AJ and Chas take things at face value. If they want something and I say no then they might not be happy but that will be the end of it. Eli considers all communication to be a form of bargaining. If given his best efforts, mommy still says no then generally he will do it anyway. He is also the first to have realized that just because he can't see treats, doesn't mean they aren't there. AJ and Chas have never found any of my stashes because it never occurred to them that they existed. Eli has found ALL of my stashes. He has also come to the conclusion that everything his brothers have is WONDERFUL.
So the other day AJ came in mad because the bag of candy he had brought home from a birthday party was missing. "Who took my candy," he asked?
Without looking up from the picture he was coloring, Eli said, "I did."
Exasperated but also relieved, AJ asked where it was. "In my drawer," Eli replied and chose another crayon.
AJ raced to Eli's room and came back with the candy, completely intact, not a piece missing. The funny thing about Eli is that while he has been known to decimate stashes, often enough he wants only to possess whatever he desires. Toys his brothers own and he longs for will be carefully placed in his drawer. Not to be played with, just to have. While the frustration his brothers endure is extensive, I tend to marvel (and yes laugh a bit) at this little guy who will always fess up to what he has done and then retrieve it from his drawer.
