"I put it away"

The good news: I found this particular missing item! Carl took me to it!
The bad news: where I found it.

I have these teeny picture frames on the computer desk. They are small wooden ones and hold a little 1"x1.5" picture. There are 3. One has Joey when he was little, one has Carl & Gretchen in jammies last Christmas Eve hugging cheek-to-cheek and the third has Carl & me outside playing in the snow at Aunt Lila's on our trip to NY in December. 2 days ago, the blue one with Carl & me disappeared.

I searched the floor around the computer desk, moved stuff on the desk, and opened some nearby drawers hoping to find it. When I did not, I knew it was not simply misplaced... Carl took it. So, the next place I looked was on the piano. I have a ton of picture frames on the top of the baby grand (mostly to keep the cats from realizing they could jump up there) and Carl likes to take frames from other places in the house and add them to the piano display. Nope, no tiny blue frame.

I asked him several times, "Where is the blue frame?", "Did you move the picture of you and Mommy?", "Can you show me where the picture went?" but no luck. Two months ago, he stole a box of photos off the kitchen counter. Lew saw it in the morning and by lunch time, it was gone. I still have not found it. That reminds me, I reprinted the pictures for his therapists and I need to send them the cards with those pictures that were supposed to be for "end of the school year". May 22nd. Oops. A little late....

Well... on to the good news!!! This morning, I asked one more time, "Carl, where did you put the picture? There were 3 and now there are only 2. Where is the other one?" and he actually asked me, "You want the one with Carl and Mommy in snow?" He knew exactly what I was asking for!!! Obviously, he knew where it was if he knew which of the 3 was missing from across the room without looking at them. "Yes!!! Where is it?" and he said casually... "I put it away."

I jumped up and ran to follow him because I had to get to this special "put away" space before he did. Otherwise, he would have picked up the frame and brought it back and I wouldn't know this new place to add to my search sites.

I followed him into the dining room... and he opened the china cabinet and there was the little frame! Right next to another one I already had in there with my dad as the Easter Bunny. Carl must have seen that frame and thought the blue one wanted a pilgrimage home to the china cabinet to sit by it!

Just what I need.... Carl letting himself in and out of the china cabinet!!! Bad news!!