baby safe...

Oh the drama. Alexis is on the move. What was an awkward, three step, slow stutter crawl has become an all out dash across the floor. With hands pattering and knees scraping (can't imagine that feels good), she moves from one place to another. She makes an adorable, high pitched panting noise too, as if it was the most exciting yet strenuous thing she'd done that day (which it very well may be). And the mission? To get to something that she's not supposed to have as quickly as possible, preferably before mom and dad see what she's trying to grab.

Case in point? Jamie has the upstairs room of our 1950's Cape bedecked like a theater. It's by no means the glamorous home theaters some people have, but this room has a big TV, horror collectibles along the walls, and movie posters hung everywhere, covering what would be the slanted ceiling in the room.

Alexis and Jamie spend some time up there on his one-on-one days with her. Large and carpeted, it's a great place to practice her crawling skills. It's not baby-proofed yet though. In a blink of an eye should could grab a hold of mini-Freddy Krueger and pop him in her mouth. His bladed fingers would no doubt get stuck in her throat and an emergency procedure would ensue (though that would be one heck of a story for her to tell when she got older).

Yesterday, as she skittered around, Jamie said she sat on her butt, reached next to her, and moved her hand to her mouth in a matter of seconds. Jamie leaped from the couch, pried her mouth open in the same way we do with the dogs when they've gotten a hold of something naughty, and pulled out a THUMB TACK! After hearing the story, I immediately decided that Alexis is getting dropped off somewhere this weekend and Jamie and I are clearing all small plastic edibles from toddler level. I refuse to purchase a toilet lock (really??), but there are plenty of things for her to grab a hold of and tip onto her noggin'.

She'll be faced with plenty more inanimate (or maybe even living) things that she'll be able to grasp and attempt to eat, but at least we'll know that the $65 Texas Chainsaw Massacre model home will not lose its precious Leatherface figurine.