The Gate Goes Up, The Crib Breaks Down

Yep, the gate went up today. It only took a moment for Annie to figure out what this new fixture meant.
Poor Annie. She was NOT happy! But something bad happened to Leia today too . . .
As Brian says, "Honestly, I don't WANT to remember this incident!" Still, this is my journal, and I'm also recording all of my failures here. (How long has it been since the last one? Two days, maybe?) I have said many times that the girls have a special sister time together after Annie wakes from her nap. This sister time always involved Leia Rose getting into the crib with Annie and jumping around. I was fine with this, except for one thing: Leia often would hold on to the side, jump as high as she could, let go, and then slam her whole body down to create the biggest bounce. I forbade her to do this time and time again. Well, today she disobeyed me and, during her forbidden bunnel/body slam, broke the crib. I heard it snap, and Leia's and Annie's eyes got as wide as saucers. This is a picture of the damage, which for a while Brian and I thought was irreparable in regards to this precious family heirloom. Long story short, we both got angry. We both said things we didn't mean. (Brian sometimes has a bigger problem with this than I do.) And even though the broken crib wasn't entirely her fault, Leia Rose spent the majority of the afternoon in her room, and it was the only time in the history of our parenting that we told her that she "would be spanked" if she ever got into that crib again. Further, I am incredibly sad that the special sister alone time that Leia and Annie used to share will probably end now that the intrigue of the crib-getting-in is totally gone. And in hindsight, I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'll even sacrifice part of a family heirloom to bring my children closer. Still, three generations of children in the family slept in that crib, and it took little waif of a Leia Rose to break it.
I was so proud of Brian tonight for using our available materials to achieve this permanent fix: bracing both sides of the crib with the strongest wood available (our extra hardwood floorboard) and screwing them securely to the old wood. You can't even see the break now, can you? Annie never slept more soundly. Thank goodness! I would have been HEARTBROKEN if this crib was ruined. I'm hoping that Leia & Annie will someday use it for their children!

Let's end on a lighter note . . .

Ironically, the title of this post comes from an old Sesame Street song called "The Ball Goes Up." And recently, Leia Rose and I have created our own words to it: "The suds go up, the suds go down, the bubbles swirling around and round. I'll wash. You dry. Heads-up, heads-up french fry!" [Laughter]