My little munchkin has been 3 years old for 1 month today and almost all of that has been spent here in Darwin (where we have just been put on cyclone watch!)

He is definitely putting up a good fight for the title of 'Who's the Boss' so we unfortunately spend a lot of our time um, discussing why mummy needs to be the boss and Jude needs to maybe listen a little more and follow instructions rather than making up his own. I am sure all my mum's group friends out there are experiencing their own versions of this new independence and all the fun that goes along with it.

His classic move is to take whatever I ask him to do and change it just slightly to give himself a feeling of power. We have a lot of please do this/no, I'm going to do that going on. Shopping trips have unfortunately turned back into an annoying game of chasey up and down the aisles and we have had to revert back to compulsory trolley rides or his harness but we have gone through this before and I know sooner or later it will resolve and he will go back to staying by my side as a trade-off for his independence.

Is it all bad? Of course not. He is an overwhelming delight and his cleverness just amazes me (even when it is being used to get his own way!) On Sunday as we were heading off to Church he looked at me and said, 'I hope we are going to the same Church we have been to 2 times already' and we were tho those 2 times were over a 3-week period and it astounds me that he now remembers these things. He can trace over numbers and through mazes whilst staying in the lines and does it equally well with both his left and right hands. He has learnt to play snap and pairs. And he is totally toilet trained (except at night of course because I can't risk our very thick seat/mattresses in the van nor can I do washing every day if necessary so that will have to wait.)

He is effusive in his enthusiasm as I know is every small child but that doesn't stop it from being a continual joy to witness.

We are struggling a bit with giving up the afternoon nap - if he doesn't have one he is asleep by 6pm and often before dinner and if he does have one he is up to 9 or 10pm and zooming around while the rest of the world is wanting to calm down.

Now for the really precious stuff: He loves to snuggle. The other day I said 'I love you' and he replied, 'Don't worry, I love you' with all the emphasis you could hope for.

He is in love with the daughter of the friends we are staying with here in Darwin. Paige is just about to turn 16 and whenever she returns home from school or time out with her friends Jude excitedly tells me 'My girlfriend's back!' He does also count Holly Shiftwell from Cars 2 movie, Jessie from Toy Story 2 as girlfriends and when he got a Percy train (from Thomas the Tank Engine' the other day he hugged him and said 'I love Percy, he's my boy girlfriend'. Too cute. He also (as he just said while seeing something on tv) wants to go everywhere. And every time he sees someone doing something he finds interesting (anything from driving a truck to operating a digger to wiring a light) he says, Mum, can I please do that when I am a big boy?'

He talks really well, full sentences, clear pronunciation, throws out a new, big word every week or two (his current favourites are interesting and independent). He doesn't want to talk to anyone on the phone but grabs my Telstra phone and wanders around 'talking' to family members (mainly Lonie and Phil) for half an hour or so with much more conversation than he ever does to them in person. Kids!

We have been having a lovely time catching up with our dear friends Peta & Nev here in Darwin and need to catch up with a couple more people before we leave and this is something that will be coming soon as long as the weather and roads allow.

Hoping we don't add a cyclone to our list of 'things we did on our holiday' - or at least not a big one. Catch you again on our way out West!