The Destroyer

 Don't let that cute face fool you!

We play lots of games in this house.  Intricate board games that take 1/2 a year to learn all the rules and then figure out a working strategy.  One of our long time favorites is a German game called Settlers of Catan.  For years, we would play games with family and friends and I would sit with Tink on my lap for hours and hours.  One night, I think it was Nate who game up with it originally, the idea of a "destroyer card" came up in our conversations.  When played, we would put Tink on the table and anything she knocked over or off the board was gone and no longer able to be used!  We joked for a long time about that idea especially since Tink was so easy going and mild for the most part.

Fast forward a few years and now we have a real "destroyer" on our hands.  Miss Orianna has been caught attempting to eat the meeples from Carcassone, chewing on boxes for other games including Dominion.  We made a slight reference to the destroyer at our game night on Friday but it's certainly true for Ori.

Ori is learning the art of destroying stuffies.  The first jean version I made was chewed through in less than 2 days.  When I made a new one yesterday, I filled it with jean material rather than the cotton sheet I used the first time.  Ori goes right to the "sucking" phase where she gets in all wet and soft to make ripping it apart easier.  She is goes crazy over squeakie noises to the point that I can make a pretend squeakie noise in the bedroom and she comes running down the hall like a crazy dog in pursuit of this new squeak toy!  She's a blast!  As soon as she's done playing though, she snuggles up in my lap wanting plenty of quality time with her mommy : )

Both girls love bully sticks.  Those, along with marrow bones, seem to last the longest here in the house.  Molly used to be the stronger bully chewer but now Ori is stronger and faster.  If I'm fast enough we can get 2 chewing sessions out of the bullies and then I don't worry about them adversely effecting the girls' digestive systems.  A good quality pressed rawhide might be another option, but those get Molly's legs all gross and nasty.  We do our best to make sure both girls have lots of chewing time.  We have a few knuckles around here that when the girls get "desperate" they take to chewing.  Neither one has touched the hoof in weeks.

Nick filled the cookie ball on Saturday for Molly and we sat on the floor and helped Moo play with it.  She's working on the rolling concept but she appeared to enjoy picking it up with her teeth and shaking it, hoping the yummy goodness would come out that way.  At one point she sat there waiting for Nick to roll in around so she could clean up the kibble that fell out!  She's all for the concept: work smarter not harder!  It's been fun watching Molly become more active and engaged in the family activities.  Ori has a way of drawing her out and it's really cool to see.

I'm sitting here with both girls in my lap--Molly jumped up on the couch and wedged herself between my right side and the couch which is rare for her to be so snuggly.  Ori is draping herself over my left side and I am loving this little comfy arrangement!  What a great way to start a Monday : )