February 2016: 65 months (5 years and 5 months)

Dear Patrick,

• “Mom, come in here. I want to show you something. It will amaaaaze you.”
• Apparently if you throw rocks at school on the playground (even by accident) and Ms Qua mentions it to your Uncle Bunky when he picks you up, it will NOT be “a gum kinda day.”
• You have “singing pants." Opening the multiple zippers on the khaki corduroy pants, allows each pocket to sing - and each zipper pocket makes a different sound. “This is my Base pocket...trumpet...banjo,” I heard you tell your dad. You are like a one man polka band. Sometimes a random shirt pocket might make a sound, but its those pants that really sing.
• You are all of a sudden noticeably taller this month.
• We finished reading the first Harry Potter book on Valentine’s Day and watched the first movie. You loved it! When you asked for book # 2, I drove straight to Barnes and Noble to get it even though it was raining and cold and we were fighting 5 o'clock traffic. You may not get every toy or sweet you want, but books are another story. I will go on record right now to say that you may have every book your heart desires.
• It was a grandparent sleepover on 2/14, which worked out great because your Dad and I had a lovely dinner together (with Bunky too!), and you got to be with your Biggie Valentine.
• “This spell has unicorn skin and orange juice,” you said out-loud as your finger ran down the full text pages of a book that you took off your Dad's nightstand. You sat on the bathroom floor outside the shower door and concentrated on your spells. You looked so cute in your PJs, hunched over the pages with your knees pulled in close to balance all the magic.
• I have picked you up from school maybe twice this month - Michael has gotten you every day! This means that you are on a first name basis with the waitress at the Soda Shop.
• While you are in our shower at night, you like to assemble Close Encounter-like structures out of the various soaps and shampoo bottles. The next morning, I find myself deconstructing your art to put everything back on the shelves.  
• You rock that red turtle-neck like a mini Steve Jobs.
• On Monday 2/22 we hosted a fun happy hour for Michael across the street at his house and paid the Cordell twins to watch nine children (ages 2-7) across the street at our house. “Mom, I was the only one who listened,” you reported later that evening. Poor Kylie and Griffin.
• The Howells took you to Bingo night at Summit Elementary on 2/26 and Austin sent us texts and photos of you walking right up to the stage asking the teachers how it all worked and even pulled the numbers! “No fear,” Austin said. You are gonna own that school in the Fall.
• At the end of the month, Omi and Pop came back to Greenville to hug Michael before he left for DC for his French language training. Don’t worry - you got a lot of attention too: many a chess match was played with Pop and many a “recipe” (combining different juices in the house, which only Omi has the patience to do with you!) was made.
• When your Dad picked you up from school on 2/29, your class was listening to music and you said to him, “I wish mom was here - she would of loved that song.” Your dad asked why in particular and you shrugged saying, “...well, it’s beautiful...and she would of cried.”