An Open Letter to Gabriel

Gabriel,

It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating your 1st birthday and the day before that we were just meeting and introducing you to the world, and now tomorrow you'll be two. I don’t know what’s harder for me, realizing how fast the last two years have sped by or knowing that time is just going to move faster and faster. Though you’ll always be my baby boy, you most certainly are not a baby anymore.

Oh Gabriel, the toddler you have become and continue to develop into has far surpassed any and all of our expectations and wildest dreams. If only you knew how many times your father and I glance at each other throughout the day when we are interacting with you, watching you, or listening to you talk; in our looks we’re communicating with each other how impressed we are by your skills and capabilities. Capable is such a great word to describe you; you are probably even more capable than we give you credit for, which says a lot since we hold you to a pretty high standard already. Though you love being independent in many settings (it comes with you being ever so capable) I love that you still want your mommy in others. You set me day off on the highest note each morning when you ask me to sit on the couch with you to read and cuddle with the blanket, “couch, read, cuddle, blanket” is how you list it off. I don’t think anything could ever cause me to turn that down. The way you fall back asleep in my arms after a nap is also something I never want to forget the feeling of and each day pray that God will help me to hold onto every detail of those moments. Your ability to problem solve, catch on, adapt, and recall information is also pretty astonishing.

And funny! Boy do you give us the giggles. At such a young age you already have impeccable timing and delivery of one liners and facial expressions. The quirkiness of your mother and father is already shinning through, which we must say speaking from experience, not everyone will appreciate or understand but those who do will think you’re absolutely hilarious. You love being a part of the action and though we’re pretty sure you don’t understand most things you laugh at, you love laughing when other people are laughing because you’re a happy boy and you want to be involved. And can we take a moment to talk about all your dance moves?! My goodness child you always feel the music. Be it at home, in the car, at the grocery store, in the park, if you here music you being to shake, wiggle, and bounce. I danced a lot while holding you as a baby and to now dance along side of you is so much fun. Thank you for bringing so much entertainment to our lives.

It’s also especially clear how gentle spirited you are like your parents. You like things mellow, peaceful, and simple. You also value quality time- it’s how you feel most loved out of all the love languages. I adore seeing how excited you get when your grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and our friends spend time with you. The way you yell, “FRIENDS!” and ask about certain family members by name before bed brightens my spirit. Though shy and timid at first, you quickly open up in the right setting to those who are being intentional with you; you are very much like your mommy this way.

Yes Gabriel, you are quite a remarkable little boy who we love dearly. I wish I could express to you in words how much we love you- I hope you feel that and know it to be true. Seeing how much your daddy loves you has been one of the most beautiful and redeeming experiences of my life because he after all continues to be my biggest prayer answered. Your daddy wants nothing more in this world after a long day of work to come home to you, to us. When at work he is counting down the hours to when he sees your face bright with joy in the window as he pulls up. How your cuddles make my heart melt and sing for joy (Granted when your wrap your arms tight around Daddy’s neck for a hug, that melts his heart too. Whose heart wouldn’t melt?), that's how Daddy’s heart feels when he gets to tumble around with you making you squeal and giggle- I can’t make you feel that way, that’s yours and daddy’s special thing and I love that it is that way. He wants to be apart of every second of your life, our life. He’s the Godly husband turned daddy I never knew existed and I’m so eager and excited to witness the growth of your bond over time.

Not only are you moving on to being a two year old but you’re becoming a big brother any day, hour, second, from now. As you can probably conclude from everything above, we have no question that you are going to be an incredibly caring, loving, protective, and fun older brother. We’re so excited to see you in this roll though it is hard in this moment knowing our time with just you is coming to a close. We want you to know though that every moment we have with you will be just as special and that a new sibling just means that we are blessed with being able to grow and foster even greater love within our family.

Thank you Gabriel for being one of the best things to ever happen to our lives. Each night we go to bed feeling so overcome with joy from the day we spent with you and wake up feeling blessed we get to do it all over again. It’s truly an honor being your parent.

XOXO/ Mom & Dad