the tiny explorer

So S figured out the whole crawling thing last week, right? I knew it was only a matter of time before she started really moving around. Of course, I thought I had more time than this. She is already "exploring". She is into and curious about everything. She really likes crawling under the desk to play with the vent and attack the power cords for the computer. She even managed to switch the surge protector off yesterday before M could catch her. Needless to say, there is much baby-proofing to do. Much more than we ever realized before we had a little trail blazer on our hands. Yesterday we picked up a couple of outlet covers that protect things that are already plugged in. They also shorten the super-appealing dangling cords. We were trying to find something to attach to the bottom of the desk that would just keep her away from all the cords, but the railnet that I picked up just isn't doing the trick. I'm going out today to pick up a surge protector cover and we'll see how that goes.

It's a bit overwhelming, I'll admit. Who knew there were eight trillion baby-proofing products out there? Some of which just seem like overkill. They make covers and pads and guards for every surface in your home. Every surface. If I wanted, I could essentially make our house one big padded room...and I could get S a helmet, too. Never too careful?

M and I (and all of you) grew up just fine with bumps and bruises. I'm not saying that outlet covers and cabinet locks aren't a good thing because they are. Without a doubt. But a toilet paper guard? Why not close the bathroom door? That's how we keep Otis out of the toilet paper (and the toilet for that matter), and I'm betting it will work for S, too.

I can only imagine how quickly baby-proofing could get out of control. Standing in the safety aisle at Babies R Us yesterday, I was tempted to buy every single item to protect my little girl. Then I remembered that you can't protect your kids from everything (and expect them to grow up even remotely normal). Besides, she's already whacked her head a couple of times and she and I both lived through it.

And you know what else I learned? If you're weird or skittish about anything...just hand your baby to an experienced mom. Case in point: as much as I take S outside, I'd never had her in the grass until yesterday. She was always in her ExerSaucer or her stroller or on a blanket. I was just strangely afraid that the grass would irritate her skin or that she'd roll onto a hill of fire ants or crawl onto an old rusty nail or get attacked by a distant cousin of a basilisk. Something. Enter my friend Stacy. Stacy was holding S yesterday afternoon as we watched her kids stomping around the creek in the park trying to catch frogs. Her daughter decided that she was dirty and needed a shower ASAP, so Stacy plopped S onto the ground. Just like that, my fear of laying her in the grass was gone. I have a feeling there are a lot of things that will be like that. Luckily, most of the people in our neighborhood have kids, so I can always count on them. Baptism by fire sort of thing. And, for the record, S thought the grass was awesome. She kept playing with it and trying to eat it.

Alright, I'm off. We've got places to go and people to see. Happy Monday, peeps.