Is Toby Becoming a Bad Boy?

A few days ago, Kevin and I returned home to discover Toby had eaten a food item which had been inadvertently left on the counter.  He had never done anything like that before, but it let me know food is not safe on the counter! 

Yesterday, Kevin informed me he did not want the dried apricots he saw at the grocery story recently.  The reason was, at first, due to his his loose tooth which is now an empty hole.  I left them on the counter to dispose of later.  Before later came, we entered the back door and found a plastic container on the floor with the lid chewed.  It was the apricot container.  They were a nice treat for the boy (yet they were not offered to him). 

Items which cannot be safely washed in the dishwasher, I leave beside the kitchen sink to wash by hand.  We came home today to find he had Tupperware from the counter on the floor and the lid of one piece chewed.  Then this evening we walked into a MESS!!!  He had taken a few pieces of Tupperware from the counter, ruined all of the lids, had opened the door under the sink which has a towel rack.  The rack keeps the door slightly (and I mean slightly) ajar.  Only cleaning supplies are in there, but the other side has the trash bag.  He had pulled out the trash bag out through the towel door, and spread the ripped up trash all over the floor.  No major loss (except the Tupperware lids) or damage, but annoying to have to clean up the mess!  He was scolded he as a "bad boy." 

Before the rest of the story is told, the reader needs to know how much Toby likes ice cream.  Whenever I get ice cream out, he receives a scoop of frozen vanilla yogurt in his bowl.  He is required to sit and wait until I tell him he may devour his treat.  It is amazing when he knows I am going to the freezer for ice cream and not for something else!  He comes running from the far corner of the house when he detects I am getting out ice cream.  I have yet to figure out HOW he knows!  But he KNOWS!!!  Now that Kevin is here, Kevin asks for ice cream (3 scoops!) almost every night!

Once the mess was cleaned up tonight, Kevin was ready for ice cream.  Toby was totally expecting to get his share first, as usual.  But I told him he was a bad boy and could not have any.  He seemed to accept the reprimand and lay down on the floor without any further fuss! 

But I am worried about our future. . .   The towel rack is repositioned on a cupboard door with only baking dishes inside.