You might have a climber...

I wish I could remember who to give credit to on this one, but instead I'll just have to say this was inspired by a blog I saw awhile ago and hope to add the reference later.

Some time ago one of my fellow bloggers posted a quote (yes, I'm paraphrasing!) about hyperactive children. It went something like - all children climb on things. Your child might be hyperactive if he climbs on top of the refrigerator. She then posted a picture of her son in a spiderman costume climbing on the car windshield.

I laughed and thought of the story my husband had told about how his parents had taken away the cape from his superman costume so he'd stop trying to fly, but then I forgot.

I mentioned it to him awhile later and he looked at me and said - oh, I used to climb on top of the refrigerator.

I stopped what I was doing to stare. The things is - I was a climber as a kid. But this was always out of necessity. I had a very late growth spurt, so climbing was part of overcoming and adapting to the world. I climbed on the counter to get a glass for a drink. I climbed on the bathroom vanity to get a band aid. And, ok, yes, I did climb too high in our tree - but trees are meant to be climbed!

But here's the thing - he'd actually "done" the hyperbolic example!

I meant to blog about that then, but forgot.

Until this weekend... when my 16 month old daughter, who had shown *some* interest in climbing - up on the couch and chairs, going up the stairs, that sort of thing - climbed up into her high chair on her own.

I had my back turned and couldn't figure out how she'd managed to get up there. I had to wait to see her do it again. She put her knee up to the foot rest (about her chest level) with her hands on the seat. Once she got herself up that far, she moved her hands to the arm rests to get further up on the foot rest and then moved her hands to the back of the chair to pull herself into the seat.

My husband looked at me and said - on the one hand, I'm really impressed. On the other, oh crap.