Our hilarious boy is 3 years old! Everyone says the "threes" are harder than the "terrible twos", which is probably why Mom has new books on her nightstand like "Raising Your Spirited Child".
The pages and pages of temperament surveys validate what we already know and love about this happy, energetic, intense, persistent, fearless, affectionate little maniac.
When it comes to trying new things, he just goes for it, 100%. No hesitation. No caution. This is great for sports, like kicking the crap out of the soccer ball, and breaking a plank of wood for karate. Not so good for living room stunts, like base jumping from the top of the couch. At least now he recognizes some of the injuries are a direct result of his choices, like when he runs into a wall and calmly says "That wasn't a good idea".
His teachers have always told Mom and Dad that he is a "delight" to have in class, but "needs more stimulation". This is code for "very high energy and we have no idea how to tire him out". He seems to operate at maximum exertion from the moment he steps out of bed in the morning, literally running out of his room, running to wake up Mom, then running to the kitchen. Then he will crash into bed at night, sleeping like a rock. An adorable rock.
What saves him from being in Time Out 90% of the time is the fact that he wakes up so darn happy.
Like, genuinely, hilariously ecstatic. His general mood baseline is set at euphoric. This is good, because when he runs into your bedroom every morning at 5:45am asking "IS IT TIME TO GET UP? IS IT LIGHT OUT? I WANT A SNACK. CAN I HAVE A SNACK? CAN I HAVE SOME CHEERIOS? AND WATCH A MOVIE?", it's easier to be patient with his happy face.
He seems to have a certain amount of insight into the power of his charm. He already tries to manipulate Mom, like when he sees her across the room and says "Mom. I want to hug you", then "Can you get me a snack?". Or "If you got me water it would make me so happy". We think he will grow up to be a charming little devil, very fitting for a kid with a rooster tail cowlick like this.
We look forward to another year of his persistent curiosity: "Why? But why?", "What's that all about?"; and frustrated resignation: "Fine. Fine. Fine. Ugh.".
We love to hear him say "I'll do it all by myself. I'm a big boy.", because he is a big boy now, and we are having a blast watching him grow up.
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