Warning: Brooke is not in the room!!!!!

So what is she doing? This is not a repeat picture, the other one was a cupcake. I cried, but go ahead you can laugh, my husband did, only becuase he wasn't home and hadn't been the one to deal with the numerous messes that day.

My other two kids never got into this much trouble. I realize now I must have had it good because they never, and I do mean never, climbed out of thier crib. They waited for me to get them up in the morning and in the afternoon after naps. And my other two never saw chairs as tools to get something out of reach. The kitchen counter was a safe place.

Last week I awoke to a quiet house and thought all were asleep in their beds. When I walked into the living room I found Brooke sitting on the balcony enjoying the sunrise. Thankfully that incident occured with no mess to clean up. Last Sunday, however, we put Brooke down for a nap and lined up several toys for the older two to play with and took a much needed nap. An hour later we discovered Brooke had not stayed in her crib and had been running free. The older two didn't think to come and tell us and ignored her while she ran amok. The pepper grinder had been taken apart and pepper corns strewn all over the floor. Elias and Emma's pencil boxes filled with crayons, glue, pencils, and scissors were everywhere. Thier piggy banks and my coin jar were spilled all over the kitchen floor. The electric pencil sharpener had been emptied out and lead shavings smeared all over the kitchen table. And all of these things had been buried with the baskets of toys she dumped everywhere.

If things are quiet and Brooke is not in the same room we quickly go looking for the mess: a dumped out puzzle, a soap covered bathroom floor, crayon marks on the sliding glass door, a turned on burner. I almost posted this yesterday but didn't get time. I'm glad I didn't because this afternoon my neighbor knocked on my door returning one of my credit cards. Earlier in the day I had found Brooke playing with my wallet and thought everything looked intact. However, she must have gotten away with the credit card and thrown it over the balcony (we've seen her throw many things overboard). If we and she survive these toddler years it will be by God's grace.