What is it like to have a three year old?

You may have clicked through to reminisce of a time when your children were younger or because your child's third birthday is around the corner, perhaps you have hope that the terrible twos will be over the moment your child hits lucky number three. Let me tell you what it's really like to have a three year old.

It's like this:

Yes, that is my three year old daughter dressed as Toy Story's Jessie having created a slide with her mattress and throwing herself. All her own creation, from conception to implementation. The blogger in me had to get the camera phone out before interrupting such happenings, the mother had to repress laughter, the knackered almost 39 year old trying not to stink in the middle of a heat wave... well, I won't tell you what she thought, it wasn't pretty.

And that is basically what happens when you think: "she's three, I can leave her in her room, where she will be safe with the gate closed (after all I do it every night) for a few minutes while I take a shower in the adjacent bathroom, where she can in fact see me and chat to me from her door". And that she did, what I didn't realise is that every time she was coming to chat to me she was also doing this:

These were obviously in her way, poor Thumper included

And there I was picturing a calm angelical child quietly playing with her toys or having an impromptu tea party with her dolls. You know, like you see in those tranquil soft-focus photos in pastel colours. I shall live in hope.

What do you think? Engineer in the making? Are/were your children the same or is it just my child who is "a tad" mischievous?

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