Why? Because it's really hard to keep two year old toddlers alive. Jack has learned to climb up onto our pub height chairs to get into his seat. He has learned to use boxes, buckets, and rice cookers as step stools to reach the silverware drawer. He loves jumping off the last step on the stairs while screaming "boom!" He likes to turn his toy bins over and use them to jump off. He jumps off the arm of the couch. Are you all getting the picture? Excellent.
There's a reason we celebrate birthdays and milestones. It's not a way of measuring time, but rather a celebration of the fact that the tiny human you've been raising to grow into adulthood hasn't yet managed to kill themselves. This isn't a concept that is new to only me. I usually spend a good chunk of time comparing my child's antics to those of my friends' kids.
Case in point: Saturday, Todd and I were trying to figure out how to manage some minor plumbing issues without bringing in a licensed plumber. Saving money and what not. Jack and I took the first trip to Home Depot together. It was a warm, muggy morning. As we were leaving, I stuck him in his carseat and left the van door open to return the shopping cart (I've made a habit of doing this when it's hot out.) On my way back, I pushed the button on the remote to shut the door and got in the driver's seat. Jack started grunting and stretched to hand me a lollipop that he had received from a man in the store (legitimately, not creepy style-the guy was offering water sample kits.) I thought nothing of it.
Jack didn't make a peep on the way home. He sat sucking on his lollipop and I would check on him to ensure that he wasn't choking on it. Only when I got home and got around the side of the van did I realize that he spent the last 10 minute ride unstrapped from his carseat. He must have realized it at that point as well because I opened the door and he said "uh oh." My response may have been a little more PG-13 than his.
Jack has never been a fighter when it comes to getting in his seat. I think we had some issues about a year ago when he was too short to see out the window and went through a phase of hating the car. We bought a DVD player for the van and he's been happy to sit in his seat ever since. I've never left him unstrapped and he's never been interested in attempting to unbuckle his own straps, in fact, he usually helps by putting his own arms in the straps. Putting him into his carseat and strapping him in has always been as automatic as me putting on my own seat belt. I think our routine is so ingrained in Jack that he didn't even realize he was unbuckled. I got lucky. He didn't try to climb down from his seat and I didn't have any reason to slam on my breaks.
Moments like this make me happy that we've got someone watching over us. I like to think that Jack's guardian angel that day was my dad. Thank you dad, for keeping us safe.
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