It's not very hard to catch this little thief--just follow the huge racket coming out of the kitchen as he is digging around in the drawer and the squeals with delight when he finds what he is looking for. I mentioned in a recent post that AJ has been caught repeatedly with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar as he digs around in our junk drawer looking for tools. He is truly obsessed with screwdrivers, hammers and nails and spends much of his day thinking and plotting about how he can access them. Until today, we kept several small household tools, including a couple of screwdrivers, a tape measure and a hammer, conveniently located in a junk drawer in our kitchen where they are close to the everyday projects they are used for, like removing the cover of a toy to replace a battery. AJ has taken to rifling through his drawer while on tip toe with one hand blindly reaching overhead to grab things out of the drawer while the other is used to steady his grip. He quickly examines and discards things that little kids love to play with, like magic markers, a deck of playing cards, stickers, pens and thermometers. When he discards them, he literally tosses them back over his shoulder onto the floor around him like a character in a cartoon. You can see the evidence of his discards in the bottom photo. After several days of cleaning up the mess and trying to reason with a 16 month-old about why he can't run around the house wielding a screwdriver, I finally wised up today and decided these objects that are so tempting to him should be permanently housed in the garage.
My mom says AJ is a smart and determined guy who has a bit of a little stinker in him, and I think she's right. When he focuses on something, he becomes insistent and really digs his heels in. Today we had a little argument when he repeatedly tried to push the power button on the computer while I was working. When a couple of stern "nos" did not work, I had to eventually take him outside the office and deposit him in the hallway to howl out his frustration. I realize the irony of a power struggle over the power button.
2 comments:
Sounds like he is taking after his uncle Andy, who at the age of 3 found tools and completely dismantled our stereo turntable. All the parts were quite orderly removed and nothing damaged, but we never did figure out how to "put Humpty together again".
I often think of Andy and that story about the stereo when AJ is fixated on tools. AJ is similarly fascinated with the CD player in his room and throws a fit when he is not allowed to touch the control buttons. I just ordered him a toy that is described as a lock box that has 8 doors with different locks and latches, and I am hoping that this will keep him occupied for hours.
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