Manifest Destiny

This weekend marked an important milestone in any baby’s life: Isobel’s first successful attempt to get through the cat door from the kitchen into the garage.

It also marked her second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh successful passage.

By Sunday night Anthony and I were running over to the kitchen several times an hour pulling her away from the cat flap sternly repeating, “Not for Isobel! Not for Isobel!”

She became obsessed with the cat door and the magic of the garage beyond, which include such delights as cat food (a delicacy!), random workout gear, and a new frontier ripe for exploration.

You could tell by her fiercely determined expression she believed the garage was her Manifest Destiny.

We tried locking the cat door from the inside but she’s too smart for that. She would move the locking tab to the side with her toe and in the next second she’d be gone and I’d hear muffled voice on the other side of the garage door triumphantly exclaiming, “Kitty! Kitty!”

After about two hours of running back and forth we finally decided that Isobel would get her first Time Out. She’s so young and we weren’t sure she’d understand, but the garage is dangerous and we were exhausted. It was clear she knew we did not want her going through the cat door and she was doing it anyway.

We decided that her punishment for trying to go through the door would be to put her in her crib for two minutes. It didn’t take long before she was in the crib. As soon as Anthony left the room she sobbed heartily and we could hear her shouting over and over “UP! UP! DOWN!”

It was so pathetic we couldn’t help but laugh. In the end she had three Time Outs before she stopped trying to go into the garage. I consider that a success. Poor thing sure hates her crib.

We are still pleased with Isobel’s haircut and it surprises us sometimes at what a difference a trim made. She looks so different. I admit I’m sad and will miss the few times I actually got to do this:

Isobel has flown through babyhood at an alarming rate.  I hope Anthony and I can keep up.