Ollie Ollie Oxen Free!!

To give Ollie some freedom to safely roam, we've come up with a short checklist of barriers/fixes to keep him out of trouble:

• Close the door to the upstairs.
• Close the bedroom doors.
• Close the doors to the bathrooms.
• Drape the ottoman with a comforter.
• Turn the dining room chairs facing out (so they can't be tipped over).
• Lock the laundry closet doors.
• Close the pantry door.
• Put coasters out of reach.
  

If we do all these things, "the loop" (hallway, kitchen, dining room, living room) is pretty safe. Ollie can't get into too much trouble. Yesterday morning, Mike and I were in the living room talking over our morning coffee and Merrit was at the dining room table playing with his erector set. Ollie had toddled out of the living room and down the hall. We weren't really watching him because we thought the loop was secure.

I said, "It's awfully quiet....Where's Ollie?"

We both got up and I went down the hall while Mike went through the dining room. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw that the door to the upstairs was open, just as Mike went dashing through the door and up the stairs. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs, he was standing at the top, with Ollie in his arms, with his eyes wide and a look on his face that said, "Oh my gosh, THAT was close!"

Ollie had climbed to the top of the stairs all by himself. Thank God he kept his balance and made it safely all the way to the top. (He's been practicing stairs, but always with a spotter!!)

Whew! Huuuuuuuge sigh of relief!!

Now, the question is: WHO left that door open?!