A Watchful Eye

Oh my Lord! If today wasn't one of the most exhausting days?!? We started off on a comical note, which is always a sign that it's going to be an interesting day! 

I don't know what I did differently in combing Zoey's hair last night, but something went terribly wrong, causing her to wake up looking like this:

Whoa Nellie!

"Oh Mom, what's the big deal?"...

and then she saw herself in the mirror...

"Ahhhh!"

(Ok, she didn't really look in the mirror, but I'm sure this would have been her reaction if she had! ;)

Once we calmed down her 'do, it was downstairs for some playtime. Today was my first day alone with a mobile Zoey, and right away, I forgot that she was in need of a much more watchful eye. I sat her down on her blanket and walked into the kitchen to start preparing my breakfast. When I turned around to check on her (probably about 10 seconds later), she was gone!! My heart skipped a beat as I ran back into the living room and I quickly let out a sigh of relief when I found her a few feet away, hiding next to the couch. Phew! No harm done. 

Getting breakfast prepared was no easy feat. I had to keep snatching Zoey up and putting her back down where I could see her. She was either getting too close to the coffee table, going next to the couch where I couldn't see her, or making her way to the dog blanket and kennel (off limits!). 

Eventually, I decided to give our "sitting room" a try as the new playroom. Only problem there...the sitting room is open to the dining room and the dining room still has a bunch of non baby friendly stuff on the floor. 

Solution:

My homemade "baby gate"! 

The chairs from our breakfast table are nice and heavy, so I didn't have to worry about Zoey moving them, or one of them falling on her.

My "gate" did it's job, but I don't think it will be a match for her, once she starts really crawling...

I've been looking at actual baby gates and man, they are not cheap! And it doesn't help that the entrances to most of our downstairs rooms are much larger than a typical doorway; it's a pretty open floor plan. We may need to consider a playpen (which makes me think of the cartoon, Rugrats! Fingers crossed that my kids are never THAT mischievous!)

Love watching her learn!

She's grabbing onto the bunny's fur. I used to have to guide her hand there, but now she goes straight to it and likes feeling how soft it is :)

Applesauce!

Out of the ice cube tray and into a labeled freezer bag!

I am usually a night owl, but tonight, I can't wait to hit the hay! I am beat!