December 2015: 63 months (5 years and 3 months old)

• Your father and I flew to New York at the beginning of the month to visit Sonny & Katie and we had such a great time. I can’t wait to bring you to NY so that you too can eat great food (soup dumplings), ride the subway, see a show, walk more than expected, learn to cross [the street] and pee when you can - not when you have to, buy street scarves and hats and turn into a rock star (like your dad does). And if you’re really lucky, you can have Uncle Sonny & Aunt Katie with you the whole time to make you laugh and share great memories.
• “Mom, look at me please,” you asked as you were telling me a story. You wanted my full attention and it made me so happy that you knew you were important enough to deserve it. Talk to me, Patrick. I’m listening with my eyes and ears.
• On Thursday 12/10, your father and I took you to have allergy tests done and you are very allergic to dog & cat hair, seasonal pollen and dust mites. So, we’ve encased your mattress, bought new pillows, relocated stuffed animals and other soft blankets to the playroom, begun washing everything weekly with very hot water and have become religious about your inhaler twice a day.
• You starred in Overbrook’s production of “The Littlest Christmas Tree” playing the littlest Christmas tree. Ginny Player told us that you had the hardest time acting sad because you are always a happy kid, laughing in rehearsal. But you nailed it at show time; brought the house down.
• Before Gangie and Biggie left for Oklahoma, we had a Christmas feast at their house and opened presents. Gangie keeps so many wonderful toys are her house for you that every day is like Christmas over there!
• We had a wiry Christmas tree this year with branches sticking out every which way, but every Christmas tree is beautiful with the lights and ornaments. And, for future reference,  in my opinion you can never have too many lights.
• Your dad and Matt Whitehead took you and Rivers out of school over lunchtime to visit with Santa. You were very excited when you got home later that day and told me all about it.  
• You still call a mirror a “mir-ra” and a satellite a “sad-light,” which I absolutely love. How are satellites and mirrors a part of our everyday conversation, you may wonder? Well, you have the biggest imagination I’ve ever seen in a child and you are always inventing things that require sad-lights. Also, your toothbrush has a suction cup on the end, which you enjoy sticking to the mir-ra after brushing in the mornings.
• We have been reading the illustrated version of Harry Potter most nights as a family before you go to bed. It’s a lot of fun for me - I don’t ever want this book to end.
• Omi and Pop stayed in the house across the street for eleven days and we had such a wonderful time all together: dinners here and there, nights out, learning how to play chess and checkers, building stairs in the backyard up the bank, arm wrestling, the skipping game (your invention), icing gingerbread men, learning french, “cookin’ in law” sing-a-longs, holiday decorating and shopping. On Monday 12/21, the street lost power and we ate by candlelight together. You did a little break-dancing as our dessert entertainment.
• You insist that there is a piece called the "electronic pawn" in the game of chess, and that it can pretty much do whatever it wants.
• Elephant went on safari while we were in NY, but Gangie found Elephant’s cousin, who you named LT (Little Truck) and he came to live with us. He’s a great new friend.  
• “I do not like crayons,” you informed everyone in the room after opening a gift from Santa at Omi and Pop’s house. The look on your face was pure agony and disgust. However, the Lego boxes made up for it.
• You asked Santa for a skateboard that you now ride around the house on your stomach.
• We drove to Shreveport Louisiana for New Year’s with the Richards (11 hours)! You loved the road trip adventure: watching downloaded movies on the iPad, jumping on the hotel beds and swimming in the indoor pool. And once we got there, you and Ginny were together for almost four days straight. We took you to see the new Star Wars movie in the theater! You both slept in the same room, played from morning till night and practiced kissing (more often than we think David liked!). Happy New Year to you! And all of us.