Joshua's Doctor Visit...

Yogurt Face!

Yesterday afternoon was Joshua's 12 month doctor's checkup. The good news---- he passed! I have no idea why I get nervous about these appointments, but I kind of feel like it's more of a check up on how WE are doing as parents. Is he growing well? Is there anything wrong with him that we hadn't noticed? Our pediatrician's office is wonderful, so I usually leave there feeling encouraged about the fact that he's growing and developing just as he should be.

Funny story. Knowing my neurotic tendencies, you'll probably find it amusing that Joshua picked yesterday to smack his eye off of something at the house. So he has a gorgeous brushburn right at the corner of his left eye. Thankfully (and most importantly) it was nothing serious. But of course, it was still fresh when we went in there yesterday, so I was sure Children and Youth would be called. Hee hee. (Flash back to the time I nearly poked his eye out when he head butted himself into my thumbnail and had to take him in there to determine if a stitch was necessary--- same eye!) If there was ever any doubt, let it be known that this child is 100% boy. I have a feeling he'll always have at least one scratch, bruise, cast, stitch, etc. to explain. The hard part about him is that even with careful watching, which Grandma certainly does (probably better than I do), he can find a way to injure himself without too much effort. Gotta love boys.

When we got to the doctor yesterday, Joshua was playing in the waiting room and noticed a few other little boys who were running around like crazy. You could just tell from the look in his eye that he was amazed by them and wanted more than anything to take off after them. He did join in, and even pushed one little boy out of his way for the sake of maintaining balance. I guess staying vertical won out on the decision between being nice and not crashing to the floor. Interestingly enough, one of the little boys had also just turned one and he only came up to Joshua's shoulders. Josh looked like a giant next to him. I'd never really noticed how tall he is until I saw him with another little boy his own age.

Once we got into the examining room, he turned the paper on the table into confetti....literally. The nurse thought it was pretty funny, but did finally suggest (after enjoying the snow storm for a few minutes) that maybe it would be best if we took the paper off of the table to save the mess. We heard her talking to the other nurses and laughing about his handiwork when she went back into the hall. His reputation is beginning to develop.

So, onto the stats from the visit. I know you are all dying to hear them, right? He gained almost 2 pounds from his last visit and weighed 20 lb 4.5 oz yesterday (15th percentile). Way to go buddy! He also grew almost 2 inches since last time and was 31" long (85th percentile). His head measured exactly average, so I guess that's good. The nurse commented that he's shaping up to be quite tall and skinny. My bets are still on the fact that he's going to end up being built like my dad. So, by all accounts, he looks great and we get to keep him. We were hoping that would turn out that way.

He had 3 shots yesterday...hated every second of that. The poor thing screamed all the way home too because I think the car seat straps hit him right where he had his shots. He fell asleep in my lap when we got home and seemed a little less irritated with me when he woke up. I swear, though, that shot giving business is just about the worst. He looks up at you with those eyes as soon as the first prick happens like "MAKE THAT STOP! She's HURTING me!" And although you know it's for his own good, it doesn't make you wish any less that you could take it for him. I can only imgaine what parents go through who have ill children and have to be strong for them during serious procedures. I can't even handle a silly flu shot without my heart breaking! God forbid this child ever needs his tonsils out!

We're now working on our transition to whole milk. The good news about that is...you guessed it...no more formula to buy! I can't even imagine how great that's going to be. We started mixing his bedtime bottle with 5 oz of formula and 3 of whole milk and he sucked that down like a champ. We're moving to 50/50 today and we'll see how that goes. No signs of an upset tummy this morning. So far so good. He slept like an angel last night too...which could have been a Tylenol induced coma, but he seemed much more like himself this morning.

So much for a short little update, huh? I've never claimed to be short winded...

Halloween pictures tomorrow! I already can't wait. Happy Halloween everyone!