Doctor Visits

Several months ago, I'd scheduled James' 6-year well-child and Leah's 18-month visit for the same appointment time at a time I didn't have to miss work/the kids didn't need to miss school. Near the end of September, Sam asked when it was and if we'd missed it, and I insisted that they'd send a text reminder. Unfortunately, when I logged on the MU Health E account, there was no record of the appointment at all - and the next available was a month out.

So I kept James and Leah out of school for the morning and they made a trip to work with me before their 10am checkup.

James didn't even need any shots, since they give out the flu shot at school, but Leah had her immunizations and we both got flu shots. 

The first nurse didn't make James take off his shoes, and Dr. Swofford was surprised that he'd grown 4 whole inches since last time. She re-measured without shoes, and 3 and a half inches is still a lot for a kid to grown in one year!

 Look at Leah's sneaky face:

  Hahahaha:

Stats for James:
Height: 3 feet, 8.5 inches (25th percentile)
Weight: 49.25 pounds (66th percentile)
Here's the link to his 5-year well child check for comparison. (Leah's in it, too) James has grown 10 pounds and 3 and a half inches since then!

Things James is doing now:

• All kinds of climbing
• Reading many words and easy books
• Signing his name in cursive
• Loves jokes and pranks and telling stories
• Picks up on fads (and bad words!) from the kids on the bus and at school
• Loves music and singing (he's particular about his playlist)
• Looking through graphic novels
• Drawing (we go through a remarkable amount of paper)
• Amassing a great arsenal of toy swords and other weapons
• Schemes to get more screen time, and loves computer and phone games
• Complains about everything and is remarkably grumpy about any kind of change
• Bargains constantly (this drives me crazy!)
• Will eventually help (and says, "Oh, fine!")
• Loves his siblings 

Stats for Leah:
Length: 2 feet, 6.5 inches (8th percentile)
Weight: 23.5 pounds (54th percentile)
Head Circumference: 47 cm (64th percentile)
And here's the link to her one-year well child check for comparison. (James is in it, too :) It looks like she's up 5 pounds and 2.5 inches, but was 8th percentile for height then as well.

Things Leah is doing now:

• Says many single words and some two-word phrases
• Says "No!" and shakes her head
• Says "Mine!" (Sometimes about me - and pushes one of the other kids away if they're cuddling me or close to me)
• Responds to questions (it's so funny when you ask her something and she'll say "yeah" or "no" right away)
• Copies everything (brushing her hair, brushing her teeth, reading a book, whatever her siblings are doing)
• Knows lots of body parts (I love when she says, "Nose!" and points to my nose)
• Loves to color and scribble (sometimes on herself, but she understands when we say to color on the paper)
• Drinks from an open cup
• Build a tall tower
• Picks up and carries several things at once
• Tries to get dressed and put on clothes and shoes (usually someone else's clothes and shoes)
• Loves the bath and will go to it and start trying to take off her clothes (or just hop right in fully clothed)
• Is an incredibly messy eater and will throw all of her food overboard if we don't respond quickly enough to "All done!"
• Likes many different foods - probably my best eater
• Still a terrible sleeper - definitely my worst sleeper (though at least easy to initially get to sleep at night)
• Loves to go outside (which sounds kind of like "Side!")
• Walks, runs, and climbs up on things, and pushes the step-stool around to reach the counter
• Opens the fridge and gets things out! She'll just go over, open the fridge, reach in and grab some fruit/milk/whatever, and close the door again! 
• Has used the potty 3 times! Yay! (She'll also tell me she needs a diaper and then go over to the changing table and try to climb up on it.)