It’s been one year Friday since the Mighty Finn said “Enough is enough, I got to check this big world out,” and basically came into life all on his own. Since then, he’s been ready to go. He was crawling at six months, started pulling himself up at seven months and scaling things big and small shortly after. He’s been walking since 11 months and, as he eyes his big birthday, is working on running.

His steps were slow at first, but the Mighty Finn is not one who can be held back. With each movement of the foot, each moment to catch his balance, he’s been picking up speed. Now, he can cross the room to snag a brownie in under a second. It has also made it harder for his sister, the Adorable Amelia, to escape from this constant sidekick. There’s no where to hide, so she better hurry up and accept it.

The Mighty Finn may be growing up too fast. His mom and dad have pondered his feats and wondered if he’s going to being driving this time next year. It’s not out of his mischievous realm, but he’s just having fun he says in babbled tones with a few random words thrown in for good measure.

For now, the Mighty Finn is focused on the great what’s next. He greets the world with wide eyes and toothy smile determined to conquer the household by the time his two. The neighborhood will come next, but for now he’s corralled in the backyard, walking barefoot (because he doesn’t like shoes) over the grass or stepping across stone drive ways with the precision of an Indian firewalker. He thinks he might wait though on the hot coals trick, but warm mud is not out of the question. One of his favorite days this summer was playing outside after it rained, crawling and splashing through the mud puddles with glee.

The Mighty Finn is not afraid to get dirty. His mom may try to dress him like a preppy boy, but he’ll ruin a fine Sunday outfit quicker than you can say stop. To him, if it doesn’t involve getting dirty, it’s probably not fun.

Yes, he’s a little boy through and through. As the baby year wears off and turns to toddler time, he hopes his mom will remember that, but he’s pretty sure he’ll always be the baby. Just don’t try that cuddly stuff (unless he’s very tired or sad, which he won’t admit either ever happens).

The year has moved by fast; so fast it doesn’t seem like the Mighty Finn should even be doing the things he does. It makes his mom and dad proud and sad at the same time. He just smiles and walks off to see what hilarious trouble he can find today.