New Furnature
Greetings to you all.
For some time Rebecca and I have wanted to get Xavier a little desk and chair, preferably one with some shelving. We've shopped around and kept our eyes open. A month or so ago we found a suitable desk set at Costco. However, several surprise emergency expenditures left our budget raw and bleeding. We were not able to pick the set up. Costco cycles items out quickly, but we thought it would be available on-line later.
We pulled the trigger on getting the desk set last weekend. Xavier's great aunt, Mary Jo, gave him a nice little gift last year. We have been holding on to it, thinking it would go toward an indoor climbing gym. We decided Xavier needed a desk more than the gym. Rebecca hit Costco and found the set on clearance at a savings of $40. The set consists of four pieces: the desk (with shelving built into the leg stretchers), a two person bench and two chairs.
Last night, after dinner, Rebecca headed for church (she would miss Sunday because of Guard Weekend; I stayed home with Xavier as he does not do well away from home after about 6:30 at night, it's too close to his bed time). I cleaned up the kitchen from dinner, grabbed a toolbox, and said "Xavier! Let's go build your desk." (yes, some assembly was required)
Xavier excitedly followed me into Middle Earth, his eyes on my toolbox the whole time. It took an hour to assemble the desk, bench and chairs. Most of that was keeping Xavier away from dangerous items he found in the toolbox.
Why is it fun to dig out six screwdrivers, hold them all at once (the blades and shafts pointing in all directions), then stand up and toddle (or run) to somewhere else in the room? How is it Xavier can skip all of the safe items in the toolbox, and find the one loose razor blade (he had to dig for it)? He also found the tiny wire nuts fun to suck on. Did I mention they were tiny, about half an inch in length? After he discovered the socket wrench set, I picked up sockets all night, or chased Xavier down before he could "store" sockets away in some secret place like a squirrel.
The list goes on. Xavier had a blast. The assembly project might have taken :20 minutes instead of an hour. This is why I don't have pictures of Xavier doing actual helping with the assembly. There wasn't time between his juggling razor-sharp items for me to fetch my camera.
But help he did. He saw Daddy using a ratchet wrench, and he had to get in on that! Together, we tightened many nuts onto many bolts.
We got it set up in his room. Xavier loves it! He sits in the chair playing with toys. The desk has even dampened his determination to push chairs around the kitchen and get into mischief on the counters, stove and sink. But closing one Pandora's Box opens another. Xavier uses his chairs to reach the items on his changing table, the items we want handy, but not within Xavier's reach. The baby monitor; diaper cream; hand lotion (which he pumps and smears all over his dresser); the wipes which he pulls out one after the other like Kleenex.