"We have a runner!"

In a recent episode of Modern Family Cam and Mitch attach a baby leash to their 3 year old daughter, Lily so she won't run away on a trip to Disneyland.  Since I've been a mom I've noticed more babies in general and on the streets in NYC I've seen plenty of babies on leashes.  In the show Cam and Mitch feel very self conscious about having Lily on a leash, but I think its a very practical idea.  My one year old is definitely a runner.  We open the door to the hallway and he bolts to the elevator and bangs on the door to go down.  There are also stairs, behind a door adjacent to the elevator, and this kid has no sense of any fear.  He loves stairs and will beeline toward them so if you're not quick enough that's where he's headed next.  He doesn't take after me at all. I was always very careful and scared of dangerous thing, loud things and heights taller than me (still am).  On the street he's very fond of cars and will pull you toward the street to get a closer look.  He loves loud noises and gets very excited when we turn the vacuum cleaner on.  He tries to out-scream it (and we have a very loud vacuum).  Like I said no sense of danger or fear.  Climbing onto high surfaces like a 3.5 ft couch table and then trying to walk off is his idea of a great time (luckily so far we've always caught him!)  For a kid like this strapping him in a stroller or on a leash in non baby proof or public places is a very safe and necessary idea if we want him to survive to age 2.

Lily on a Leash

I guess if you put an animal on their back it looks cuter than the dog leashes? 

I was looking for a funny picture of a person walking their dog and baby on leashes together, but couldn't find one.   

Please submit if you do!

(or a baby on a leash and a dog in a stroller, that would be just as good! ;)

Favorite Word

Our baby is now officially a Toddler at 13+ months he is walk/running everywhere.  And his vocabulary is growing quite a bit.  Unfortunately one of his favorite phrases to say recently sounds like "oh shit."  He walks around the apartment now saying "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" and everyone asks if that's really what he's saying.  I may have said "shit" once or twice but usually its just once, probably because I'm a klutz and can't walk without hurting or burning myself.  I don't walk around all day cursing like my potty mouth kid.  It's actually really funny and its hard not to laugh or egg him on.  We are such terrible parents encouraging language like this in a kid who doesn't even say Mama or Dada to us yet. 

Aside from the cursing I wonder if we are confusing him on what things are.  When I say, "Where's Mama?"  Instead of pointing to me he will point to a picture of us on the wall.  Great, now not only does he not know I'm Mama, he thinks the picture of me is Mama.  I feel like an absentee mother. 


He points to everything and we will name things as best we can, but some things we've taught him the English word and other things we've taught him the Russian word and his babysitters all speak Spanish, or English with a Spanish accent.  I've heard kids in bilingual household take longer to speak so I guess for now we'll be using the universal language of cursing.  Oh *&$%!