The Couch!!!!

I have about had it with the couch!!! Last Tuesday Ethan finally figured out how to get on our living room couch. They have both been trying for quite sometime but they were just too small. Ethan is now big enough to get that leg up over the far side of the couch and use his strength to pull himself up. He thinks that he is the biggest boy ever when he gets on the couch. He laughs and runs. It makes me a nervous wreck!

Of course since Ethan is on the couch Miss Paige thinks that she too should be enjoying the fun. By the second day she had figured out that if she moved to the far end of the side with the pull out bed she could get up. The bed side is lower than the other side of the sectional. I looked up one morning and saw two heads running across the couch. Oh No. I tried covering the couch in fitted sheets to minimize the grip for pulling themselves up. I even blocked the couch with their chairs but it was nothing but a small speed bump. Ethan simply moved them and continued to climb up.





After my blockade had failed so miserably I tried to stop the behavior with a simply "no" and taking them down every time. That too was pointless! They now thought it was a game and they were looking for my reaction. They are too young for time out and really this is the first thing that I have not been able to just fix. The fireplace we covered in Plexiglas, coffee table we put in the garage, and the dog door stays in when they are up. We have always been able to solve or avoid every problem with the house thus far.

At this point I thought I would just let them learn. After they fell a few times they would learn to not run on the couch. Well that was stupid. Paige fell a few times and I couldn't handle that one. I decided to put blankets under the cushions on the bed side of the couch to make it higher thus harder to climb. This stopped Paige from being able to conquer the couch but not Ethan. He is simply strong enough to pull his body weight up. Paige did not like the new turn of events and now screams if he is on the couch and she can't get up there. Oh Fun!

I don't really mind them being on the couch I just don't want them standing and running on it. If they would just sit down and crawl when they want to move I would be happy. I thought by this point maybe I could make Ethan understand to sit rather than get down. Ha Ha Ha on me! Every time he got on the couch and stood up I would sit him down and say "sit." I swear I said "sit down" a million times in an hour. He seemed to start to get it somewhat. He would sit as I walked towards him but the minute I walked away he would stand right back up and run. He learned a new word in the mist of all the couch drama. He can now say "sit" too bad is sounds like "shit"! So now he was not only going to break his neck on the couch but he was going to cuss while doing it. Wonderful!

By this time it was Thursday evening and I was cleaning the couch before we had company. I gated in the couch to keep the dogs off while it dried. I left it gated in the next day just to see what happened. The gate around the couch made Ethan so mad. He cried and cried when he saw the gate. He immediately tried to pull it down or move it. The gate worked for one day but it also kept the adults off the couch which makes it pretty pointless to even own. I knew the gate wasn't a permanent fix but I just needed a day of peace.

On Saturday morning Dallas tried another approach. He would not only say no and take Ethan off but he would also go put him in his chair. He would say "this is Ethan's chair" and put him down in it. This seemed to be working after a few times but in reality it was only because we were in the room with him. They got to play on the couch with Grandpa John and Grandma Be Be on Saturday because we were all sitting on it and it was just impossible to try and keep them down. They wanted to sit with us on the couch but they were really running not sitting at all. We tried putting the dog protectors (plastic spike pads) that we borrowed from my brother on when the kids were up but they just moved them. Ethan even stepped on one and made an awful face then he did it again. I swear!As of today, Tuesday, it has been a week since the entire couch issue started and we are exhausted with the whole thing. Paige has gotten over it somewhat because she can't get up by herself any longer. Ethan is still extremely determined to get on the couch simply for a reaction from us. We are continuing to do the exact same thing time after time. Take him down and put him in his chair. Tell him no this is Ethan's chair. He seems to be getting it slowly. Now sometimes when we come to get him he runs to his chair and sits down. He still thinks it is a game but what more do you expect from a 14 month old baby. Everything they do is a big game. Throwing sippy cups to the floor, running when I need to dress them, and even washing their faces in the bath is a game of bite the washrag. I wouldn't change the games for anything its what keeps them happy.

It seems that slowly Ethan is loosing interest in the couch. When he gets on it I see him look at me immediately for my reaction. Sometimes I ignore him and he gets down but if he knows I see him then I take him down and follow procedure. Persistence is the key and I will not give in to a person who still counts his age in months! I will win the battle of the couch at least until Paige gets big enough to start it all over again!