Three is the new Two

Will is three. Actually, he'll be four in November, although sometimes it feels like he's three going on sixteen. This three-year-old thing is not for the faint of heart, my friends. It is a mixed bag of really incredible, awesome times watching your child's humour, intellect and wonder and understanding about the world grow and really not fun, frustrating times watching your child throw tantrums, huff and roll eyes like a teenager and not listen to anything you have to say. I've had so many parents tell me that two was not so terrible, it was three. And I have to say, three has definitely kept me on my toes.

Will is so smart, ya'll. I know all parents say that and perhaps it's just this age when they really start to comprehend things and think about things on a different level. I mean, this kid knows all his letters and numbers, spells out words when he sees them, loves to learn about outer space and can tell you all the planets in order (seriously, he knows more about outer space than I do. Did you know Jupiter is so big that 1000 earths could fit inside it? Yeah, me neither.), speaks very clearly and with a big vocabulary (the other day he used the word "debonair") and just is a very thoughtful, little boy with a lot going on in that noggin. Mind you, I don't take a lot of credit for this--I think most of this he learned at school (shout out to the Children's Center of Austin--holla!), but the way he thinks about things amazes me. And It's so fun to have conversations with him and watch his little world open up.

But sometimes he's too smart for his own good. We have lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth when he doesn't want to do something we ask him to do (and it usually takes asking at LEAST five times before he'll do it, generally with me yelling "WILL!" to finally get him to listen. Great parenting, I know). And he'll bargain and reason with the best of them until he wears me down to a little nub. Oh, and the hyperactivity. Will has always been a relatively calm and sweet boy, and for the most part, he still is. But when he gets excited he becomes a little spaz and cannot calm down and well, becomes slightly annoying (mainly this happens when we have company at our house and he keeps insisting they come play with him over and over).

This parenting thing has become a game of chess. I make one move and he makes another in a completely different direction. Babyhood was so much easier for this very reason. Yes it was exhausting physically, but now it's exhausting mentally. I love my little boy oh so very much and I love watching him become the person he will be as an adult. But I hadn't anticipated three being so challenging. I guess I need to keep my guard up, because me thinks it won't necessarily get easier--just different with each age.

Oh, and to prove that I'm not all up on my high horse about my son being SO smart, yesterday we were driving to Panera for lunch. I looked in the rear view mirror and Will had a very thoughtful and pensive look on his face, like he was contemplating something very important. When I asked him what he was thinking about, he told me "hot dogs and cinnamon rolls". Obvs, we have a genius on our hands....ha!