When Corban and Carson were at our house on Sunday, I kept the baby gate across the doorway between the living room and the dining room. It kept the dogs separate from the kids, and my husband could make breakfast without the kids underfoot.
Of course, since there was a gate there, Mara and Big C were not content to stay in the living room. They took the stepstool to the gate and gazed longingly into the kitchen. (I realize the photo quality is poor, but it was my best effort to capture the moment.)
Then I heard my melodramatic two-year-old, quoting a line from Corduroy, as she peeked over the gate: “I nevvvvver wanted to live in a cage–like a bear at the zoo!”