To Add Insult to Injury

I'm sick. And that's bad. I feel miserable. But that isn't the worst part. Because I know that the difficulty of being a mom and being sick is surpassed only by being a sick mom of sick kids, I have been doing everything in my power to keep my germs from infecting the rest of my family. This has meant a "hands off" policy for the past three days. I haven't hugged, snugged, kissed or cuddled any of my children for three days. THREE DAYS!!!  And I have this little guy who is just begging to be loved on... Who could resist this face?!?! This is torture!

My husband is braver and believes in the strength of his genes to protect him. He hugs on me, unaffected by the danger of simply being in my presence. We'll see how that goes.
I think I'd rather have a sick child than a sick husband.
Sounds like I don't have a say in the matter. Oh well.
Anyway, today the older kids are back at school and Boobah and I are alone. Imagine taking care of a mischievous, mobile 7 month old without being able to touch him. Just now I had to have a conversation with him...
Me: Hey, that's no-nos. Knock it off. (He was trying to touch the space heater.)
Boobah looks back and me and grins.
And reaches for the heater...
Me again: Boobah, No!
Again, he looks back and smiles but this time reaches out to touch the heater while looking at me. A challenge. Ok, I'm up for it.
I get up and move the heater and Boobah in opposite directions. Before I sit back on the couch and get the 15 blankets wrapped around me, Boobah has spun around on his belly and taken off at his newly acquired light speed directly for the heater. Apparently he has learned about object permenance because putting something out of his view is no longer enough to dissuade him from pursuing it.
From the couch, with half of my body freezing: Boobah, Com'n. No-nos.
This time he doesn't even bother to look back, he just keeps scooting forward.
I get up again and move the heater. Boobah looks up at me and turns around again to head straight for the forbidden heater.
Listen Mister, I tell him, don't test me. I've outsmarted three of your kind already. You won't break me.

The look in his eyes suggested that I may not be smart to challenge him. He may be the smallest, but his name does mean "little fighter". A sign of things to come?   Ut oh.