Increased mobility

Matthew is now putting together scooting, rolling and pushing himself backward (in an unsuccessful attempt to crawl forward) to move himself around maybe 4 feet or so. This results in him not being in the same place where I left him, he often moves out of my sight, gets into Sam's toys and sometimes gets stuck under the couch, as seen in the picture. I knew it would come to this eventually, but I am not mentally prepared for this change. When I'm getting ready in the bathroom I can no longer confine him to the bouncy seat, so I have him sit on the floor outside the bathroom as it's carpeted there, and he plays with a box of treasures. Matthew's Box of Treasures is a wicker basket filled with treasures like a gift bow, some balls, a highlighter, a metal candle container, a small empty paperboard box, a random toy car or bath toy, a ribbon and a large piece of felt. They are diverse materials designed to stimulate Matthew's senses. Actually, it's filled with basically what I found in the hallway when I was scrambling to find something to keep Matthew occupied while I got ready in the morning. They were items that Sam had dragged out of their places and left wherever he felt like leaving them.

Sam is becoming more mobile too. He has tried to scale the shelves in the pantry to get to snacks and other untouchables. I move them higher and higher, but he seems to find a way around my defense tactics. He also takes chairs, stools and other objects like boxes or the potty chair to wherever he pleases and uses them to boost himself higher. Almost no place in the kitchen is safe anymore. I have no where to put my cell phone which is out of his reach, but easily within mine. I put a few items in the cupboard above the fridge, but that isn't exactly an easy place to retrieve them from when needed. Every morning he takes the stool from the guest bath (which I sit on during bath time) and brings it into Jason and my bedroom and turns on the ceiling fan. Or he takes it into his bedroom and tries to get into his crib to retrieve BaaBaa. I make him return it, but it is seriously annoying.

PS Matthew is doing much better now. He still has a cold, but we had an uneventful night last night and day so far.