I thought I was done with testing

We have come to the stage in development that is no longer about physical achievements, or learning that if you put an object under a blanket, surprise, it's still there when you move the blanket. No, now we are on to testing. Max is testing us to see what he can and can’t do. And by can’t do, I mean he will still do it but it is usually followed by a mocking laugh.

My husband and I agreed we would use the word "no" for serious events, things that could danger Max, things like electrical cords, or climbing on bookcases. But I find myself saying it more and more, especially since Max is touching, reaching, chewing, and climbing on everything in our house. But there are two things of late he has been testing us on, plugs and shoes.

There is a plug for a radio in his bedroom I thought I had hidden well behind his bookshelf. Turns out, he discovered that if he leans around the corner of his toy box, and squeezes his hand between the bookshelf and the wall, he can touch the plug. The first time he did it, I pulled him away and tried to distract him with a toy, but a few minutes later, he found the plug again. So, I tried another technique and used a soft "no, no". Who would have thought that by simply shaking my head and speaking sofly, I could be so funny. Max thought I was hilarious and let out a huge laugh.

And so a game begins. He crawls over to his toy box and quickly looks at me before reaching over to the plug, and then he bursts into a huge smile. He knows he's not supposed to touch it, but he is testing me, over and over again.

The second mommy/daddy test is our shoes by the front door. Every so often a toy will make its way by the door and Max will go to retrieve it. He will pause by the shoes and look over to me. I know exactly what he is thinking. He doesn't just look at me, he gives me the "I'm going to put this in my mouth. What are you going to do about it?" look. Then in one swift motion he will grab a shoe and put it in his mouth. I've tried to distract him, but that doesn't work, and so I’ll say "no, no", but that gets a laugh.

I'm pretty sure I am failing the test.