As a mom of a 2 year old, there just never seems to be enough time to drag out the baby book and write down the funny, cute, amazing, smart things Patton does every day. Believe it or not, I'm actually busy doing more important things, like, I don't know, chasing a 2 year old around all day when I'm not at work ;) Anyway, since I don't have time to actually write it down in the baby book, it might be easier if I start typing it here...I type much faster than I can write, plus I would completely smear everything due to being left-handed. So here we go, here are some things that need to be remembered (so that I can totally embarass Patton in 14 years when he brings a girl over to the house):
Olympics 2012 - First Impressions: Patton LOVED the Olympics! We watched the qualifying round for individual women's gymnastics first. Patton was mesmerized by the girls doing the vault. He noticed the pattern: they would run, flip, and then hug their friends. He had to do the EXACT same thing! He said, "I fwip too, Mama!" He would run around the living room, get on his hands and knees and flip, and then he would come hug me. Then he would repeat. He did enough "Patton-version" vaults to make me dizzy! Later that night, he saw the U.S. men's swimming team preparing for a relay race. They all took their shirts off by grabbing the collar and pulling it over their heads. In our house, we pull by the bottom hem, so this was a new technique for him. He had to be just like them. "I in the Owympics too, Mama!" he said, as he did his best to pull his shirt collar over his head. His arms got stuck in the shirt behind his back, but we helped him so he could be in the "Owympics" too. That night, Josh was getting him dressed for bed. He protested putting a t-shirt on. "I in the Owympics. I swim." We finally convinced him that he could swim in the Olympics tomorrow, but he needed to be a Patton in his bed tonight.
Olympics 2012 - Gabby: Patton loved cheering for the U.S. women's gymnastics team. He would cheer with me, "Go U.S.A.!" and "Go Gabby!" He really liked Gabby (who won the women's individual all-around gold medal). Last night (more than 2 weeks after the Olympics), he saw a commercial about Olympic highlights, and as soon as she was on the screen, he said, "Go Gabby!" It's so cute!
Olympics 2012 - Swimming and Diving: Patton loved watching the swimming and diving competitions. He wanted to be just like the Olympians. He would "dive" off the couch, and even told me during a torrential thunderstorm that he wanted to be dive at our neighbor's pool, so he could be in the "Owympics." Later in the week, we did go swimming at the neighbor's pool, and he would jump ("dive") into the pool and say, "I in the Owympics!!"
Olympics 2012 - Lasting Impression: On Sunday, August 19th, Patton swam! He had floaties on, so I guess it doesn't "technically" count, but for a 2-year-old to be able to swim across a pool without any help from adults is just awesome to me! He has always been one to need to hold on to me when we swim or one who doesn't really kick. That day he did it by himself, and the Olympics were his motivation. He would jump ("dive") in and then swim back to the steps to get out and do it again. "I swimming like the Owympics! I in the Owympics!" he would shout. It was precious, and such a milestone. I guess we can hang another medal around Michael Phelps neck for that one :)
Baby Lewis - Finding Out: Patton is going to be a big brother! On July 10th, 2012, we found out we are expecting another baby (due March 2013). Josh and I didn't really know how to tell Patton, but we couldn't keep it from him. We told him there is a baby in mommy's tummy. He said it was a boy. For the rest of the day, he told me it was Baby Luke (his newborn cousin), Baby Mickey (as in Mickey Mouse), and baby boy. We came up with "Baby Lewis" as a name for now.
Baby Lewis - Ultrasound: We took Patton with us to our first ultrasound on August 1st. We couldn't see much, since I was only about 7 weeks pregnant, but that didn't bother Patton. The ultrasound tech was so sweet, and she made sure to explain what she was doing to Patton. "I'm going to put this lotion on mommy's tummy so I can tickle her belly and see your baby brother or baby sister." He loved it! When we were done, the tech handed me the pictures, and I handed them to Patton. He took them and showed them to the tech. He said, "That picture of my baby brudder." He had to hold the pictures all the way to the car, and he showed them to the nice lady in the elevator as we left. He had to show them to Sheila in the church office. "That my baby brudder," he'd say. Gosh, I love that boy!
Baby Lewis - Exhaustion: The first trimester of a pregnancy is always the worst of the 3. You feel yucky, ugly, hormonal, tired, and so much more but you don't look pregnant...so people just think you are one crazy, lazy, psycho lady...until they find out you are indeed pregnant. Anyway, I have felt yucky and tired, and trying to explain that to a 2 year old is, well, difficult. I don't want him to blame Baby Lewis for making me feel bad, so I just tell him, "Mommy doesn't feel good." His reply is always, "I not feel good eider." And then he runs off to play. Man, I wish I could feel that good when I "not feel good eider."
Music - The Harmonica: Patton was given a harmonica when we visited my grandparents in mid-July 2012. He loves that harmonica. He can't play a song, but he can keep a beat. He loves to play it in the car as we drive to school, but he's a little shy when asked to play it for anyone besides Josh and me.
Music - The Church Piano: Last Thursday, August 23rd, Patton got to play on the church piano as I finished some work around the church (which I didn't think of until after I had signed him out at daycare). He played for a bit before we left, and our music director came out of his office as we were leaving. He asked if Patton had been playing the piano. I thought it had bothered him, so I tried to apologize. But he was actually really impressed. He said, "He was playing single notes. He was playing a melody. Wait, how old is he?" I told him that Patton is 2 and a half and that he loves music, he's always playing something. He said, "That's really advanced for his age. Patton, maybe you should take piano lessons with me." I don't know if Patton is ready for that, but if he is a music genius some day, we can say our music director discovered him when he was only 2 :)
Well, let's wrap it up for today. Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to impact us in the next 2 days, so I'm sure I'll have some memorable events to add later.
