NaBloPoMo Day 7: My struggle with 3

Every year before his birthday, the Cub starts exhibiting some of the less than desirable characteristics of the age he is about to enter.  I distinctly remember right around 11 1/2 months having to say "no" to him for the first time and realizing that I was about to enter the toddler phase.  Around 23 months, I got my first "no" from the Cub himself, which opened us up to him learning all about autonomy at age 2.  This year, we began seeing our usually responsive son seem to completely ignore every little thing we would say just before his 3rd birthday.  Suddenly, we found ourselves living with this little person who disregarded many of our instructions, wanted to control more things on his own (like forcing our cat to come with him into the bathroom every single day) and started asking question after question after question.

The other day I was reminded of this scene from "Friends":

Anyone who has spent some time with a 3 year old knows what I am talking about.  Here are a few of the Cub's favorites (coincidentally my least favorites):

• "Mommy, what are you doin'?"
• "Where are we goin'?"
• "What does (insert person or character) say?"
• "What's (insert anything) doin'?"

And, of course, the classic "Why?"

According to Dr Sears, "Three is often described as the 'absolute mother's dream' stage, mainly because Three's are more obedient. The no's of the Two become yeses for Three. 'okay, Mom,' becomes quicker and more willing." 

I'm not sure what stage of 3 this is to occur, but we haven't encountered it yet.  Right now we are dealing with looots of crying/yelling temper tantrums, having to repeat ourselves ad nauseam, and general craziness.

There are plenty of good things about 3, though, I am having a difficult time focusing on them.  Jacob can come up with some really imaginative play ideas, he can ask some super creative questions, and he's becoming a lot more independent.  I know that someday Jacob will be a teenager and I will miss this age, so I am trying to focus on that through all of these frustrations, though it can be quite challenging.  Sometimes finding the humor in the situation is the best I can hope for.

Thank goodness for Louis C K

Our cuddles are few and far between now that his brother is here, though we sneak in some time when we're able to.

Anyone have good tips on dealing with a 3 year old?