July 2016: 70 months (5 years and 10 months)

Dear Patrick,

• The upside of a 16 year old beagle on July 4th is that he cannot hear fireworks.
• We thought we left Elephant at Southern Culture on 7/6 when we went there to celebrate Big Mitchell’s birthday. Elephant, however, was hiding in the back of your father’s car and, of course, we didn’t realize until after your dad had already driven back to the restaurant, talked to the waitress and sent out an APB on that rascal.
• On Friday 7/8 you wanted to wear a button down shirt and long pants to school. “Is there something special going on today,” we asked. “No, I just want to look handsome for my class.” You had me comb your hair over with water. When you got home from school that day, you asked if I’d put on a dress so we could go on a date. “We’ll go dancing and you can pick,” you told me. (Where did you learn this line?!) We ended up at Sidewall Pizza downtown and we let Dad be the third wheel.
• You fake burp so much that we had to tell you to please stop fake burping.
• Hair on your legs amazes you - “my legs look like Dad’s legs!”
• The Gergheteys came to visit this month and stayed across the street.
• You like to dance standing on my feet while we hold hands.
• You got a fat lip at school from sitting with your knees and arms inside your shirt in a chair and your face broke your fall since you did not have any appendages to help stop yourself.
• “Patrick, why don’t you change your shirt before we go out to dinner,” your dad asked. And you said, “Why don’t you change your pants!” and made yourself laugh so hard that even I thought it was funny.
• “Epic fail” I heard you tell Rivers over a play-date.