our Abraham boy

Our Abraham sure is a sweet boy.

He's at an age now (two and a half) where he understands things so well and comes up with so many funny (but rational, if you work backward through his thought processes) questions and ideas. The world is so big to him right now and he's learning so much. Sometimes it overwhelms him a bit, and sometimes he still really needs Mommy right now to help him through some difficult situation. But he is really quite delightful. He has such an incredible vocabulary and I just really savor my time with him. Here are a few things that made us smile yesterday and today. There were more that I wanted to write down but I've forgotten them already.

My friend Megan was visiting (such a blessing to have this dear friend so close again!!) and Abraham asked her as she was getting ready to go:

"Where is your beloved?"
"My beloved is at work," she told him.
“Oh,” he said. “Will he be home tomorrow?”
“No, he’ll be home tonight,” she told him.
“When he’s done working in the woods?” Abraham asked.
“No, he works at a different place,” she said.
“Oh," he said.

I just love that he said "beloved" instead of "husband." And that he assumes daddies are away overnight when they are working and must go to work in the woods... well, that away overnight part is a bit sad, but anyway, that's the thought process.

A little while later, he started telling me details about chromosomes and how they all lined up and split apart. (Keith has been processing aloud to the kids while studying for his biology class.) So I asked what the chromosomes did next (trying to get him to say something else impressive), and he said, “They all get in their cars and trucks and drive away.” Well, yes. He is a two-year-old boy; of course that's what they did.

Tonight I was brushing his teeth when Abraham said, "Mama, look at my happy smile," and showed me his happy face (this is something we've been doing lately when practicing having a good attitude). I suddenly noticed for the first time that he has an open bite from still using his pacifier so long (we've delayed attempting to take it from him what with having a new baby and moving twice and all that). As much as I dreaded doing it, I knew it was time to get rid of the treasured pacifier. So I casually got out the "Pacifiers Are Not Forever" book, read it to him, and told the kids the story about when Rilla was two and her pacifier started "dwindling" (because she was a big girl and wouldn't need her pacifier much longer.

A few minutes later, Abraham noticed that his own pacifier had begun to dwindle (aka Mama had snipped the end to make a tiny hole, with the intention of continuing to do that gradually for a few days or weeks until it was unusable; don't tell my kids that's how it works). He was disappointed for a few seconds and then put it all together beautifully. I'm a big boy; my pacifier dwindling proves that I'm a big boy and don't need it anymore; I'm going to go throw it in the trash like the big kids do. We talked about it for a while and he was ready to throw it away, so 9 pm found Rilla, Abe, and I trekking out to the dumpster so that Abraham could chuck his pacifier into it. And he went to bed totally happy about the whole thing and looking forward to Monday morning, when we will watch the garbage truck take the pacifier away. I was so impressed. And also smiling as I explained that the garbage man doesn't take the garbage to his house; he takes it to a landfill.

For some reason I find it really hard to be sure when my children are ready for a new phase when they are at this in-between-toddlerhood-and-childhood point. I think Abraham took a big step toward being a big boy tonight, and maybe it made me realize that he really is a big boy now. He is so straightforward when it comes to making these big life decisions like moving into a big boy bed or throwing away the pacifier. I am really proud of him! I told him that I was proud of him as I was tucking him in and he said, "Yeah, and I'm a daddy now too!"

Well, not quite yet, I told him. That comes a bit later.

I wish I could put a video on the end of this post that I took earlier today. This son of ours really loves to sing and make music. The xylophone has recently been rediscovered and Abraham loves to drum on it while singing at the top of his lungs. I usually don't video these things because I don't want to teach our children to perform for the camera, I want them to worship and sing and rejoice for other reasons, but I did video him today and it was so wonderful. If only I could download it. Maybe another time.

Anyway, enough gushing. I just really love this Abraham boy of ours.