Tricky Ethan

Ethan has a couple afghans that he got when he was born. They are "blankie" to him and he would have them with him 24 hours a day if we would let him. He loves to use them to play peek-a-boo! He also broke our safty gate a couple months ago. I wasn't home at the time, but I think Adam said he was pulling on it and splintered the wood. (I know these have nothing to do with each other, but you need to know them before I tell you about what happened today.) So now we have a large rubermaid container to block off the stairs. Somehow, Ethan has not figured out how to get over it... He will very soon.

This morning he and I were downstairs, the other 3 kids were upstairs, and Adam was gone. After a while, he got tired of playing with me and went off to play alone. About 10 minutes later, I look over and see him working on the rubbermaid moving it little by little. He had it to the point that he could squeeze through. So he starts to make his move and I tell him to stop. He waits for me to turn away, then goes for it again. This time I say the dreded "no". He curls his lip under and sits back. I kept watching him out of the corner of my eye and he would think about it, get the nerve up and lean forward. He would look over at me, and I would say his name and he would stop. After a couple minutes of this I notice he starts grinning... Well, he may only be one, but he is a smart little thing. He loves to tease me, and I knew that look. I keep watching him, without letting him know I was. He puts blankie over his head, looks at me, then turns and works his way through the gate.

I can't see him when we play peek-a-boo with blankie over his head, so if he puts blankie over his head he can get through the gate without me seeing him.

Adam and I joke often about "only 18 years untill I can have a break" when the kids get into stuff etc. Now I know that when your 1-year-old is trying to out-smart you, it is going to be a very very very long 18 years.