Friday, March 28, 2014

Helluva First Year

Today is Christopher Byrne V's first birthday.

It's been a helluva a year.

He's gone from 6 lbs, 15.8 oz and 18 inches long to 25 lbs and 34 inches long. He can now reach the kitchen table, kitchen counters, pretty much half of everything in the house.

He's extremely social, generally happy (there's a reason we call him Happy Boy), and crawling. He's almost standing and could walk if he wanted to, but he finds crawling to be faster. He can also climb though. He's become a master of getting on and off of the couch. He also has a fascination with crawling out the doggie door and exploring the outdoors.

He's got engineer brain. Toys aren't near as interesting as normal everyday adult items, which he tries to figure out how to manipulate constantly. His curiosity is endless. He's turning his mother's hair gray with his adventures and lack of fear.

He's already showing a distinct personality. Happy-go-lucky, intent, determined, generally calm. He already has his own taste in music (metal, old school hip hop, classic rock) and a favorite movie (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).

He's extremely easy to feed. He took to feeding himself very early and will try anything... provided it comes off of an adult's plate or a serving platter. He's tried everything from the standard hamburgers and pasta to prime rib, fried clam bellies, Japanese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, New Mexican, and barbecue (in Memphis no less).

This child has lived in 3 different states, traveled to and through 25 more, and logged over 10k miles of road time. He's traveled more and tried more cuisines than many adults I know.

He's met countless family members, spent holidays with both grandfathers and two great-grandmothers, and spent tons of time with family friends. He's also pick up a surrogate grandmother (since both genetic grandmothers have passed) and is about to pick up a step-grandmother.

This kid's been around and been busy his entire life. He's brought joy to everyone around him and delighted people we know and strangers alike.

We're extremely lucky to have him.