Three weeks away from turning one and I still do not have my parents trained yet. I’m full of surprises. Like the other night, 4:20am seemed like a good time to get up and start my day with a healthy dose of screaming and then goofing around. Last week I was sent to a nap soon after I arrived at daycare only to sleep for a few minutes and not nap anymore that day. Today I was happily playing and then suddenly I was an inconsolable monster. Off to bed I went. And you know… I was a whole lot better after that 4-hour nap. Imagine that!

I can’t talk yet – I’m working on it – but I do know what I want. Tonight my Mom and Dad are my guinea pigs putting my grunts, cries and whines into words. They take away the TV remote and I cry meaning “give me that back.” I throw sippy cups on the floor and point to my bottle meaning “I want my bottle, not this grown-up cup.” If you give me chili and then switch it to fruit, my head shaking and wincing whine when you put chili back in front of me means “you better switch that back to fruit pronto or this kitchen will be wearing your chili in two milliseconds.” When I grab your leg and cry it means “pick me up.” If you pick me up and I cry and hurl myself away from you, it means “I’m super cranky and very tired and if you want to hear me howl some more you shouldn’t put me to bed right now.” And that’s when I went to bed.

I always win. It doesn’t matter what the contest is because it all comes down to the battle of wills…  and I do not give up. Oh sure – I lose a lot (going to bed before midnight, eating food and not candy for dinner, wearing shoes outside), but there are hundreds – no, thousands – of contests that I win. Some examples:

• I pick my own clothes, whether you think they match or not.
• I wear a dress – sometimes the same dress – 5-6 days of the week (Princess dresses after daycare count).
• I get dessert almost every day.
• I don’t have to finish my dinner (but I don’t get dessert either).
• I pick the movie. You do not pick the movie. Ever.
• I get a dark story every night; and it usually lasts a lot longer than you thought it should.

It’s a fun time to be three.

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