Cox Farms—the Disneyland of pumpkin patches—was a thrill on Saturday morning. My consolation for not being able to slide on all of the giant slides with Patrick and Donald was getting to watch both of their smiles on the way down. Patrick’s favorite slide was a giant dinosaur-themed slide; he bounded up the hill to the top at least a dozen times and squealed with delight as he rode down on Daddy’s lap. We did a hayride (my first too!) and loved watching Patrick marvel at the painted wooden cutouts (Big Bird! A dinosaur! Elephants!) and high-schoolers in costumes who tumbled out of a UFO and other silly/scary scenes along the route. We saw baby pigs, goats, chickens, and sheep, and Patrick grooved to “Burnin’ Love” from one of the many live bands that play throughout the day. Picking actual pumpkins didn’t come until the very end—but we found two very nice ones to take home.
"I'm going to see two turtles" Patrick told us when we announced our destination on Sunday morning, and the Baltimore Aquarium did not disappoint. Patrick loved looking at all the animals and was only mildly annoyed that there weren't any lions present. He ran about four stories down the ramp of the Atlantic reef exhibit and was as amazed as we were by the giant sea turtle and the "mans" feeding the rays and turtles in the tank at the bottom. The giant sports balls outside the ESPN Zone held equal fascination and Patrick was desperate to get his hands on them. We played the basketball toss game, football game, and even golf. Donald took some cute photos of Patrick on Sunday afternoon eating apple slices, one of his new favorite snacks (skin removed--how do all kids prefer this?). He is also keen on "tummus" these days, which he will use as a dip but prefers to just eat with a spoon.
We had a great time last weekend hosting an impromptu playgroup, spending Friday evening at Chuck E. Cheese, going to the UVA game, strolling around the Alexandria Arts Festival, and having a picnic in the park, but on Sunday afternoon it was time to get to work fixing the rotten railings on the front porch. When Patrick woke up from nap and heard all the hammering outside he told me “I gonna help Daddy.” So we gathered his tools and I helped him tie his tool belt on. He eyed Daddy's belt and his and proudly announced “I’m a big boy now.”
Transition has never been easy for our little man, and we shouldn’t have expected anything different for the first day at Abracadabra. Patrick proudly posed with his backpack on the front porch, but all 3 Thomases ended up in varying degrees of tears not long after. His report card says it all: He didn’t eat his lunch (they served dreaded carrots—how could they?), and the activity he enjoyed most was “holding my blanket and looking at books.” The next day was a bit better. They served chicken nuggets for lunch, Patrick played with a new friend, and told me “I like my school” as we were leaving. When we got home he saw a squirrel in the yard and said “You think that squirrel go to school Mommy?” I said yes, and Patrick said to the squirrel, “your mommy come get you.”
I heard on the radio the other day that this year Memorial Day fell on the earliest possible date, and Labor Day the latest. Even with all that extra time the only thing I really wanted to accomplish this summer was for Patrick to use up all of his swim diapers. We got pretty close—there’s just a few left.
I always hate to see summer end, but so much happened this year to make this one of the very best. Patrick’s talking improved by leaps and bounds. It seemed like within a few weeks in June his vocabulary tripled and he started speaking in complete sentences. We love how he expresses thoughts. A carousel, for example, is “horsies that go around and around.” He asks a million questions. He always wants to know where the water goes when we drain the tub, and today I found myself explaining what college is. He's also started pretending in earnest, and loves going for “rides” in cardboard boxes and spreading a blanket on the floor for a “picnic.”
In July, he became enthralled with a brief glimpse of “Bee Movie” and we bought him the “DDD,” which we’ve now all watched, in 5-minute increments, 100 times. He loves to read magazines with Daddy, and can identify nearly every sport that is illustrated in Sports Illustrated. His favorite book is New Tricks I Can Do, which stars an out-of-work circus dog who learns how to dunk a basketball and turn multiple colors. Another great love is our tape measure. He knows exactly where we keep it in the kitchen drawer. He’ll tell us “I need to measure something,” and get up on his tiptoes to fish it out. He tries tying it around his waist to make a tool belt.
A late summer discovery was Chuck E. Cheese, where Patrick loved all of the fabulous football, basketball, and baseball throwing games.He couldn’t wait to show our neighbor David his prize and tell him about “my friend Chuck.” Patrick continues to love “cane cane” cones and gently but firmly pushes us away if we get to close to the ice cream cup. He also has developed a highly advanced ability to detect “candies” and can spot varieties he’s never seen, let alone tasted, from across a crowded room.
All of our summer activities together have been a bit bittersweet, as we know things will soon change, but we’re all excited for a new season, a new sibling, and lots of new adventures.
We stopped at UVA FanFest a few weeks ago on the way home from Roanoke. Patrick got to meet CavMan and check out the stadium. Someone has clearly been talking to him about the upcoming season. We were in the car the other day and I was reminding Patrick that he lived on Maple Street, in the town of Alexandria, in the state of Virginia. When I said Virginia he piped up “I gonna play football at Virginia!” Donald pleads innocence.
Cousin Sophie and Patrick are having more and more fun playing together. This weekend they had a blast in the tunnel and literally hanging out in the tree in the park. Grammy and Grandaddy were down for a visit, along with Uncle Max, the dog, who gets lots of hugs from both kids. We love watching Sophie prepare to pet Max by approaching from 20 feet away with her hand already raised up for petting and hugging.
Another proud mommy day came last week—Patrick was coloring a “craft” and scribbling away when he suddenly looked up, pointed to what looked like a fairly convincing letter “M” and told me: “M is for Mommy!”
We had a fun weekend in Roanoke visiting Gran T, Poppa, Aunt Whitney and Cousin Colton. Patrick loves kissing Colton and tells us he wants to hold him all the time. We loved swimming in the pool, going on a hike complete with a visit from Smokey the Bear, and learning that cookies and candies are always in plentiful supply at Gran T’s house—even for breakfast! Aunt Whitney will be receiving a special “intrepid mother” award for simultaneously breastfeeding Colton and hiking. I have never seen such an amazing feat of momminess before. Go Aunt Whitney!
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