MacGyver would be proud...

It's amazing what a two year old can accomplish with only a poncho pouch, a broom handle, and a 2" by 4" peephole!

I (David) left the apartment the other morning to take out the trash and retrieve the stroller from downstairs. Where I come from, there are handles on the doors, but not here! You need a key to enter whether the door is locked or not! Worse yet, Caleb was inside by himself--Gracy and Susanna were going to be gone until after lunch. To top it off, my cell phone was inside with Caleb so I could not call for help. My only hope was a 2" by 4" peephole that I happened to have left open. It was well out of Caleb's reach (over 5 feet high), but I could communicate with him through it.

After I let him know I was locked out, he instinctively got my keys out of the drawer (smart kid!). Now we had to figure out a way to get the keys up through the peephole to me. After trying a rolling chair and an umbrella, he was able to find a broom and hand it to me. I then detached the handle from the broom and pulled the handle through the opening. It was hollow and my finger could fit inside, so I could dangle it through the peephole. Now I just had to attach something to the handle (that would fit through the hole!) so that Caleb could put the keys in. Believe it or not, we had a poncho pouch in the stroller, so I attached its loop to the end of the broom handle, slid it through the peephole, and Caleb placed the keys in the pouch. Whew!

After I retrieved the keys and went inside, I showered my brilliant son with praise! I was shocked he didn't panic through this ordeal (though I almost did!). Needless to say, I am now looking for a place to hide a spare key outside of the apartment!