Day 886 - "The Great Escape"

I'm 99.9% certain I have written about the classic Steve McQueen film, "The Great Escape", on #DaddyWrite before. If I haven't, then I know I meant to at some point. I probably also mentioned how I should watch the film since it's such an important part of cinematic history. However, the sad fact is that I still have never watched the movie. Tell Steve McQueen I'm sorry and that I have listened to the Sheryl Crow song about him if that helps matters any.

Despite not having actually seen "The Great Escape", I do know what it's about...kind of. I know it involves prisoners of a German POW camp trying to escape. I'm guessing it takes place during World War II but I'm not definite on that. I do know that it includes one of the greatest stunts and chase scenes ever conceived in the film's iconic motorcycle chase. 

The thing about "The Great Escape" is that is can refer to almost anyone and anything. Everyone has found themselves in that position from time to time when they need to escape. For me, it's seeking the occasional refuge of a grocery store during a solo shopping trip. For Ellie, it's going out onto the back deck and screaming at the sky when she's upset. For Ethan, though, it's a little more simple. Simply put, he wants out of his bed and out of his room and nothing is going to stand in his way. 

Up until the past week, Ethan actually has been content within the confines of his crib. After a little snuggling, we would lay him down and he would go straight to sleep. When the time came to wake, he would either start babbling or just stand up in his crib and open his bedroom door to wave at Bethany if she's on the clock. 

Over the past week though, Ethan has become much more brazen when he decides that he's done napping or that he's going to refuse to sleep. Simply put, he would crawl up onto the side of his crib and then throw his little body over the railing to the floor below. And yes, it sounds just as horrible as you might think. Despite his best efforts at gracefulness, it's always pretty easy to hear his thump on the floor. One night in particular, we heard that very sound hit the floor six times in the span of about 10 minutes!

Finally, Bethany and I reached the point where we actively feared Ethan was going to hurt himself. As a result, we made the decision to convert his crib into a toddler bed. As you can probably guess, we weren't totally excited to do so. The idea of Ethan having carte blanche to wander the house during the night is slightly terrifying. However, it's not like there was really anything keeping him from doing so as things were.

Actual footage of Ethan post escape. Just look at that guilty little face!

If forced to grade our little toddler bed experiment, I think I would give it a C right now. It's not a pure failure but it's not a rousing success. In order for us to even get Ethan asleep at nights, Bethany or I have to lay on the floor next to his crib and talk/sing to him while rubbing his little back. Once he's asleep though, things do get a little easier. That being said, I still find myself making two or three trips into Ethan's room each night. 

Oh, I almost forgot. Since we didn't want Ethan to make his own Steve McQueen-themed escape from his room each night, we took precautions to stop that from happening. A simple sock and rubber band combo has kept him from achieving adequate momentum to actually turn his doorknob. That being said, there is definitely some anger there when he does wake up and try to escape. However, I'm certain Steve McQueen felt some anger while trying to escape that POW camp as well. The only difference is that McQueen had a motorcycle while Ethan does not.

Side thought that just entered my mind: Do you think Lightning McQueen is named after Steve McQueen. That would just be way too cool if I do say so myself. "Ka-chow!"  #DaddyWrite