three.

Life with a three year old is essentially a pendulum swing. There doesn't seem to be a neutral middle place to hang out in. It's either rude, cranky, tantrum-throwing defiance or happy, hilarious, intelligent adorableness.

Often heard in our house by Noah:

"I'm the one with the poop."

"Uhhhhh NO!"

"NO SPITTING, JUDE!"

"NO HITTING, JUDE!"

"Mom? I asked you a question!"

"Can you turn on the Christmas lights, Mom?"

"Can I watch something?" {I hate this one. Granted, it's usually asked when I'm unable to engage with him directly at the time and he's just bored.}

"I want a snack!" {This one could be said moments after any meal or instead of a meal.}

The entire alphabet sung either in French or English. Or Frenglish.

Noah is really into drawing {and he draws people now and I LOVE it. The head with the arms and legs coming out of it just kill me.} and doing crafts that involve gluing, colouring or cutting. Today I let him colour our sample Christmas photo card and when I looked at it afterward I laughed when I saw that he had coloured red over top of his and Jude's faces looking very much like street graffiti.
He wants to help me wash the dishes and do the laundry. He'll often help me with Jude and the tenderness he shows toward his brother melts my heart completely.
But he's also throwing tantrums on a whim and pushing his brother's buttons {and vice versa. I know. Already.} and I can see his internal struggle to work out the emotions he's feeling - whether they be frustration or anger or guilt or disappointment. I know it's hard for him and I'm trying to help him work through it and put names to emotions and let him know it's okay to feel those emotions, but it's not okay to, say, throw a chair or kick his brother or outright defy me.

How do you teach a child to obey even when he doesn't want to? {For now that's a rhetorical question. I'm pretty sure I know what we need to do at this point it's just getting around to doing it and focusing on training him to obey the first time, every time.} I know this leads into a fantastic spiritual analogy for my own life and I'm working that one out as well.

Three years old is way harder than two ever was. But as I watch and listen to him make up hilarious stories or imagine an empty box is a fantastic pirate ship or make me a birthday cake out of Play-Doh and then sing "Happy Birthday to You", I know that whatever we are working through and will work through is worth it to see him grow and develop into the person that God wants him to be.