The Particulars of Gussie at Three

Things I want to remember about Gussie right now...

When he wakes up in the morning, he often tells me he is hungry and "drinky".

We just had this conversation, at 9:30pm:
Gussie: What is that noise outside?
Me: Oh, probably crickets, some cicadas...
Gussie: Maybe it was possums.
Me: Maybe, but we don't really hear the possums.
Gussie: Possums are dangerous.
Me: Possums aren't dangerous to people.
G: But they are dangerous to CHICKENS. We have CHICKENS.
Me: Ok, you're right. Possums are dangerous to chickens but that is why we close the chickens up in their coop at night, so they'll be safe. And possums are nocturnal so they don't come out during the day, so the chickens are safe.
G: [thinking]: But how do the possums get out?
M: Possums are wild animals. They are always out.
G: But who are the owners that let the possums out?
M: Ummm... God? Possums are wild. Nobody has to let them out. They come and go whenever they want.
G: But if God shut the gate on the wild animals then they wouldn't be out!
You win, Gussie.

Apparently the thing that really stuck with Gussie from learning to use the potty is how I would remind him to "listen to his tummy" so he would know to stop playing when it was time to use the potty. Now he assumes his "tummy" is the final authority on all things and aims to use this to his advantage. Examples:
"My tummy said it needs to eat a cookie right now."
Ok, that is fairly reasonable. But there's more.
"My tummy says it needs to go to the playground."
"My tummy says you need to read a book to me."
"My tummy says I can have the truck Michael is playing with."

Gussie is currently trying to navigate how to handle situations that don't go his way or don't go as planned. His strategy at the moment is to eschew every and any possibility of personal responsibility. Examples:
Gussie asks me to run around the house circle with him. While we are running, he trips on a rug and falls down. Angrily, "That's why you shouldn't make me run with you!"
Gussie is eating an ice cream cone. A bit drops on his favorite worker-man shirt. Incredulously, "That's why you shouldn't give me ice cream!"
Gussie is playing on the playground at the park. He misses a step and bumps a knee. Aghast, "That's why you shouldn't take me to the playground!"
Gussie is riding his balance bike and slams a bump in the sidewalk... you get the idea.

Gussie's favorite play time activities right now all revolve around construction work. When he is pretending to be a "worker man," he always wears a green shirt and his tool belt. When he is a worker man he only refers to himself in the third person:
"Can you help the worker man put his tool belt on? The worker man needs his screw driver to fix your porch. It's broken. But first the worker man has to get a drink. Can you get the worker man a cup? He's drinky."

Gussie believes that the measure of a man's strength is in his elbows. He was upset for a whole day once because Michael Jr would not admit that Gussie's elbows were bigger than Michael's, no matter how many times Gussie showed Michael his elbows and insisted they were bigger. Go ahead, ask him to show you how strong he is. He'll show you his elbow.

He gives me this face all the time.