Our apartment complex has 12 buildings. Each building has multiple "entrances". And each entrance leads to a concrete stairwell with 2 apartments on each landing. Our address is "building 8, entrance 2, apartment 401".
We like to go outside - to play, enjoy the weather, do a little shopping, visit friends, whatever. One big obstacle lies between apartment 401 and the great outdoors: the stairwell.
Julianna can do the stairs on her own (a BIG improvement over last fall when I carried both girls up and down). But, she does them at her own pace. It's not that she is a slow stair climber (she's actually pretty fast). It's just that she is an "easily distracted" stair climber. She loves to stop and look around - in a concrete stairwell, there isn't a lot to look at, but you'd be amazed at what she can find. Even a big clod of dirt is worthy of observation!
On the way down she typically moves faster. I think it's the lure of the outdoors - she is ready to get out and play. That's good news for me, since on our first trip out each day, I am often carrying the stroller, and Lydia, and my keys, and my phone, and my wallet, and.... well, you get the picture. On Saturday I also carried the camera - here's Julianna on her way down the stairs.
One of her favorite new things to do on the way up is stop and look back at her progress. When you stop to turn around every third step, you don't make a lot of progress, but she likes to check it out anyways.
With so many steps between the ground floor and good 'ole apartment 401, we all loose count and forget what landing we're on. Julianna can't read the apartment numbers, so we keep a poster or some type of "art" on our door so she knows when we're home. She loves to turn the corner at the top of each flight and say, "is this our house?"
Here she finally made it!
It won't be long before Lydia is taking her first steps, and I'm sure she'll be anxious to climb the stairs too. Seems like I've got MANY more hours to spend in the stairwell!
5 comments:
What a cute story about an everyday event! Julianna certainly looks happy to have found her door. Love, Mom/Grandmama
The fruit of patience...huh friend?:) I have many of the same kinds of ordeals getting to the 6th floor here at the tower! We do have an elevator, but a LONG hallway to walk down, which we are at the end of! Lizzy has been known to stop at all ther other (16) doorways on our way...usually not all of them in the same trip, but you know what I mean. To make things even more exciting, people often leave out bowls of candy or cookies for us to have to walk by everytime we go somewhere! It is a sweet gesture...but a temptation that no 2 year old can resist!
I am sure that the memory of the stairwell will be very dear to you someday:)
By the way, as I took the couple of minutes to type this Lizzy was eating breakfast...she spilled on herself...then she disappeared...I heard water...I asked the boys "IS Lizzy giving herself a bath?"...Sam ran around the corner..."YEP". Wow! I tell you this spunky sweet girl keeps me running in circles:) She is standing in front of me now with a diaper and some clean PJ's singing "Love Him in the morning..." I better stop typing now:)
Does it bring back memories of living on the 4th floor of Cobb for two years? I remember that the worst thing in the world was to get all the way to the bottom and realize it was raining and my umbrella was still in my room. I hope that never happens to you.
What an adventure...DAILY!!! :-) It IS fun to hear about the everyday events in your life!!
This reminds me (a bit) of when Jason and I spent time in the Czech Republic - we stayed in a "host home"/apartment in a huge complex. We had to walk up (and down) 8 flights of stairs each day...I can't imagine doing that with a toddler AND a baby!!! :-)
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