Monkey's Domain

Brian made a really insightful comment this morning that I needed to share. He said, "It seems that the more space that Monkey takes up means less space for us." Oh, and by insightful, I meant obvious... but it is still a really good comment. Mostly because he is right.
And the reason he made that comment this morning?

So, what's going on in these photos?  Let's review.

Photo #1:  Monkey is in his bouncy chair... because that is how he rolls. We still have the adult couches and TV... but pretty much everything else is Monkey's (we'll talk more about the gate a little later).

Photo #2: Yup, there is still a not childproof fan sitting next to the television, but the plug for the fan is now outside the gate.  And yes, Monkey is watching Good Morning America.  He likes to see the weather and traffic.  I'm not kidding, he stops whatever he is doing when those items come on and watches the TV. 

Photo #3: I replaced the rug (or most of it, apparently I underestimated the size of the area) with baby proof alphabet and number tiles.  The final transformation will occur this weekend.

And so now a whole quarter of our first floor (maybe a little bit more but fractions and I were never friends) is all for baby. 

Now, let's take a minute to discuss the gate.  I hate it.  I really really hate it.  I hate that I have made it so my child can't explore his living area.  I hate these photos:

But, I have decided that this is a necessary evil (not a necessary evil like invading your personal liberties under the guise of saving our country from terrorists... oops, looks like my political leanings slipped in), but a necessary evil for the safety of Monkey and the sanity of Mommy.

You see, the loft just isn't baby friendly.  There are too many exposed outlets, too many cat food bowls and water bowls, too many ant traps, too many cat toys, etc, etc, etc.  And rather than spending my days following Monkey around the loft, I decided he needed to be in a child friendly space at all times. 

So, I will save these prison photos for when he goes to therapy as an adult.   I mean, he's going to need something to talk about... right?  Or, better, maybe I'll mess with him and tell him that I was the one inside the gates and he was outside the gates... oh, the possibilities.