Bag Lady

When we moved into our house 9 years ago we never imagined the hassle our floor plan would create with small children in the house. Having Evy's room on a different floor than ours really became an issue once we moved her into her big girl bed. We strictly enforced a "do not get out of bed" rule as we didn't want her roaming around on a different floor or attempting the stairs on her own in the middle of the night. She became accustomed to us retrieving her from her room each morning and helping her carry her blankets and stuffed animal "friends" down the stairs. The "do not get out of bed" rule first backfired when she was potty trained. She was so used to the rule that she would yell for us to help her go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. With much bribery and praise she now mostly goes on her own. The "do not get out of bed" rule has also backfired on us now that we want her to get out of bed and come down the stairs on her own. She has a hard time getting through the baby gate and carrying all of her stuff down the stairs. A few weeks ago Aunt Julie gave us a shopping bag full of books which I left in Evy's room. The next morning I watched on the monitor as Evy packed her blankets and stuffed animals into the shopping bag. She sat the bag down as she opened the baby gate and walked down the stairs on her own, hands free. Problem solved...until the shopping bag rips.