you’d thing that if we know that odin loves climbing stairs – even if he might not quite have thoroughly mastered the safest way to back down them – that we might have cleverly surmised that rather than blocking him from the stair entirely with The Gate that it might be better to rig it so that he could climb up a few steps, providing him with the opportunity to relatively safely experiment with a variety of techniques for getting back down the stairs without risking grevious bodily harm.

some things are a lot more obvious after a sister-in-law with a kids of her own points them out to you.

after tumbling down the couple of steps a few times we’re happy to report that odin is safely discerning the the relative risks associated with the stairs without suffering any additional Really Big Ouchies.

it’s amazing how much a relatively simple change in his environment can instantly create an opportunity for him to challenge himself and gain confidence in his own abilities.