Vrai – did you come up with "Yatesing" or did you hear it somewhere?? If I had a nickel for every time I wanted to "Yates" my daughter, I'd be rich, baby!!
Missi – maybe he's ADHD or obsessive/compulsive...or maybe he's just incredibly active! Pull up this site (
http://www.psychologynet.org/dsm.html) on the web and you will find more info on Attention Deficit, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Autism. If it sounds like he's got some clinically significant behaviors happening, it's worth having it diagnosed and treated early! (My daughter has been on meds since grade 2...and they can make a HUGE difference!)
Also enlist as much help as possible until he's in school – you need frequent breaks just to "re-energize!" Do you have a friend or neighbor who you can share little child care breaks with? Is there a teenager you can call to come over and play with him for an hour or two while you relax? How about a mom or relative?
My daughter was the same at that age, and it is mentally and physically EXHAUSTING! She gave up naps at 23 months! It was AWFUL because if she took a nap, she wouldn't go to bed until 10...if she didn't take a nap, she'd go to bed at 8:30, but was a total grouchy BEAR the last few hours of her day...
Some of the things my daughter LOVED at age 3: play-doh, "making stuff" (keep a box of scraps of colored paper, yarn, fabric, cardboard boxes, yogurt containers, etc. handy!), legos, big cardboard boxes you can fit in, costumes, puppets, and playing with water (let him sit outside in old clothes and play with water in pots, measuring cups, and with old paint brushes he can "paint" the deck or outside walls with water!), sidewalk chalk is GREAT! so are bathtub body paints and crayons!
Good luck! May the "force" be with you!