Mr. Patrick

So I know it has been quite a while since I have done an update about Mr. Patrick. I don't like excuses but I think I have a few really good ones. First of all, we went through a long stretch of Delmar working about 80 hours a week. Meanwhile, I was dealing with the rough beginning of my first trimester with our little baby number two. That's right, baby "Dos" is on the way!

This is the 11 week ultrasound and also a picture of Patrick announcing to Grandma Nakamoto the big news. His shirt says "Big Brother" and "10/15" on the pocket.

Anyways, back to my excuses, life has been busy and Patrick is just so darn active now that it is difficult to get many decent photos of him. So here I am, attempting to do a brief summary of the last few months with limited pictures.

       Here are a couple pictures from Easter Sunday up in Eureka. We had our traditional Easter with our good friends the Fishers, Patrick's "Uncle Mike" and "Auntie Lauren". Auntie Lauren even set out some eggs for Patrick to find around the house!                                                      










Patrick in a nutshell: he loves to be outside, he loves trucks and cars, basically anything with a loud motor, he loves to play in water and get dirty and wet, and he loves his Sophie dog. Patrick spends quite a bit of time every day wandering around our front yard, spying at the neighbor's chickens through the fence, chasing his dogs and ducks around the yard, playing ball, riding his "truck", and getting into the dogs water bucket! Here are a few pictures to illustrate my point:

He had pants on earlier but they were so wet from playing in the puddle that we just took them off. 

Patrick has to share his puddle with the ducks

"No Pants Pat" is a happy boy!

 Just exploring his yard, enjoying all the colors, smells, and tastes!

I also have to give credit to Delmar for this last series of photos. He was a fantastic camera man that day!

 A few more outdoor photos of the little man. 

Cruisin' in his yard!

Helping Mommy work in the garden, aka throwing dirt everywhere while giggling.

Checking out the goats at Rancho San Antonio while visiting the Nakamotos.
He wasn't so sure about the bigger animals. 

He was much more comfortable with the chickens, although you can't tell it by his serious face.
Patrick can be a very serious little man sometimes!

Checking out the flashing lights.

While Daddy was working so much and Mommy was very tired with "Dos", we went and hung out at the Police Station a lot! Patrick really likes playing with all the lights and sirens in Daddy's car!

He found all the different sirens and sound buttons!

Alright, just a few more fun photos for your enjoyment. 

Patrick is a big time lover. If you ask him for a hug or a kiss, he'll stop whatever he is doing to give you your lovin'! He's such a precious little boy!

Patrick needs a bigger bed! This is just a sample of some of the funny positions I find sleeping in during the night. This summer we're going to move him into his new big boy room with a twin bed so that we can get the baby room ready again for his little sibling.

And finally...he did this all on his own! I just took the pictures!

 This boy loves his dog...and her crate!

Well, there you have it. Hopefully I can get updates out a little more often now. We'll have to see how "Dos" treats me. 5 more weeks until we find out if it's a boy or a girl!

-Sarah

Patrick Kunio Tompkins: Toddler

Patrick is finally officially a toddler. Five days before turning 17 months old, something finally clicked inside his very large, very adorable head, and he began to walk. He has been doing what we call the "drunk t-rex" for short distances around the house for a while now, you can probably imagine what that looked like ;) Since Thursday though, he has been non-stop walking everywhere. He even explored every corner of the gym where we take him to playgroup three times a week. This was a huge accomplishment considering that for the past two months he hasn't ventured more than a few feet away from the "bicycle" area where he would sit watching the other children play. He even kind of tried to play with another little boy today! It has been a very exciting time for me and Delmar!

Here's the proof. This is Thursday night, day one of Toddlerhood. He's already advanced to walking and eating a rice cake at the same time. Although I'm pretty sure the dogs cleaned up at least half of it off the floor. And he has already become a much smoother, more coordinated walker since then. 

Back in January, we took a week to visit family down in the Bay. Patrick spent a couple days with Grandma Tompkins and Auntie Frances while Mommy and Daddy went to San Francisco. I think everyone was happy with the arrangement! Patrick got to go the SF Zoo with Grandma and Auntie. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Reaching for the tiger I believe.

I love those big, blue eyes, taking it all in.

Have I mentioned before that he's really observant?!? Just in awe of the giraffes.

When we visited the Nakamotos, Delmar and my dad spent a day at the Sawdust Shop making a table for Patrick. Patrick is such a lucky boy to have a custom table made with so much love my his Daddy and Grandpa. And he loves his table!

Daddy just finished the final coat of polyurethane 

Patrick's table is perfect for puzzling...

And playing with trucks!

The funny face is because he was making his "vroom-vroom" car noise. It's too cute!

Well, it was a busy month so I didn't get too many photos. When I did have the chance, I was too excited with Patrick's walking to pry myself away to get the camera.

He's finally a toddler!

-Sarah

16 Months

Patrick is officially a big boy now. He had his second Christmas, his second and third haircuts (Daddy likes cutting his hair, and now with the big boy trimmers!), and he can feed himself with a fork and spoon and drink out of a real cup! Now he isn't walking or talking much yet but the doctor says it isn't anything to worry about yet even though he is a bit behind the curve. It turns out that Patrick is just a very cautious kid and he has found that crawling and using his walker are much faster and safer methods of transportation. Patrick actually chases our dog Sophie around the house, yelling in joy, all day long!

Walking practice is always better when naked!

Patrick is finally getting some good play time with other kids now that we are taking him to a playgroup. He really likes to ride the "bikes" and play ball. He often sits for 20-30 minutes watching the other kids play but when he's finally ready to join in, he'll play catch with any parent or child. He has also had a chance to play with our friends kids aged 6 and 8 quite a bit lately. He loves playing with them and I think they like pretending they have another little brother.

Here's the living room when Olian and Whilder come to visit. They manage to keep it pretty tidy still!

You might notice that we also had a couple four-legged visitors in the above picture. Eskie and Cooper (Grandma T's dogs) stayed with us for about three weeks in December. Patrick loved Cooper and Cooper was an angel with Patrick!

Like I said, Patrick loved Cooper...

...and I think Cooper might have actually loved Patrick too!

Patrick playing on top of and all around Cooper

Patrick was a very lucky boy this year at Christmas. He received so many cool presents and got to visit with Grandma T and Auntie Frances, and Grandma and Grandpa Nakamoto, Uncle and Great Grandma Bachan. Patrick really enjoyed sitting on top of all of his presents, poking the dogs with the presnts, and eventually he figured out how fun it is to rip the wrapping paper off the presents and throw it! Here are some great pictures Auntie Frances took at Christmas.

Climbing on presents!

Finally ripping!

Throwing paper

Patrick can't get enough of Uncle!

Patrick and Bachan! Four generations of Nakamotos in our little house!

Grandma can't get enough Patrick!

We also went to the UPD Christmas party. Patrick's "Uncle"/Officer Billy dressed up as Santa Claus but Patrick was not amused. It was hilarious! 

Patrick loves to help feed the dogs every day. Mostly, he just likes to throw their food on the ground while I fill their bowls. He also has figured out how to open the food container lid if I don't screw it on completely tight. One evening I walked in of this...

Reaching for the food...

Throwing the food...

Oops, ya caught me!

One time we heard muffled crying coming from the kitchen and found Patrick stuck in the dog food container. Unfortunately, we saved him before taking a picture. If it ever happens again though, he's going to have to suffer an extra second before being saved so that I can take a picture first. 

A couple last pictures, just because they're cute! 

Patrick suddenly decided it was nap time, so he fell asleep on the couch. 

My sweet sleepy baby

Well, Happy New Year everyone! 

Sarah