Demolition Kid!

I never knew how big of a mess 1 16month old child can make. We have enough toys to stock an entire toy store, but does the kiddo want to play with those?? Of course not. Instead he enjoys ripping every item off of the changing table in his bedroom and finding new homes for those.

I have found diapers, diaper rash ointment, lotion, baby wipes, shoes, toys, etc. in odd places such as the toy box, the laundry basket, the diaper pail (yes, inside the diaper pail with the dirty diapers), even in his crib. The crib is his latest discovery. He has figured out that he can throw things through the slats on the crib and load it up with miscellaneous items.

This picture is how I often find him "playing" in his room:



There are some items to point out in the picture:
* He has a sock in his hand, which was removed from his foot (he must have gotten bored with ripping items off of the changing table)
* He has opened the baby wipe container and has thrown all of them on the floor
* There are clothes which have been removed from the laundry basket laying on top of the stuffed horse under the window
* What you don't see is the open toy box which has no toys removed from it
* You also don't see the CD player on the bottom shelf of the changing table which is playing a cd (he figured out which button to push to make it play, which in turn made him cry, I guess "John Jacob Jinglehimmer Smith" is not his #1 choice of music)

The only thing I can find to stop this is to clean his room and shut the door. I don't want to cause him to think that he is not allowed in his bedroom. We all need a break from each other (trust me!).

So to all you experienced mothers out there...any suggestions on what to do to dissuade him from reaking havoc on his bedroom? Or is this a lost cause and I should just come to terms with my new role of picking up baby wipes from the floor to clean his bottom?