Happy First Birthday, Abram!!

Happy first Birthday to the sweetest little boy I know!  Last week Abram celebrated his first birthday.  It's hard to believe it's been a year already since he was born.  It has been quite an adventure :)

On Wednesday we celebrated as a family.  We did cards and gifts when Justin got home from work.  I think Rebecca was more excited to open the presents than Abram ;)  Abram got a Duplo set from Rebecca.  He got a Mega Blocks farm set and a small sports slide from Mommy and Daddy.  Abram has thoroughly enjoyed playing with all of his gifts over the last week.  He mastered climbing the ladder in less than a day.  We're still working on teaching him how to sit down properly to go down the slide on his own.  He mostly likes to stand at the top and dance or play peek-a-boo.

After dinner we had cake and ice cream.  This was Abram's first taste of anything very sweet.  He seemed to enjoy it.  He liked to pick at the cake (as he does with all of his food) and managed to get a few pieces in his mouth.  It was a fun family celebration!

Yesterday Abram had his one year check up.  He is doing great!  Now that he is so active Abram is thinning out quickly.  Our big boy isn't so big anymore.  He is 29" tall (25th%) and weighs 22 lbs. 8 oz. (50th%).  Right where he should be given his genes and very similar to Rebecca at this age (28 1/4", 22 lbs.).

Abram is very advanced physically.  His gross motor skills are very impressive.  He has been walking for a couple months now and is amazingly stable on his feet...thanks to his big sister :)  Abram is getting pretty good at throwing balls and is even learning how to kick quite well already.  He is definitely a climber.  Abram will climb on just about anything, chairs, tables, toy boxes, stools, etc.  He doesn't give Mommy and Daddy much of a break :P  If you leave him in a room unattended for a few seconds you just never know where he'll be when you come back.  He is all boy and always on the go.

Abram seems to be our early riser.  Many days he's up around 6/6:30.  We occasionally get the treat of him sleeping until 7/7:30.  Thankfully he still takes two good naps every day.

Abram is just starting to enjoy reading books.  Although his attention span is pretty short at this point.  His speech is developing slower than Rebecca's but that is very normal for a boy and a second child.  Boys typically develop faster physically.  And with such a chatter box for a big sister he doesn't have much incentive to do much talking.  But that doesn't mean he isn't smart.  He understands a lot.  He knows how to fold his hands to pray, rub/wash his hands and clap his hands (all when you ask him to).  If you tell him to get a ball or a book he will go get one and bring it back to you.  If you say potty or bath he goes right to the bathroom.  And if you ask if he wants to  listen to music or dance he heads to the CD player in the living room.  Abram says "ma ma," "da da," and "gecca."  He also makes some animal sounds.  And he's starting to try to say blocks, socks and cup.

Rebecca was always an observer.  She can read books or watch people for hours.  Abram is the complete opposite.  He is a hands on learner.  He likes repetitive actions to figure out how things work - putting blocks in buckets and taking them out, putting lids on and taking them off, etc.  If something is in his reach (on a table, on the counter, etc.) it is fair game for him to grab and explore.  If there is a paper book, he wants to figure out how to rip the pages out.  If there is a tower of blocks, it is meant to be knocked over.  If there is a bucket of toys, it is meant to be dumped.  If there is a cupboard it is meant to be opened (even the ones with child safety latches...he squeezes his arms in the opening as far as he can).  No quiet or calm play for Abram :)  He wants to touch and explore everything he sees.

Abram still has a lot of stranger/separation anxiety.  He is such a mama's boy.  No luck putting him in the nursery yet and so far only Daddy can take care of him if Mommy isn't around.  All in good time.  He's a little boy on the go, but he is the biggest snuggler you'll ever meet.  He loves to cuddle and give hugs and kisses.  He pulls blankets and pillows to the floor so he can snuggle on them.  And if we are sitting on the floor it's pretty likely that he'll crawl into our laps.  He's such a sweetheart.  He does have quite a temper as well.  But he's a sweetie.

Abram now has 4 teeth on top and 4 on bottom.  Plus his top two one year molars have poked through and the bottom two will be through any day.

Abram loves his big sister.  He copies everything she does and follows her around the house.  If Rebecca lays on the floor Abram will jump on her and snuggle.

We have enjoyed watching Abram grow and develop over the past year.  He keeps us on our toes and gives us so much love.  We look forward to seeing his personality develop in the years to come.  We love you Abram!  Happy first Birthday!!

We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday today with Grandpa and Grandma Holleboom and Uncle Dan.

And one final note - Happy Mother's Day :)