Patrick turned four. The world didn't end. Yay!
At four, Patrick is ... well, he's Patrick. He says constructions instead of instructions and Optimus Prize instead of Optimus Prime. He still calls Two Face "Toothpaste."
Patrick does not like to do things. He is a homebody and is very good at entertaining himself. (I still worry that we are making him be TOO good at this by not forcing him to go to preschool while we deal with his high needs sister BUT since he just turned 4 he still has a year and a half before kindergarten so ... there's time.) It was in the 60s here the other day and I made him go outside and play with the neighbor kids. Once outside, he had a blast, at least until he decided he wanted his friend to come inside and play. I wanted him to be outside but I wouldn't have minded them coming inside; however, this kid's parents do not like him going inside when it's outside time.
"But I want to give him some of my juice," said Patrick.
"You can go get him one [Capri Sun]," I said.
"I'll go get us special juice," said the neighbor kid, and he disappeared inside.
We waited. And waited. And my heart started to break a little because Patrick just wanted to share his juice and play with his friend, who did not seem to be coming back.I tried to distract Patrick. But he didn't want to walk. Or ride his lawn mower. He wanted to wait for his friend who had gone to get special juice. Eventually the kid came back out, no juice, only to be called back inside by his dad. AT LEAST Patrick did not feel betrayed since he came back, but there were tears. And not just from me. (Heh?)
Anyway. At 4, Patrick loves cartoons and 'the Woody game' (Toy Story 3). His love affair with Thomas the Tank Engine is out of control. I just asked him what I should say about him on the computer. He said, "I like new houses." He is trying to convince me not to throw his gum away right now. The gum that fell out of his mouth when we were running the bases at the park this afternoon. It was covered in dirt but he insisted that we save it. I think he likes his sister, as long as she is well cared for and doesn't interfere with his life. He is probably in for a rude awakening, yes, but he does share his toys with her. The problem (for him, as she gets older) is that he shares the toys he doesn't want. We (by which I mean James) successfully navigated Patrick's first trip to the dentist. He was so afraid beforehand that he got into bed and cried himself to sleep (and I saw myself in almost-4-year-old boy form) but then once he got there he was fine. This does not bode well for his emotional status as it is just like me. He currently sleeps in a tent in the crib in the nursery, while Audrey gets the bed. He says it's too scary in his room. He likes to watch cartoons ('the trains that talk by themselves') on the iPad before he falls asleep. He tells you he can't pick up his toys because he'll get too tired. He has too many toys. We love him.
