Happy Birthday Little Codge!

A year has surely flown so fast. It only seems like yesterday I was posting a blog of Collier's arrival! Oh "the days are long but the years are short."

To celebrate both Collier's birthday and Mother's Day (which happened to land on the same day this year) we decided to hijack Matt's work conference in beautiful San Diego. We were even able to convince Matt's parents to join us in our trip - so, I am hoping this will be the first of a series of blogs that I will post on our adventures. The first of which, I will dedicate to our little man's 1st birthday.

As a matter of update here are some basic stats:

* Collier has 3 1/2 teeth - two bottom ones and 1 full front tooth with another one noticeably poking through. This makes him slightly resemble Elmer Fudd. With his new teeth he is learning to crunch all kinds of food and occasionally sneaks a chomp on an arm or shoulder when you least it expect it.

* Although not officially walking, he did take his first few steps on his birthday in the hotel. Walking has not stopped him from getting around though. This child has no fear - and doesn't allow walking up right to slow him down. I would love to enter him into a speed crawling contest because nothing less than a cheetah could beat him. Although walking is yet to be perfected, he can climb most anything. You can't even turn your back for a second without him shimmying up some chair or wall. I often wonder if he might have invisible suction cups on his hands and feet. I am attaching a recent video from our bathroom at home. He is much braver and physically astute than the 12 months he has under his belt (or diaper in his case).



* He is officially off the boob and onto the bottle. I managed to accomplish this transition just 2 weeks shy of his first birthday. It was surprisingly a slow and somewhat painless process. Since he was an "all night" nurser, I was sure that it would be closer to his 12th birthday rather than his 1st. As a matter of accomplishment, I can't help but share that over the course of this year I produced well over 14,000 ounces of milk or about 114 gallons. In a matter of dollar signs I saved the Brace household approximately $1250 - given that the average cost of formula. Sadly enough that use to be about the equivalent of my annual shoe budget but those luxuries have gone by the way side.

A year has brought alot of change and a nice window for growth. At 22 lbs currently, he has nearly tripled his birth weight and gone from a vulnerable helpless infant to a strong and vivacious pre-toddler. His activity in my tummy was a very good predictor of his activity level in the real world. Since he has been able to move, he hasn't stopped! On most days, it seems he has the equivalent energy level of a team of work horses. With that energy, he has a smile that is just as big. His playful grin and big eyes seem to light up any room and he makes it a goal to have everyone in sight say something about him. My 3 favorite adjectives for him this year are: playful, energetic and gregarious.

Since we are out of town, we have scheduled his birthday party for May 23rd. But, his big day did not go without celebration. We headed to Old Town San Diego to a very authentic Mexican restaurant where he had one of his favorites – beans and rice. For dessert, he stuck his face in a delicious chocolate dessert and was serenaded by a Mexican singer. It was a great evening that wrapped up a great year for Collier! We are looking forward to many more birthdays and many more years of all the great things he will bring to our lives. Happy Birthday little man!