Death By Chocolate...

"I like chocolate!" Milk Chocolate. Dark Chocolate. Bunnies. Eggs. Candy-coated. Mint Chocolate. Pudding. Ice Cream. Pie. These are some of the forms of Chocolate my two and a half year old has sampled in his young life. Thus, the familiar quote at the beginning. The problem is that he occasionally becomes quite aggressive over the stuff. Now, usually he is only allowed a few M&M's, one chocolate cookie, or one bite of that rediculous Easter bunny. We keep chocolate flavored items out of (easy) reach from him. But... Nathan is resourceful, and so the following episodes have transpired in recent weeks:

Kiss-Kiss - Nathan noticed I'd shoved a bag of dark chocolate Hershey kisses into one of the cubby holes in our kitchen cabinet next to the refrigerator. He'd asked for them once or twice, and I did let him have one recently. But when you've got the chocoholic gene in your DNA, one is never enough! I knew he couldn't reach that high on one of his "stools" (overturned storage bins), but I failed to consider that he could use a kitchen table chair to climb up onto the counter and stuff his little cheeks with as many kisses as he could unwrap before being caught!

Bunny Love - Laura had to buy the boy a candy-filled (and I mean, filled!) Easter basket! It's the middle of May, and he's only had half of it. And that's with our "assistance". The main prize for him was/is the bunny. A solid milk chocolate bunny. (SOLID??!! - What was she thinking?) So, every few days or so, as he remembers there is a bunny to be had, he asks about having a bite of the bunny. I decided to let him have a bite a few days ago after lunch. I should have held onto that little critter (the bunny, not Nathan!) myself, but (mother of all mistakes...) I let Nathan hold it's half-eaten chocolate carcass. At first, He took a nice, civilized bite and smiled at me in satisfaction. I told him that was enough for now, and asked him to hand the nibbled remains back to me. Then, He went "cave-man" on that bunny! He had two more big bites chipmunked in his cheeks by the time I crossed the five-foot distance between us! And as I placed the re-packaged rabbit on the table while I tended to Evan, Nathan sneaked behind me, grabbed that box, and ran around the table where he quickly secured one more bite before I cornered him. I'm confident he believes the spanking he received was well worth the high he was on the rest of the day. No pain, no gain!

So, yeah... death by chocolate! Whose is yet to be determined...