July 2014: 46 months (3 years and 10 months old)

Dear Patrick,

• When asked what your father does for a living, you said this month that he is a “warrior,” which I have to admit does sound a lot like “lawyer.”  And, as you point out, he does fight bad guys.
• You play a great game of “Shopkeeper” in which you sell-off most every item in our home within eyesight. The good news is that your prices are fair - usually no more than “ten monies.”
• In an interesting comparison, you told me that “a yawn is a toot from your mouth.”
• As we played with chalk on the driveway one hot Saturday afternoon, you said to me: “I’ll draw a cross and you draw Jesus dying on there.”  Trying not to react negatively, I drew a sleeping Jesus stick figure -- and then I also quickly drew some butterflies and rainbows and other happy stuff to counterbalance the requested morbid scene of death.  
• You have two firetrucks and you call one “Hank” and the other “Frank.” You race these around the house by putting one hand flat on the top of each toy.  Then, leaning with all your weight against the plastic, you bend at the waist and run.  When you ask us to “talk trucks,” (this firetruck race game) you insist that we contort ourselves in the same manner - otherwise its not “playing right.”  Of course, I never really know if I’m Hank or Frank, so I already know that I’m not playing right on multiple levels.
• You would like to be Spiderman and or Ironman when you grow up.
• Your father and I went to Italy for eight days with Omi, Pop and Bunky for Lisa and Camiel Schijvens wedding, which was amazing and beautiful.  Storybook really.  You stayed with Big Mitchell & Gangie, who installed a playground, sandbox and a pool in their backyard just for you.  Such a lucky boy!
• Your father would not let you change the television channel from his show to yours, and apparently you got mad and informed him that you were “telling mom.” “Go ahead and tell her,” your dad said to you, knowing that although its hard to resist your tear streaked cheeks, I agree 100% with your father. I’ve got his back always. Plus, the cooking show is just so much better than “Turbo” the snail.
• On Friday 7/18 you woke up crying because you had peed yourself awake (which rarely happens) and then two hours later you woke up crying because your legs were asleep and “filled with tingles.”  Rough night.
• I gave you a kiss before you left for school the morning of 7/17 and you said, “thats like our wedding.”