LO is 11 months old and I used to block off the entrance to the kitchen with a bench, until he figured out how to crawl underneath it, so now I let him go in there, giving him his own drawer, letting him open the bottom oven drawer, and even letting him touch the trash can, gross as it is.....but he still manages to get in my way! We have a small kitchen too. I'm just wondering if it's too late to install a kitchen gate, and whether I even should. I'd like to be able to prepare his food in peace. And, I don't really love it when he touches the trash can! Plus, after he gets bored, he wants "up" to see what I do on the counter. (If I ignore him, he will bite my leg! Scary!)