We've had this Little Tykes Wave Climber for about 5 years now. For the first four years of its life with us, it was downstairs in the family room, where the kids have their computer desk now. Last year, when DD's bedroom was finished, we created "the playroom" upstairs, and I disassembled the climber, brought it upstairs, and put it back together again.
This represents, without a doubt, some of the best toy money we have ever spent. The kids still loves this thing, and DS1 is going to be eight before the end of the month. It didn't get as much use when it was in the playroom ("out of sight, out of mind" goes double for little kids), but when it was down here? Every. Single. Day. That thing has had a workout, and it still looks brand new.
Well, for Christmas, Nana and Papa bought the kids an ESPN Game Station, which needs some serious room. Time to move the climber again!
The Little Tykes folks are ingenious in their designs, but it was a major struggle getting this thing apart, and something of an epic battle putting it back together again. Recall that I am recovering from not just one surgery back in October, but from three major surgeries over the last calendar year: I have the muscle tone of a newborn infant.
I resorted to using a silicon lubricant spray which helped enormously. The last piece to go on, the slide, required some strategic jumping on my part; when it finally snapped in place, I stood astride the climber and declared, in my best victorious wrestler voice, "YESSSSSS!"
DD and DS2 were jubilant. When DS1 got home from school, all 3 of them played on it for well over an hour before cold and hunger drove them inside.
Me? I crashed on the futon, barely able to move, until it was time to get dinner going. God bless my Mom for doing all the prep. I know I wouldn't even have tackled this job if she hadn't been here.
I'll pay for this tomorrow, but it scarcely matters now... I did it... I did it... I did it... I did it... yes!
2 comments:
How the hell did you get it apart? I took a rubber mallet to it for an hour yesterday and the thing refuses to come apart. Is there a trick? Do I have to start from the bottom, should I just take a gun to it! PLEASE HELP ME before I lose my mind. I can't keep the baby off the table or the top of the TV or from walking along the tops of the gate system we have setup. If I don't get the thing inside before the next foot of snow I'm going to have to build a climbing wall in my dining room.
Like I said, silicone lubricant spray on all the joints.
The first thing to come OFF is the slide -- lift it up and twist it out, use a flat-head screwdriver or a putty knife to loosen up the joint if it is really stuck. Once the slide is out, it's not so bad at all -- the floor in the middle is holding the other pieces together, and that should pop up once the slide is out of the way. Good luck!
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