Stealth Baby 101

My Ava Joy is such a different creature than her sister was as a very young toddler. I should have known that she would be "different" in her personality the day she was born when I saw that she is a mini-me of Andrew. You see, he's a little mischevious. As is his youngest daughter.

I'm learning that I can compare her to a small, silent tornado.

Example: Last night was my first night as an education widow. After dinner I'm trying to clean up our dishes and the girls are playing in the living room. I glance in to see sweet baby Joy standing on an ottoman, playing with the dangly beads on my favorite red lamp. The same lamp she's already brought down once. I run over to her and by the time I reach the ottoman...POOF! She's gone. On to the next target of her destruction.

We did this four or five times before I actually caught her and disciplined her for whatever she was doing.

Her favorite game is shutting the tv doors while Chloe is entranced by a show. Chloe screams at her. Ava runs away. Chloe opens the doors, Ava sneaks up and slams them shut again.

Stealth baby. Yesterday I was at my Sweet Friend's house and here's her exact quote: "You know, she's so quiet and sweet sometimes you just forget she's around. Then BAM! She's tearing stuff apart or into something you never thought she'd get into!She's so stealth!"

She is a climber. She will climb up on our kitchen table and steal whatever food may be there. The other night I set out bowls of pasta to cool, Hubby glances into the dining room and what does he see? Ava Joy using his fork and shoveling past into her mouth. Sitting on the table.

She hides inside the ottomans. And she gets in there so quietly and quickly that I haven't even noticed that she's missing. Seriously ya'll, I only have 2 kids! And I promise I pay attention to them!! I don't know how such a tiny, sweet thing can get into so much mischief. Maybe she's preparing me for the eventual arrival of a son... I don't know.

She can squeeze out of her carseat and high chair. Regardless of how tight the straps are.

She can reach the closet doors in the guest room where she naps and many a time I've come in to find that she's emptied half of a bin full of office supplies.

She likes to stare into the toilet, plotting, I'm sure. After this, she climbs in and out of the bath tub. Sometimes leaving my phone in the bath tub. How she hasn't dropped it in the toilet I'm not sure. But I won't be surprised when she does...

But watch it! She likes to communicate her methods to others. I think she must steal my phone and text other babies her notes for Stealth Baby 101...because it's spreading among my friends kids....