GRAMMY!

Lincoln gets into more trouble than his older siblings did at the same age. Why that is, I'm not sure. All the children are clever and obstinate at times, so the older trio certainly have the capacity for trouble making. Did we keep a closer eye on the trio when they were younger because we had a better adult: child ratio so that they lacked the opportunity to foment trouble? Are we adult caregivers just too exhausted to enforce the rules as strictly as we used to?

Whatever the reason, Lincoln is a handful some days. Last month he discovered that not only could he unlock the lower lock of the front door and turn the knob, but he could also reach and undo the dead bolt. He could leave the house whenever he wanted! How cool is that? 

Kara and I started discussing ways to keep that door shut. Add an alarm? Change the upper lock for a stiffer one--but that would lock great-grandma in, too. We could add a second higher up dead lock, but that would stop great-grandma as well. Then I came across (they were in a drawer in the garage) those little plastic globe shaped contraptions that you can put over knobs so adults can still turn the knob, but little hands can't. I placed them on Lincoln and Evan's bedroom door (so L couldn't visit E while E was napping), on the mudroom door (so L couldn’t get into the garage) and on the front door.

That worked for a couple of weeks and then Lincoln figured out that if you hammer on the globe it falls off. I put my thinking cap on and I decided to just tape the hinges after I put the contraption on the knob. It would be too difficult for Lincoln to get the tape off and therefore he couldn't take the globe off. I was so proud of my idea that I called Lincoln over and pointed to the mudroom door knob and told him that I had fixed it so he couldn't get the globe off any more. I asked him if he wanted to try to remove it. He turned his back on me and walked away. I wondered if he had understood what I was telling him.

The next day Lincoln tried to get out the front door where a taped globe was in place, another one that I had "fixed". He tried for a minute or two and then he said really loudly and with a great deal of frustration in his voice "GRAMMY!". 

WOW! I was so surprised. That boy never calls me by my name. We have a game we play where I try to get him to call me grandma and he laughs and calls me mommy. He has a special name for great-grandma, but not for me. So Lincoln finally uses my name...but more as a curse word than a term of affection. I'm not sure I scored a win with that, but at least the almost two year old is not able to leave the house unaccompanied.