Milestones – The Good, the Bad, and the Open

We all love those precious milestones in a child’s life – the first smile, the tottering steps, swimming, riding a bike, the first day of school.

But then you have the dark side of milestones – those events that, yes, may be developmentally appropriate and even necessary, but require a household paradigm shift for everyone’s safety and sanity.

So it is around here as Ainsley attempts to crawl through a minefield of Legos. I have actually banned marbles and magnets, but Legos are a non-negotiable part of the Dolin landscape.

Ainsley is also eating us out of house and home. My sister Kate loves this stage. I, however, am reminded of a line in the movie Baby Boom. The would-be dad scrapes baby food off the floor and comments, “It might be easier to move.” I just spent three days applying a little elbow grease to an unidentifiable splotch of hardened food under the dining room table.

Other milestones we don’t necessarily celebrate:

- Saying (yelling, shrieking) the word “no.”
- Opening an inside door.
- Opening the refrigerator.
- Opening an outside door.
- Opening anything else. Open is bad. We prefer closed. And locked.
- Learning the art of “a little boost.” Think: If I stand on this jar of
peanut butter, I’ll be able to reach the cookies.
- De-coding the child-proof locks on the kitchen cabinets.
- Climbing out of the crib.

Which milestones do you enjoy? Which ones do you simply endure?