August 2012: 23 months

Dear Patrick,

• On the way to the mall one day, Sharon said to you, “Lets go pick-up Biggie so he can come with us.”  Apparently, you thought about that for a moment and then replied, “Biggie is so heavy.”
  
• You like to play in the “Bird nest” (aka the pillows on our bed.)  You are a baby byrd and you ask for worms and bugs and pretend to eat them.  The pillows are also sometimes clouds, a fort and (my favorite) a “party house.” Really?!
  
• When Gangie walks in the door in the morning, you immediately ask for a peppermint.  You love peppermint.  And you love your Gangie.
  
• Your cousin Jack was born and it was so exciting for the whole family this month! He looks so handsome and sweet in the photos. We cannot wait to meet him.
  
• This exchange is common lately: Patrick mumbling something so we repeat back what we think you said in order to clarify - for example, “You want a cookie?”  And then you say, “Alright” like it was our idea to give you a cookie the whole time. Such a clever boy.
  
• You are known to call various family members on your “foot phone.”  You talk into your heel and listen with your toes.
  
• One night after putting you to bed, we heard you sing the entire “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and the “Itsy-bitsy Spider” song to yourself (or maybe owl) over the monitor.
  
• Mitch loaded new apps to the ipad for you.  Your skill at shape puzzles is impressive.
  
• You have been saying, “Nice to meet you” to strangers, which is really sweet but you also say this exact phrase to members of your own family.  “Nice to meet you, Mommy.”  Well, yes, nice to meet you six-hundred-billion times too, Patrick. 
• Some of my favorite things you say this month are: “I’m ok” if you fall or hurt yourself and “I need help,” when something isn’t going your way.  You seem to make character judgements like, “He’s a nice Pop” or “He’s a mean car.” The concept of “my” is emerging and "want" continues to be strong with you this month. Omi has been teaching you German so you said “das schmecht gut” out of the blue the other day when you ate dinner.  Happily, you say “thanks” more regularly now since we are pushing nice manners. And I really like when you use new words like delicious, limousine, grouchy.
  
• We went to Pawley’s this month with the Cullinans and Hopes and had such a wonderful time. You liked to feed the ocean sand, “yum yum yum!”  The pattern that week: inside, outside, inside, outside...fickle baby beach comber.
  
• In case we forget the rules of the road, you haven been known to shout "red means stop" and "green means go" as we are driving.
• You don’t like the whale episode of Dora the Explorer and get upset every time it plays.  We tell you not to look at that part but you peek anyway.  “I need help!” you say.

I will always be here to help you, my sweet boy.  Happy 23 months!  Love, Mom