Playing with Others

I don't know if all children do this, but we have noticed that Patrick has distinct and varying favorite activities that he does with each individual he knows. He remembers which activity goes with which person and we are rarely allowed to change them up (sometimes, we are not allowed to change them up at all).

With his grandmother, he want's to eat, drink, and/or play with anything that's hers. She had to use a cane for a while and to this day, it is one of the most amazing toys for him. The walker became his "Cadillac" ... to ride in around the house. He loves the snacks and drinks, especially when it's from the containers she is using.

With his grandfather, he loves to sit back and watch financial news reports or sports. We can generally count on Papap putting him to sleep at least one night a week this way.

With his mother, he'll sit patiently as she reads him a book ... not with anyone else. He also loves to hear her sing "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and barely listens whens someone else sings it.

With me, he loves to sit at my computer and type on the keyboard and use the mouse ... so glad that I got a heavy-duty gamer mouse and keyboard!

With one of his cousins, he'll race around the house (still using a walker at this point) while being chased. With anyone else, he is the one doing the chasing.

These activities are specific to each individual. He'll tolerate someone else trying the same activity, but you can tell from his responses that he is definitely not as interested ...

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Painful Bits

Yesterday was a long work day ... I would have said a long day at work, but I was there, headed home, then had to return in the evening to work with the evening shift. I got home early in the afternoon and basically did nothing. I tried to nap ... to no avail. When Jen got home with Patrick, I basically had time to eat dinner, then head out the door again. The truly painful part was Patrick and Jen standing on the front porch ... with Patrick screaming, reaching for me as I drove off. I heard his screams until I well out of sight. According to Jen, as soon as he realized I was not coming back right away, he stopped yelling ... turned around and started playing with the doorbell and the screen door. His discomfort lasted significantly less than mine did ... I was ready to head home for hours. What focus!

Getting Involved

This is the second night in a row that we were able to spend time and Grandma and Papap's ... Patrick enjoys it so much! We even had a rousing rendition of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with all five of us involved ... yes, Patrick is pitching in now. He runs from person to person, giving a bit to each one of us ... there is never a dull moment. Tonight, he repeated a new activity from last night. Last night, it was getting everyone involved in chasing him around the house ... tonight, we had this activity, but what we saw was that he wanted to play different games and wanted certain people involved. This is when he went to each person that needed to be involved and grabbed a finger, pulling them along. He even checked every now and then to make sure they were still following. Such an amazing child ... knows how to ensure that we sleep well.

A Scary Afternoon

Jen had e-mailed to ask if she should take Patrick in to see the doctor. Knowing he has had a persistent cough (although not bad ... just not going away), I told her to take him ... I expected the visit to occur once she got off work. I learned that she took him much earlier than I expected ... as I got a text message from the pharmacy saying that his prescription was ready. Then, things got exciting. About an hour later, I got a call from his daycare saying he had thrown up and I had to come get him ... since I was only twenty minutes from the end of the day, I left right away. On the way, I called Jen's work and cell phones and left messages, letting her know what was going on. I called the doctor's office to determine what I was dealing with ... thankfully, nothing major. I also got the bright idea to call the pharmacy ... to find out that Jen had not picked up his medication. I stopped in on the way and got it! Then, I finally got to Patrick ... he looked fine, ...

Fatherhood

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