Daddy Diary, Pt. 2: The First Birthday

Well, we passed the first birthday. Last week. I just haven't been able to get to the computer since. We had a small party for her here on her actual birthday, and then a much larger one for all friends and family on the following Saturday.

It was an excellent party. Nearly all of the family who could attend did, as well as friends. Her uncle Shawn and Aunt Lynn came up from Columbus with their daughter, so the two cousins got to meet for the first time. Which was interesting. Chrissy's never been in a daycare or preschool situation, and has no older brothers or sisters, so really it was her first interaction with another child. Her cousin is 8 months older than she is, so they're fairly close in age. It was fun watching Chrissy follow her cousin (who is walking) everywhere she went. We wouldn't have been surprised if she'd started trying to walk, too, but for now she's still content to crawl.

My brother, Shawn, has an interesting nickname for his daughter: Go-go-gadget-arms. I think I'm going to borrow it for Chrissy, too. Somehow, this little girl who only stands 29 inches tall has the ability to reach things seemingly out of her reach. Lately this means cups. She's starting to transition from bottles to sippy cups, and drinks out of Mommy and Daddy's cups, so she knows what to do with a cup. Unfortunately, that means that any unguarded beverage left within her alarmingly large reach comes down for a taste. I've lost several glasses of tea in the last few days to curious hands.

I am finding it increasingly difficult to be stern, when necessary. I now often wonder how many times during my own early childhood my parents had to bite the inside of their cheek when trying to be "parental." Chrissy has recently begun to answer the command, "No" with a disarmingly cute look and a little "Hmm?" that makes it surprisingly hard to be consistent with her. And a gentle hand tap, when reaching for or getting into something that she cannot reach for or get into (like our eyeglasses or electrical cords) gets responded to with a downturned face and a glare from under her eyelids. I didn't realize children could be haughty at such a young age. She's going to be a handful when the words finally come.