The Longest Summer

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.