The back set of steps, without the gate for the first time in three years.
And the front set of steps, also without a gate for the first time in three years. You can see how this would be hours of endless fun for three little boys. Walk up one side and back down the other. And round and round they go.
But, since they were climbing on the gates (and sometimes falling over them), it seemed safer to just take them down. Maybe now the novelty will wear off. Here's hoping anyway. Otherwise there's going to be a lot of time out going on. You know, the kind where they're strapped into old car seats and can't move.
So we're down to two lone baby gates, and those are just as ineffectual as the ones on the steps. It just makes us feel better to keep them blocked out of the office. But, after a little cleaning up of sharp and important objects tomorrow, even those two are going to come down, too.
Welcome to our world. It's slowly being overtaken by three preschoolers, one defense at a time.