The Escape Artist

Remember how I was saying that Niall's got some tricks up his sleeve with the remote control?  Well, it turns out he's got a lot more tricks than that. That was just the beginning of his newly acquired skills this past week.  See this?...

A crib, you say?  With some stuffed animals in it.  Good observation.  But that's not what this is.  This is the site of Niall's latest magic trick: it's called "the escape artist."

Niall woke up at 5:30 this morning, and even though I knew it was because of the time change, I also knew that I needed to help him adjust.  I've been reading a lot about sleep training lately because of Niall's crazy patterns lately (screaming for an hour before crying himself to sleep each night and then waking up really early, etc).  Anyway, they say to pop your head in after 10-15 minutes of crying and say something like "It's ok, Niall.  Mommy's here, you can go back to sleep now.  I'll see you in the morning."  And then leave after 30 seconds.

So that's what I did this morning.  After I shut his door and mine, I could hear him crying in the distance and set my alarm for 15 more minutes until I would go pop back in on him (if he was still upset).  But all of a sudden, the crying got louder and closer.

It really freaked me out as I started groggily putting the pieces together.  It was like my brain was struggling to keep up with reality in those 5 seconds or so.  I remember thinking "Hmm, those cries sound weirdly close" and then "Wait, could he have?" followed be "OH MY GOD!" and jumping out of bed to the sound of my door handle jiggling.

Sure enough, there was Niall standing at my door.  It was weird the way my 2 year old had the same effect on me as a good horror movie.  I was totally shocked and scared when I saw him at my feet.

There is really no ledge or place for him to get his footing on the rails of that crib.  I don't know how he got out of there without hurting himself or making a loud thud as he plopped to the ground.  Then, even crazier, he managed to grab his turtle and his water cup to bring with him...

Then, he opened 2 sets of doors...

And that's about when I had my mini heart attack.

So much for the nursery paintings I finished and put above his crib.  Now that will be baby Brendan's crib.  Time for Niall to get a toddler bed and move across the room.  Oh well, I'm sure there will be plenty more tricks to come.

Niall loves your votes!