I don't want to know

As Ava gets bigger, she goes off to explore more and more each day.  The world is hers to discover and discover she does.

First, it started with the dog food.  Ava is our household expert on sneakiness and Fergus, our dog, gets to stare at his bowl high up on the counter most days.  He's just a little guy and can't really afford to go on a diet, but nothing makes a little girl more unattractive than kibble breath.  It's not just dog food that Ava savors.  Yesterday, I swear she snuck in a bug.  I can only try to scoop the mash out, rinse the rest down with a sippy cup and hope for the best.  Dirt, leaves, sand, hairball, dried up pea that rolled into a deep dark corner of our kitchen...she finds it all.  Just when I believe I have vacuumed our house to the utmost perfection, ten minutes later her mouth is working on some foreign thing.  I am still amazed at how such a tiny creature continues to outsmart both her parents, and it only enforces our fear for the future: we'll be peons compared to her vast expanse of intelligence and wile.

For now I try to take comfort in knowing that I have a brand new Hoover Windtunnel vacuum in my front closet.  And I still don't want to know just what it is she is looking to shove in her mouth now.