O Tannenbaum, Day 0.5

Well, Murray and I got the Christmas tree up yesterday during Gulliver's periods of wakefulness. I loved all the good advice I got, so this is where I'm at so far:

We put up the tree not in the place where the image from the last post showed, but in the place where we put it a year ago---it's kindof in a corner between the couches. So already, the tree is 80% protected.




I did not put ornaments on the lower 1/4 of the tree (although some beaded garland may be hanging a little low currently) except for some nice fabric ones that will come off the the tree easily and will not break.

I loved Azucar's advice of wrapping very heavy boxes. So I figure that will become my primary line of defense if Gulliver becomes interested in the tree. I even thought that I could wrap them in nice FABRIC, which Gulliver won't be able to tear. Smart, huh? And then, I can bring out these "box barrier bags" every year as part of the whole Christmas decoration, because guess what--we're going to keep having children, so I need to keep worrying about this problem for the next decade.

So then this morning I put Gulliver down in the living room and let him explore. No interest at all in the tree. I brought out the vacuum (gasp! on the Sabbath!---I know, I know) to make sure I got all the little pieces of crud on my carpet that were left over from putting up the tree, because having a self feeder means that he feeds himself carpet crud. He was very interested in the vacuum, and when the skinny nose attachment fell off of it, it was even more exciting because that became a weapon of assault that he could use to attack the vacuum as I tried to work around him.

But even after I put away the vacuum and Gulliver was ready to play again, he still wasn't interested in the tree. He ventured over because he is now much closer to being able to access Kermit, who is sitting happily near the tree. But he didn't grab the tree.

So. Day 0.5 has been a success! (And he is currently playing happily in the kitchen where he has taken everything out of the bottom drawer, but don't worry! I moved all the blades to very safe places and filled the accessible drawers with linens.)


3 comments:

jeri said...

Love the idea of the fabric barriers. Trust you to make baby-proofing fabulous.

Rural Dee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rural Dee said...

Hey Cicada, haven't checked your blog for awhile! I love the new layout. I can tell your family is AWESOME, I wish we lived closer and then we would have to hang out. I've missed you and your wit! I've also missed your asparagus with that lemony sauce. Remember when you cooked for the IS group that one time? Dang. I am still drooling! Have a good Christmas season!

P.S. I wish I could help you with the whole baby/tree thing, but my #1 was afraid of the tree, which solved that problem. Sounds like Gulliver is a little more adventurous. Those are some really good ideas from everyone else, though!