Patrick at 2 1/2 yrs.

Patrick,

Today you turned 2 1/2 years old.  You keep growing so quickly, I wish you would slow down!  At the same time, it's so fun watching you grow and change.

What would we do without you, bud?  You keep life exciting, frustrating, happy, and crazy.  Mostly, happy. :)   I love watching how good you are with your brother(except when he takes your cars), I love watching how good you are to other little kids and I love seeing how much love you have for your aunts, uncles, grandparents, and your parents.  I can't get enough of hearing those words, "I luh you, mama."  Every morning I walk into your bedroom and you say, "Oh hi!  Guh mornin mama!"

We took you to McDonalds the other day and my heart burst with pride as you played with the other kids and were so kind.  A little boy was hiding under the slide and you climbed under with him and said, "you okay?  you need help?"  And from that moment on, you two were best buds for the rest of the time we were there.  A little bit later you saw a little girl crying and you went up to her, hugged her, and said, "you want mommy?  what matter?"  She started playing with you as well and you would hold out your hand to help her up the steps or over little obstacles. Aiden was trying to play in the baby section, and you kept coming over to him to make sure he was ok.  Moments like those make me so proud of you.  Yesterday I read a story to you about a little baby elephant whose mom leaves him for a little bit and you started crying for the baby elephant.  I was surprised that you understood so much of the story but I was more surprised that you had so much care for what happened to the baby elephant.  It was a moment that I got to see just how tender and caring you are.  I hope you never lose that sweet spirit that you have.

Keeping it real here, as I'm typing this post you just tried taking the Mater truck from Aiden, causing Aiden to fall and hit his head on the kitchen floor.  You are definitely protective of your toys and have a habit of pushing Aiden over when he's trying to get in the way of what you want.  Each day consists of a little crying from Aiden as you try to steal whatever toy he's playing with because for some reason, the toys that someone else is playing with are always more fun than the toys you're playing with.  However, on the upside, you are so quick to say you're sorry and give a hug.  We're just working on skipping the violent part before the hug comes. ;)

You're vocabulary is increasing all of the time.  You're always speaking in sentences but more and more of them are becoming clear.  You sometimes have your own language and add words into the phrases but you're getting there.  A lot of times, your sentences will sound something like this; "hey mom, me ma wants a me ma play with a ma truck!" Meaning, "hey mom, I want to play with a truck!  Or, "I want a me ma blankie!"  Meaning, "I want my blankie!"  I don't know where you got it from but you love using me and ma as filler words.  We're working on it.  One of your favorite phrases to say is, "Sure, mama!"  Conversations go like this a lot:
                                 Me: "Hey Patrick, do you want some food?"
                                 Patrick: "Yeah, sure."
                                 Me: "Do you want a sandwich?"
                                 Patrick: "Sure, mama.  Sure, sure, sure, sure"
I don't know what it is about the word, sure, but you really love it.
                                   
As far as counting goes, you can count up to ten and have done it all by yourself before but rarely does that happen.  Usually you just count up to three and then want someone else to count with you.  I think your counting skills come from counting so many cars over and over again.  Mom is almost as obsessed with keeping track of them as you are. 

By far, your favorite toys are cars and play doh.  Preferably you play with the two together.

You also love reading books, playing in the bath, playing in the snow, going to the park, wrestling, watching movies and jumping on anything you can...usually your bed.  

This week we started the potty training thing for the third time and I think we're finally ready.  You're more ready and just as importantly, if not more so, mom is also more ready.  Today you went on the toilet without any coaxing from anyone.  We're crossing our fingers that the process keeps going well.  It's time. ;)  

Patrick, bud, you mean the world to us.  You keep mommy and daddy on our toes and sometimes we lose patience and forget that you're only 2 but you are incredibly patient with us.  We love you.  We love your endless hugs and "I luh yous."  You're in the phase where you like to try to push boundaries but I wouldn't change a thing about you.  You add so much to our family that would be impossible to replace.  We love you, bud.

Mom and Dad