CJ and I have a balcony. Awesome! It’s handy for hanging washing, killing plants, and (theoretically) getting sunshine. Now that Louisette is around and all “Gimme gimme Vitamin D” the balcony is more useful than ever. One small problem: it’s concrete, with several layers of paint that are all peeling away in deliciously toxic candy-coloured flakes.
Last weekend I turned any drowning hazards (saucers under pots) upside down, moved climbing hazards (pots again) away from the two-storey drop, braced the glass table against two walls for a teensy bit of stability, swept away as much dirt and peeled paint as possible, laid down comfy foam for lying/crawling/falling on, and organised our sandpit/paddle pool (the pool is usually empty and turned over as a lid).
Voila! An adorable, comfortable baby/toddler area that requires only a sane amount of supervision (rather than having to physically carry her at all times).
She enjoyed the new texture of the foam (my knees enjoyed it too), and had her first play in a sandpit.
It’ll be interesting to see how the foam copes with the outdoors (it’s designed for outdoor use, but probably not the extreme atmosphere of our South-facing balcony). It cost $60 altogether, so it’s worth the experiment of simply observing whether it needs replacing soon/immediately after the first lot of rain/never.
Louisette also played with shadows (cast on the wall) for the first time. We didn’t even bring out any toys, and we had a great time.
Louisette is four months old today, so I’ll be posting a month’s worth of photos tomorrow.
I can’t help but wonder if your landlord would up $100 worth of paint if you guys agreed to paint the balcony (it’s probably a part of your agreement – but then again, so’s the roof…).
W: I doubt any paint will stay on that concrete, and thus couldn’t be bothered asking. The landlady has let us drill various holes in various places to install childproof locks, and also let us put in two cat doors, and she paid CJ and his dad to fix the roof (knowing she’d have to redo it later). I like her 🙂
Awwwwh 🙂 That looks like so much fun! Lol and the foam makes me think of the part in Ice Age 3 where Manny makes a playground for his and Elli’s coming baby and is all like “THAT’S NOT SAFE!”
Bonnee: Haven’t even seen the movie and I relate to Manny here. . . it’s the influence of CJ and his dad, I swear! They’re both really into safety and doing things right, and they’re having an influence on me.