Testing, Testing...1, 2

There must be a documented phase around 21 months because I know I'm not the only one dealing with this. Felix is in a new "testing" phase. Testing all the things he knows he's not supposed to do or touch, usually at a rapid-fire pace that renders my redirection technique pretty worthless.

The past few days I've especially noticed it at home in the evenings before dinner. I see his activity as one of those Family Circus cartoons with the dashed lines, going from the gum in my purse to my Nook to the cat food to the dog water to the silverware drawer to the dining room chair where he climbs up on the table and takes a bite out of an orange he doesn't want.

When I ask him to "put it back" or "sit down please" or "let's go into the living room and play with your balloon!" he starts convulsing and crying and usually throws his head back and hits his head on something. He wails hard for a few seconds, then turns it off like a switch and goes to do something else. I take that as proof he is testing me.

I hope that consistently enforcing the rules gets us through this phase fast.