Next month, Abram turns 2 years old! I cannot believe how quickly the last year has gone. I know, everyone says those words. Truth is, everyone is right.
Abram is a chatterbox. He is trying out new words almost every day. He creates sentences by filling in the space between real words with fake ones. He has known his first name for many months, but he is finally saying his first (Ee-bam) and last name (Yahbohts) verbally. He’s getting better with his letters and numbers. He’s great at identifying things and talking about them. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, trains, pizza, Coke and more. He saw a giant dragonfly on the porch a few weeks ago and said, “fly.” It was probably the first time he had seen a dragonfly. Many times a day, he asks, “What’s that?” I love explaining what things are and demonstrating whatever I can. He’s interested in my coffee machine, coffee grinder and coffee cup. “Coffee?” he says.
Abe is obsessed with trains, known as “choo-choowains” or “chuhwneens.” A friend of Cori’s donated dozens of Thomas the Train characters and a track for them to move on. This was the perfect gift for him. He has spent countless hours playing with the trains, learning their names, moving them around and lining them up. He’s a master stacker and loves to proudly show us how he has uniquely stacked one car/truck/train on top of another.
He loves being outside and being active. He practically melts down in despair every time he’s forced to come inside. He also loves to go bye-bye - anywhere that isn’t home. He notices when daddy leaves, but has learned that it’s normal now. “Buh bye, Daddy,” he says with a wave.
He likes singing parts to songs we’re teaching him, like “E-I-E-I-O”, “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Jesus Loves Me.” He doesn’t say “love” yet, but he says “Jesus” flawlessly. How great it is to hear him say Jesus’ name before he’s two years old. I pray for him, every day, that Jesus will show him how much he loves him and wants to know him more. There’s no deeper prayer in my heart than that.
It’s not all fun and games with Abe, though. He’s learning (the hard way) how to share toys, even ones that aren’t his. Especially around his friends (sorry, friends!). Randomly, he’ll throw tantrums or fits and doesn’t want to explain what’s wrong. We are constantly doing our best to discipline him when we know his heart is hard. He also says a lot of curse words, which confuses us. Kidding on that last one :)
Cori and I are falling more in love with Abram every day. It’s so rewarding to see him learn and try new things. Our conversations revolve around his cuteness, personality, behavior and antics the majority of the time. We get so much joy from our little man and are incredibly thankful that God gave us such a gift.
