Not Quite 3, But Almost 7

Isaiah will turn 3 in February, but if you ask him how old he'll be at his birthday he'll tell you "Maybe... 7!" And if he asks you "How old you are?" he'll probably say "Wow!" in response to your ancientness.

For the time though, he's obsessed with being 2. When you let him pick what color bib he wants (because if you don't ask you're going to choose wrong) he'll look down at his shirt and say whichever color matches best, even if it's not one of the options. In the same vein, he must have 2 of everything, because he's 2 and that's a match! Tonight, he INSISTED on having 2 apples with dinner. Apples weren't even on the menu, but fighting with him over eating too much fruit is not a battle we choose to fight. 

So, almost-3 can be pretty precious, as long as you have enough apples and the right colored bibs, but it can obviously be very trying as well.

One of the most exasperating ordeals of his age is the dropping of the sacred nap. We can't get Isaiah to go to bed until 10pm or later, so we do look forward to the day he forgoes naps altogether and turns in for the night a bit earlier. But the in-between time is another story. He thinks he doesn't need a nap, but he's wrong. Below are some results of his attempts to skip a nap. I usually have to give up on him to take care of Paul and he eventually just crashes somewhere random and hilarious.

This was our most discipline-filled day to date, he actually fell asleep in Time Out.

Then there's this: the way they'd both prefer to sleep; cuddling. 

Isaiah amazes us pretty much every day with the things he remembers or picks up on. Yesterday, he bought a blow torch with Daddy, when they got home to try it out, he pointed to the back of the box and "read" the instructions "Do this outside!" I don't even know how he knew what a blow torch was, but I'm glad he's keeping his daddy safe and all of us amused.

Whether you have an almost 3 year-old at home this Christmas or not, I pray you're finding plenty of God's wonders to marvel at this week as we anticipate the birth of another precious child, Baby Jesus.

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

-Isaiah 9:6 (the other Isaiah)