Update on the Children

The long wait to see the pediatrician is over! Both kids have now been to their "initial" appointments and now have a doctor to go see should they ever get sick and need to see one. Thankfully (and I don't say that lightly) Aubrey has never been to the doctor for an illness and Owen has only been to the doctor once for an ear infection. However, at this appointment the pediatrician discovered a heart murmur in Owen. Apparently it's a very obvious one and was easy to detect . . . but this is the first we've ever seen a sign of it. So he now has to go see a cardiologist to make sure the valves in his heart are functioning properly. Hopefully this is an innocent murmur and nothing serious.
Owen had to have a couple of shots in his leg that he wasn't too excited about but he handled it well. He passed all of the tests just fine: motor skills, communication skills, physical ability, etc. One of the questions was, "Can your child put together a complete sentence?" I almost laughed out loud. If you ask Owen to tell you a story he will instantly make up a story to tell you and spend 30-40 minutes describing in detail the characters and the plot. I'm not exaggerating.

At 3 years and 8 months -
*His current weight: 40 pounds (95th percentile)
*His current height: 41.75 inches (95th percentile)
**This would explain why people think he's much older than he is!
Owen is big enough to be put in a booster seat rather than a car seat, but he's not quite old enough.

Since moving to Michigan my son has turned into a little country boy. He loves to run up and down the hills outside in his bare feet and I have more grass stains and holes in his pants than I've ever had before. He's become much more independent as well. He picks out his own clothes, gets himself completely dressed, gets himself breakfast, etc. When I say it's time to go to bed he knows exactly what to do: change his clothes, go to the bathroom, get a drink, shut off the lights, climb up to his bunk and tuck himself in. It almost makes me sad to think that he doesn't need me for so many things . . . almost. He's a huge help with Aubrey and I suspect that I'll rely on him even more when the baby is born. I am so thankful he's my first born. He's a great example to his sister.

Aubrey also had to have a couple of shots at the doctor's office. She's on track for her age as well except, as no surprise to those who know her, she very verbal for her age. Yes, it's true - our kids are talkers. And go ahead and say it, "They must take after their mom." I hear it all the time!

At almost 20 months of age -

Current weight: 24 pounds (25th percentile)

*Current Height: 33.5 inches (90th percentile)

* The doctor had her height remeasured because she made a huge jump. In the last six months she went from the 50th percentile to the 90th. I see no reason to be concerned about this but the pediatrician wants to keep an eye on it.

Aubrey's favorite sentence these days is, "I'll do it myself!" And she wants to do just about everything by herself. She's been feeding herself with a fork and a spoon for months. Sometimes this is annoying when she's eating soupy foods, but we deal with it. Now she's moved on to other things that she wants to do herself: get dressed, do her hair, put her coat on, zip her own coat, tie her own shoes, change her own diaper, go potty, wash her hair, buckle her car seat, put on lotion . . . you get the picture. Some of these things are great and some are not so great. I'm learning patience.

She's been sleeping in a twin size bed for over a month now and doing great with it! The transition wasn't bad at all. She now wants to potty train. I'm not sure I'm up for it but at the same time I don't think I have much of a choice. I don't expect her to be easy. She rips her diaper off almost daily and either finds underwear to put on or she just puts her pants back on without a diaper. However, she doesn't want to sit on the toilet. So, again, I need patience as I work with this strong willed girl of mine.

The frustrations I face are so minor. My kids are healthy and I am truly thankful.