The Destroyer

If Belle were a wrestler, her name would be The Destroyer because she is at that "make-a-mess" phase. A fun game, apparently, is to crawl up the laundry basket and remove articles of clothing one by one. Yup, she just tosses them about. The game is fished when the laundry basket is empty and surrounded by clothes strewn about. Another fun game: emptying the recycling basket bit by bit. This is actually a game, though, because I put the magazines and pieces of paper back in the basket nearly as quickly as she removes them, which confuses her and then makes her giggle. Food items neatly stacked on a low shelf? That's no match for The Destroyer. Faster than you can spell "Belle Shoshanna," Belle has the cereal and pasta boxes, chip bags, fruit cups and even soda cans tossed aside. Her job is done when the shelf is empty. Yogurt on the bottom shelf in the fridge? Not if Belle has anything to do with it. Tissues neatly in the box in which they came? Not anymore thanks to Belle.

Yes, I watch her at all times. Yes, she is safe and well-supervised. Yes, I clean up after her. No, I can't wait until she is able to put items away as well as she makes a mess.