A Letter to My Big Boy, Victor

Dear Victor,

You are 2 years and 2 months old.  I look at you and can't believe how tall you are, how much you imitate Daddy, how fast you absorb new ideas and information... What a wonderful stage this is.

You are a huge help for Momma.  You have started to set the table, and you do a super job!  Plates, cups, forks, napkins... you put them at the right place and are really particular that nobody is missing anything.  You pick up things I drop, you help with laundry, you carry things, and when we're dusting, you follow right behind me with your own dust rag to get the low spots (where it is increasingly challenging for me to reach). 

You are also a great baker.  You love dumping things in the bowl and helping to stir.  Most days you'll say sometime in the morning, "What we bake today?"  And Daddy always enjoys the fruits of our labor.  :)

More and more, your funny side is coming out.  You are full of jokes and laughter.  At supper, when you are done eating, you'll say, "Where did the food go?"  And we ask, "Is it on the floor?  Is it in Daddy's shoe?  Is it on your head?"  And you laugh and say, "NO, it's in the tummy!"  When it's time to bed, you run to sit on Daddy's chair before he gets there to squish you, and then you laugh and laugh. 

You are also learning at an incredible rate.  You know all your letters, for sure the upper case and almost all of the lower case.  You can count to 13 or so, and you're very solid on the colors red, orange, and blue (yellow and green are a little iffy still).  You sing lots of songs... current favorites being "O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" and "Amazing Grace."  You work on memorizing verses every day... often you ask to review verses at every meal.  John 14:6, Genesis 1:1, Psalm 56:3, James 1:17, Proverbs 17:17, and Ephesians 6:1 are your "Sunday class verses" that you've got down so far.  (It helps Momma to keep reviewing those verses over and over too!)

You are really absorbed with your Bible story book these days, and you'll spend time most days sitting in Daddy's chair, sometimes with Ducky, reading over the stories front to back.  There may be a lot of details you miss, but we are praying that as the stories grow sweetly familiar, you will more and more understand the big message of God's Word--the great God, the problem of sin in your heart, the amazing gift of Jesus, and salvation through trusting in Him.

You are doing great using the potty chair.  We are pretty loose about trying it, but most days once or twice we'll see if you need to go on it.  And more often than not, you succeed and get a piece of candy for your effort!  I don't really know if this hit-and-miss approach is going to prove helpful in the end, but at least you know what it's there for and are getting familiar with the process.

You are also figuring out new and creative ways to express yourself.  Often, you'll say, "Maybe not" when something is suggested that doesn't agree with you.  Or if you want something to stop, it's "No thank you!"  You're still a pretty mellow and easy-going fellow, but we do see occasional outbursts of strong will breaking out.

You are a huge fan of Daddy these days.  In the morning, he gets you up and changes your diaper, puts on your clothes, reads you a Bible story and prays with you.  Then you come bursting into our room to give me a hug, and then dash out again to sit on the tall chair in the kitchen while Daddy makes you eggs.  It's your special time together.  Very frequently now, you will tell me at night when I put you into your crib, "Mommy not get Victor in the morning?"  And I say, "Nope, Daddy will get you in the morning."  And thus reassured, you will go to sleep. 

I love to see you loving Daddy.  You put your napkin on your knee, like he does.  You make funny noises, like he does.  You throw snowballs, like he does.  You do stretches in the living room, like he does.  And your happiest times are when you get to "play toys with Daddy." 

Even though I'm not quite as much fun as Dad, you still give me lots of sweet times.  We'll snuggle and read books together, or you'll climb on my back and wait for me to say, "Who's on my back?" and then throw you on the bed.  You still give me the best hugs at bedtime and sometimes will just lean on my shoulder for a long season before I lay you down to sleep.  You're doing so great with independent play when I say I need to wash dishes or when I give you an hour of quiet "play time" in your crib in the mornings so I can work. 

I think I'm savoring these days a little extra because soon there will be (Lord willing) a new little boy on the scene.  You will be a great big brother, we think.  And we are praying that the adjustments of this new, needy little person will be far outshone by the great joy of sharing life with Baby Brother. 

We don't know quite what to expect in the days ahead.  But God knows, and we are so thankful that He has given us you to share them with!

We love you and love you,
Momma