Naughty

We are starting to try to teach Chase the concept of "no". He is a curious little dude, and seems to want to get into absolutely everything that he shouldn't (pulling power cords, unplugging carbon monoxide detectors, splashing in the dogs' water bowls, climbing stairs unsupervised, playing in the fireplace, opening doors with steps right below, pulling up on rickety furniture, banging tv screens, etc.). Being the good, patient parents that we are, we calmly tell him "no" and try to relocate him. He is relentless and seems to enjoy the "game" of it. I'll give him credit for his persistence. However, I do believe that he now understands the concept and is just toying with us. The best example is at dinnertime. He will take his sippy cup and dangle it in his fingertips off the side of his highchair, staring at you all the while. If you tell him "no", he will smile, put his cup back on the tray of his highchair and wait for you to clap. He will repeat this exercise time and time again until you grow tired of it (he never tires of it), at which time he will simply let the cup fall out of his hand and drop on the floor. After the cup has been on the floor for less than a second, if you haven't immediately gotten out of your chair to retrieve it, he either whines or screams at the top of his lungs (depending on his mood). If you make the mistake of picking the cup up and giving it back to him, he will hold it for a few seconds and then chuck it at the floor.

Truth be told, the process is somewhat aggravating, but mostly, I think it's pretty funny that he clearly understands the rules and just wants you to cheer him for following them, or, in the alternative, to see what will happen if he doesn't. I guess this is the beginnings of independence???