gabriel's little choo-choo

We do what we can around here to keep Gabriel safe and out of trouble (aka corralled into one Gabriel-proofed area of the house).


These are a few of the precautions we have taken:

• gate to keep him from going up the stairs or have access to the front door
• back door lock out of reach (at least until he can scoot the chair over to the door - sshhhhh, it'll be our secret)
• garage door locked at all times with a key and garage door kept closed at all times (just in case plan 'a' fails)
• locks on all kitchen cabinets and drawers (not so much a safety issue as a clean up issue)
• bathtub handle taken off so we don't find him 'swimming' fully clothed
• gate on bedroom door so he won't wander, make a mess around the house, or wake his sister while the rest of the family is sleeping (we have yet to figure out a way to keep his clothes from being strewn about the room)
  

The majority of these are to keep Gabriel inside the home and not wandering the streets of our neighborhood, as he has in the past. He can take off without a thought - and he's fast, too. Gone in a flash. For the most part, containment at home has proven successful. My worries are while we are away from our little prison. It seems that almost anywhere we have gone, Mr. Houdini has been able to slip out. Generally, he knocks on a neighbor's door and he's brought back to our worried (or sometimes oblivious) arms. I worry that he'll get wise to the neighbors and keep on truckin' down the road next time.

For these times, we got him an ID bracelet. He's bound to escape again, and this gives me an ever so slight peace of mind. We call it his little choo-choo because there is a train on it that he proudly shows off. It has his name, address, phone number. I wanted to add the suggested "Mommy Loves Me" to prove to anyone who may come across my lone 3 year old, that he is loved and missed by his obviously neglectful mother, and to please return him to me - but there was no room left on the tag. I guess I'll just have to explain it in person.