but it really beats climbing on the radiators next to the picture windows.  There comes a time when I just have to pick my battles and since he hasn't tried climbing on the table while we are eating I will call it ok for now.  The problem I have noticed is that if he gets bored at other people's houses he will try the same thing.  Now when we are out at friends and family's houses instead of just worrying about the toilet diving (Joel's other favorite past time) I also need to worry about table dancing.  Vince has become my scout and helps alert me to when Joel is toilet diving or table dancing as long as Vince isn't too busy doing something else or joining in on the fun.

Getting ready for the next climb!

We have a large inflatable monkey bars bouncy house apparatus upstairs and it is currently set up for the boys.  When Joel is climbing way to many things downstairs we do go upstairs and climb on there.  With very little help he can climb all the way to the top and from rung to rung all the way around it.  He thinks it is hilarious when he falls on purpose!  My heart skips a beat or two.  Joel has learned a lot watching his older brother climb.  I try to tell myself that all this climbing is just a phase he is in and eventually the climbing won't be as bad or at least he will know the difference between what is appropriate to climb on and what is off limits.  Vince has become a lot better at differentiating what he can and can not climb on but he has a hard time not following Joel when Joel climbs.  I keep suture glue in the diaper bag just in case we ever need it.  I am sure a trip to the emergency room is inevitable!

The bouncy house...with stuffed animals in it

I tried to get a picture of the bouncy house with the kids on it, but they insist that I am in it with them...Yes, I do fit!  I just lay on the bottom and give Joel a leg up to the first rung and watch Vince do his tricks.  The pictures all turned out kind of funny looking and Joel kept landing on me and it wasn't pretty.