My climbing monkey

Joel's climbing has gone beyond out of control!  The actual climbing doesn't bother me very much but the places and things he chooses to climb on aren't always the safest.  Plus it isn't that he is just climbing to climb.  There is usually something he is after that he really isn't allowed to have.  His favorite place is the kitchen island, under the pot rack.  Then he can take apart the soap dispenser and wave it around.  He also enjoys turning the faucet on and off several times.  Now this is slightly better than climbing up to play with the Keurig and attempting to figure out how it works.  Joel used to enjoy climbing on the dining room table and still does from time to time, but I started ignoring him when he climbed on it and he has slowed down quite a bit (only 1-2 times a week vs. 5 times a day).  When you catch him in the act he gets a cute little look on his face and gives a little laugh like "I am cute enough to get away with this right?"

As far as the kitchen climbing goes I was keeping the baby gates closed all the time but then Vince can't get to the bathroom quickly and that creates a bigger mess.  Plus as soon as I opened them Joel would immediately take off for the counter.  I have been so sick of Joel climbing on the counter since Cecilia's arrival that I have been keeping the stools on the counter.  They take up most of the counter and it is a little inconvenient but it has made my life so much easier.

The office chair living on the dining room table...holding down our blankets for the tent

Joel likes playing in our office area and it has been worse the last few weeks.  We have two chairs between our desks and they have been Joel's perching place.  He likes to find a colored pencil and draw on the back of the computer monitor.  He doesn't hurt anything but I just can't let him draw on random items that aren't paper.  I have tried moving the chairs and he moves them or another object back to the desk.  I tried turning them so it would be hard to climb onto them, but he is very determined and it didn't take him long to figure it out.  The chairs are now on top of the treadmill.  The regular desk chairs ended up on top of the dining room table.  I should probably just put away the pens/pencils/etc but I am guessing Joel would find something else he "has" to have.  Right now our eating situation consists of Vince at his little table, Joel in his highchair and either Brad or I joining Vince at his little table while the other either stands or takes a stool down to sit on.  It is ridiculous, but oh well!

Office chairs living on top of the treadmill...no it hasn't been used much lately

I thought I had all the climbing taken care of and was feeling pretty good about myself.  Then Joel found something else to climb.  Joel was cranky one day last week (probably because I took away most of his climbing spots) and he went in the bathroom and started playing in the sink.  I turned the water on and he was having a blast.  I ran upstairs real quick to get towels.  When I came back downstairs, no more than 1 minute later, this is what I found.....

Joel very proud of himself

 I thought maybe while I was upstairs something would fall in the toilet, more water would be on the floor or Joel would be wet and running around the house.  Climbing into the sink never occurred to me!

I have to admit that the look he gives when he gets to the top of whatever he is climbing is absolutely adorable and melts my heart.  The laugh he gives when he knows he has been caught is just too cute and it takes everything I have not to laugh or smile at him!

I wrote this last week and never posted it and then this week Joel was sick and hardly moved from the couch for a day and a half.  The break from his climbing was nice but after 1 day I was wishing he would go back to climbing!