Pride or a Sign of Being "Not-So-Smart"?

Eli is becoming more and more able to do things for himself, even if they are things that are off-limits. I mentioned last week about his desire to play with the fire place; he also constantly asks/tries to play with remotes, telephones, and cell phones, which are all 'no-no' in our house. The kicker is when he does successfully obtain one of those objects, he usually giggles really loudly and then runs towards me, to show off his find, I guess. Of course I gently take it away and say 'no-no', which upsets him, but he has yet to make an attempt to hide, which makes me wonder why he continues to bring these things to my attention. I can only figure it's because he's so proud of himself for getting his hands on something that is not allowed.

This happened again this afternoon right before I put Eli down for his nap. I was unloading the dryer while Eli was roaming the upstairs. Just as I was finishing up, he came into the laundry room laughing and saying 'goo!', all the while holding up his blanket (which stays in his crib as a rule). I chuckled as I carried him and his blanket to his crib. Since it was so close to nap time I just let him keep the prized possession and go down a little early. I tried to remind him as I was closing the blinds that if he wants to play with these things it probably isn't the best idea to show them off to me, because I'll take them away every time. Gee...it almost sounds like I want my son to be a sneak! I assure you I don't; I'm just a bit puzzled by his lack of training. Pavlov's dog he is not...