Baby Gates Installed, 1 Person Injured

As you know, Sydney's been crawling for months. She's learned how to climb up the stairs by herself, and she can now climb down the stairs as well. She's taking steps and will be walking by herself any day now. However, all these new abilities have made Sydney a true menace to society. She's getting into all kinds of things she shouldn't be getting into, playing on the stairs, and just making her mommy a worried wreck. As Cesar Milan might say, it's time for some boundaries, rules, and limitations!

So - I finally gave in and bought baby gates. At first, Sydney made it very clear that the gates were unacceptable. She tried to climb through them, rattled the bars, and voiced her frustration. However, she seems to be getting used to them. Daddy - on the other hand - is having serious problems getting used to the gates. Yesterday, after he'd put Sydney to sleep, she apparently let out a "blood curdling" scream. He immediately dropped everything and went running to her aid. However, he forgot about the baby gate and had a tremendously unfortunate collision. Apparently, the baby gate went flying, and daddy landed on top of it. Needless to say, he's got bruises to back up his story.

When I returned home last night, I worked with Tom to re-install the gate. Everything was just about getting back to normal, when Tom managed to bust through the gate again! He says he's just not used to it and that he's not necessarily looking down when he walks through the hallway. So - Sydney and I erected a sign to help him (see picture). We're really hoping that this new sign will help prevent any future injuries.