The TRYING Threes!

My little Knight has been very trying the last few weeks. I don't remember if Princess went through this because at that point in my life I had a 3 1/2 year old (Princess), a 1 1/2 year old (Prince), and a newborn (Knight). I lost a few brain cells during that time period that were never fully recovered. My memory is shakey.

I do remember that the Prince went through the Trying Threes. One of his favorite tricks was to run into our master bedroom and lock the door. Then he would run into the bathroom connected to that room and lock that door too. He would laugh and laugh and I would just be fuming!

Now it's the Knight's turn...

I am sure it is just a rite of passage, but it still gets on my nerves.

In the last few weeks the Knight has

• Run away from Daddy at Home Depot - almost out the door. (Hey! At least it is not just me!)
• Spit at his brother at the grocery store - ICK.
• Pulled his sister's hair without provocation. (I was the witness. She was innocent that time.)
• Pulled Moe's tail because the poor kitty was sitting on the Prince and the Knight wanted Moe to sit on him.
• Run away from me down the sidewalk - laughing all the way.
• Licked people while pretending he is a cat or dog. This would not be so bad if he would keep it in the family. He licked AB's mom while she was watching the kids for me the other day. After several warnings, he got a timeout out of the deal. She is one of the sweetest ladies I know so this was a big thing.
• Tried to jump out of the boat while it was going fast. (That's why I keep one hand on his lifejacket when the boat is in motion.)
• Took his sippy cup full of orange juice upstairs where the cats got it and chewed a hole in it. (This one is more my fault than his but you have to know this to read the next couple.)
• Was angry that he didn't get a sippy cup for his juice anymore and dumped his juice (in a cup) in the sink.
• Wanted more juice and was mad that I said no (because he had just dumped his juice in the sink) so he knocked down all the kid cups I keep in the pantry in retaliation.
• Hit and kicked everyone in the house at various points.

Anyway, you get the idea.

I know this is a phase. I know he is a sweet kid with a heart of gold. I know it has to be very difficult to be three and have people tell you what to do and what not to do all of the time.

This too shall pass.

In just few weeks it will be just the Knight and me at home. The Princess and the Prince will both be at school. (Sniff, Sniff...) I am hoping that the extra one-on-one attention that the Knight gets will help us move past this stage. We actually had a taste of that yesterday afternoon when AB invited the kids over to swim. The Knight was sleeping so he didn't get to go. When he woke up, we played puzzles and cars and colored and read a book. He was a very sweet boy for me all afternoon.

There is hope!