October 2015: 61 months (5 years and one month old)

Dear Patrick,

• You have so many different shirts in your dresser, but you consistently pick out the plain, short-sleeved, white Hanes undershirt to wear most mornings. Its your go-to of choice.
• The “sun” from the solar system decorations we had hanging in your playroom after your birthday party fell from the ceiling. So, you, Spence and JP busted it open to make a “cave.” I’m not sure how safe it was to allow a rubber globe to cover small children, but you took turns and entertained yourselves nicely.
• Elephant’s voice and Dino’s voice (and pretty much all the friends in the house) sound very similar.
• I went to El Paso and Juarez to visit Michael with Omi on 10/8 - 10/12 and when I got home, you and Dad picked me up from the airport in a NEW car! I loved seeing you pull your seat belt off and smush your face against the back windows, unable to open the child lock, but so excited to see me. Once we finally did hug, you told me: “Mom, this car has voice controls!” And you proudly showed me how they worked by yelling from the backseat, “Car go fast!” The car totally understood you and picked up speed. (No help from Dad - wink). 
• Sometimes you lay in the bathtub and pretend to be a starfish.
• On 10/15 you won a green stripe on your karate belt. You can also walk like General Grievous on all fours so you are inherently full of talent.
• Your dad fixed the brake on your bike and it is so much easier to ride now. (Never mind that we’ve just been telling you to pedal harder these last few weeks - ooops!) You like to take your bike for a ride after dinner while its still light.
• You told me one morning (in a whisper) when you came to snuggle in bed that you are "The King of the Lizards." I looked at you propped up high on a stack of pillows and thought, yep, you sure are.
• It’s getting so much colder in the mornings this month. You still want to wear shorts (and that white Hanes) but we compromise by having you wear long pants and putting shorts in your school bag.
• The night of 10/17, you crawled into bed with us at 4:30 in the morning. It never occurred to me to check the actual time on the clock because you never get up early. But upon waking slightly, your father asked if the bunny clock was up and you declared in an exasperated tone, “Well, he will just literally never ever get up!”
• On Thursday 10/22 you said, “It’s like I’m some special creature - I can see in the dark and I can walk backwards.”
• We put the worksheets that get sent home with you from school on the kitchen island so that when you have breakfast the next day, you can tell us about your efforts. I like to hear how you figured out the puzzle or why you picked a particular color. (As a side note: you like to color each thing a separate color - like one sleeve of a shirt red and the other blue. For a while you only used two colors and now its as if you have discovered the rainbow.) Once we acknowledge the worksheets - your Dad and I don't feel so bad throwing them away. I did, however, save one exceptionally good drawing of a landscape that you created on your own and put it on the refrigerator.
• You’ve gotten into your chores list this month. If you: brush your teeth, get dressed, clean your room and feed the pets, you get 50 cents for the day. The glass jar is filling up fast! And you mark off items with big X.
• You love playing the “Dad/Daughter” game in which you are the parent and I am the child... (but the child still has to do an awful lot to help the parent.) Your father finds this game very confusing.  
•  You were a Storm-trooper for Halloween and looked awesome. We walked up and down Earl Street and bumped into friends along the way. Kids raced between houses for as much candy as possible with their parents following behind just trying to keep up. However, your dad and I had to push and prod you ahead. You just move at your own pace. And then when your candy bucket was about half way filled, you said in a tired voice, “Ok, Mom, one more house and then I’m done.” You know your limits.
• The morning of 10/27 you heard the word “counsel” on the radio and asked what it meant. I told you it was to give guidance, advice and help. Wanting to show you understood, you chimed in, “Yeah! Like giving a map to find treasure.” Um. okay. maybe? Well, you don't need any map from me, Patrick. You are a great treasure.