Ages Three And Up

I haven't taken an official tally, but if I was forced to put a number on it, I'd say about 99% of my house should be labeled "Ages Three And Up." I do have TONS of age-appropriate toys for Cameron to play with. Brightly colored toys. Toys that make noises. Toys with flashing lights. But none of these have the appeal of something that he knows he shouldn't play with. Here are the top five worst offenders:

#1- My Cell Phone- I guess I'm actually quite lucky that there isn't a long-distance phone #444997785728758971852, because I'd owe a massive cell phone bill if there was. And if I ever am on the phone with you, and after we hang up I immediately call you right back and say nothing, it isn't me calling. And if you send me a text, and I don't respond, I'm not being rude, someone just got to it before me.

#2- The Toy Room- You'd think that this would be an ok place for CamCam to play, isn't that the point of a toy room after all? But you would be seriously mistaken. The toy room is actually one of the worst places in the house because it gives the illusion of being a safe play area, therefore I stupidly leave him unattended in it. When I do that things like this happen:

Nolan yells to me that "CamCam's spitting! CamCam's spitting! He's sick!" and I think, oh no, he's throwing up and then I go into the toy room and see him looking like this....

...and for a minute I freak out thinking that he is throwing up mustard yellow vomit and am trying as hard as I can to figure out what on earth he ate for lunch that disagreed with him so. Then I realize it's not vomit, but a tube of finger paint from the top shelf that for some reason he decided to fill his mouth with.

#3- Chairs, Stools, etc- CamCam is now strong enough to move a chair or barstool around the room as he sees fit and use it to climb up to a whole new world that was previously unavailable to him. Desks, kitchen counters, table tops, all are now at his disposal. I actually watched one day as he climbed up into his highchair, sat in it, and then used the momentum of lunging his body forward to inch-by-inch move the highchair across the room, until he got to the large kitchen pantry cabinet, and then he was able to reach the very high kiddie-lock and undo it to get at the food. Just a couple days ago he moved a barstool over to climb up on the kitchen counter because he wanted more animal crackers. But I guess that once he got up there, he noticed something even better and tried to fill his bowl with salt instead.

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#4 Laundry Baskets- These sure are fun to play in! I had a weak moment once and gave one to him and "Mr. Trouble" to play with, and let them push each other around in it. I guess toddlers do not understand the difference between a full laundry basket and an empty laundry basket. To me a full laundry basket is a sign of accomplishment- I have made a step toward winning the ongoing battle with Mt.Laundry. To a two year old, the neatly folded clothes are just something standing in the way of their fun and should be dispensed with immediately. But we cannot just tip over the basket and let the clothes semi-neatly fall in a pile, no, the clothing should be punished for getting in the way of our fun time. So instead, we will take out the items one by one and toss them down the stairs. That'll show 'em!

#5- Writing Utensils!!!- This is the worst! Nothing is safe from CamCam weilding a marker. There's always the tell-tale sign of him coming to me with his legs or arms covered in marker. Then I have to go on a hunt throughout the house to figure out what he drew on. He's draw on my couch, the hardwood foor in 3 seperate rooms, the majority of the stairs, our dining room table, the exposed side of our kitchen pantry, the kitchen cabinets, carpet, windowsills, countless walls and I'm certain many other places and things I have yet to discover. I have no idea how he is getting at all these markers and pens and pencils. I keep them ALL very well put away. He must have a secret stash I have yet to discover.

My "favorite" thing is how he took the time to outline the white trim all around this room. I think it makes for a nice accent touch that not a lot of people have.