3 Year Check-up

Last Thursday Grant had his 3 year check-up and it went really well!

• Still 32 lbs (56th percentile), like I said in my 3 year update
• Height: 40" (94th percentile) - I had said in my 3 year update that he was 38 3/4" but I'm not great at measuring him against the wall. He's actually 40" which means he's grown 5 1/4" in a year! The doctor said the average is 3 inches per year. I think he's going to be tall like his Daddy!
• Took his blood pressure and gave him an eye test, which they've never done before.
• Also gave him a Kindergarten prep test! The doctor was very impressed with Grant and said several times how smart he is (she noted that some of the stuff he knew was "6 year" stuff).
• We were told we can start taking him to a dentist now since he can brush his teeth himself (we do still help, which is ok). Maybe the dentist can give us pointers on how to get him to spit!

It was so funny because Grant used to have major doctor anxiety and now it's just kinda gone. He used to cry from the minute they took his weight and height. Now he struts around there like he owns the place and sits there in his underwear chatting with the doctor. At point she asked what he likes to eat and he responded with "Umm...chicken!" while I filled in the other details. Then during the actual exam she asked him again to tell her about the stuff he likes to eat. He kind of hunched over and said "We just talked about that already!" I can tell he's comfortable with her (or maybe just wanted to show off) because when she was testing him, he came right back with the answers on just about everything...colors, shapes, counting, and even drew things for her when she asked. He did have to be coaxed into walking on his tippy toes and standing on one leg. I think he was tired of "performing", but the promise of two stickers (she knows what he likes!) did the trick.

Next [non-sick] check-up will be when he's 4 and that's when we do the Kindergarten shots. Yikes! Why is he growing up so fast?!

Two Year Stats

Yesterday was Grant's two year check-up. Here's what's up:

• Weighing 25 1/2 pounds. I think this is wrong. He doesn't like their scale and was moving way too much to get an accurate weight. On more than one occasion he's weighed 26 pounds and he's been eating like a champ. Just sayin'.
• Height 34 3/4 inches (a.k.a. a couple inches shy of 3 feet tall)
• Under average in weight (30%) and average in height (50%). I asked if he was too skinny and the doc said no. She said there's nothing wrong with having a skinny kid (and that it's actually good) so I'm satisfied with that :)
• Advanced talker! I kind of knew that. She was very impressed with the sentences he speaks and how well he is doing with his talking.
• Apparently Time Out should only be two minutes. I was told my five minute Time Outs are a bit excessive (what would she think of the times that Husband says "Time out...uh...forever!")...she advised us to go down to two minutes next time it's needed and work with that. Humph!

• His regression in potty interest is not an issue. She said he'll get used to it again. To maybe let him sit on it with his clothes on and read if that's what he wants to do. So I'm not worried. He'll get there.
• In the next couple of months, she suggested the switch to a toddler bed. Grant loves his crib, which is great because it's safe, but lately has been using it like a trampoline while holding onto the side. When I told her that I was worried about him catapulting himself out of there she suggested transitioning soon.
• No shots this time! Not until he is four (which I have no doubt will come before I know it). Just a flu shot to be scheduled in a few weeks.

We were surprised at how well Grant did with this appointment. He's been such a grown up little guy lately. First no tears during his last hair cut, even walked back to the chair with the guy instead of with his Daddy. Then yesterday at the doctor the only time he got upset was with being weighed. He even giggled some with the doctor and high fived and hugged her when he left! Note, she did give him an awesome monster truck sticker. She gave us a checklist of sorts of what we should be expecting at this age and I can tell from the list that he's doing great. She did mention that he's got some molars coming in so I'm expecting an ear infection anytime (keep your fingers crossed that doesn't happen!). But overall we got a great report for our little man!

18 Months

I've been putting this post off for lack of decent pictures. I was going to try to take some Sunday (when Grant actually "turned" 18 months old) but guess what? He's sick. Again. And it won't make for pretty pictures. He's got this really nasty nose thing that's going around day care and the poor child basically has a constant bloody nose. It doesn't photograph well. Perhaps this weekend I'll get some better ones. For now, you'll have to deal with some random shots from the past month.


Taken one morning while lounging in Mama & Daddy's bed

Grant had his 18 month check-up on Tuesday. He weighs 22 pounds 10 ounces (I promise we do feed him) and he's 32 1/2 inches tall. Long and lean, as the doctor put it. The best part of that whole appointment was knowing that Grant got his last shot until he's about 4 or so...yay! I'm sure he'll still hate it when we go there, but at least they won't be giving him extra reasons to hate it.

The doctor asked if Grant was saying at least three words and we both laughed because he's talking like crazy. She called him an over-achiever when I started telling her all the words he says and she put down that he has "a large vocabulary". It really seems like he knows a new word or two every day. The change in his talking from last month to this month is that he's using more than one word at a time, which is sooo cute. "All gone" when his bowl is empty. "What's that?" when he points to something. He's also associating sounds with animals. "Oof" for a dog, "Ba" for a sheep, "Woooar" for a dinosaur, and he doesn't quack yet but if you ask him what a duck says he squats down and makes wings with his arms. Cuteness :)

Grant is wide open almost all the time now. He's learning to throw quite well so if he has something that he's not supposed to and you ask him for it...he'll likely throw it at you. We're trying to discourage it (especially when it's a wooden block or one of his hard plastic toys) but he seems quite proud of it and perhaps thinks we're kidding when we tell him "no". He's still loves his books and his truck toys but is very much into coloring books and [apparently tasty] crayons.



 The doctor said we need to just go cold turkey with the pacifier. Which I'm kind of ok with but just not right now. Between the nose thing he has and he's teething...well, one thing at a time. Grant seems to be easing himself into getting rid of it too. He'll give it to us when we ask for it (most of the time) and will even take it out himself and leave it somewhere. My goal is for him to be rid of it by two years old but I'd really like it to be before then.

So that's my big update. At the doctor's suggestion, we may attempt potty training soon. She said that because of some of the stuff he's doing that he may be ready. So that may be a pretty big step coming up soon. But for now, our focus is being paci-free and also getting rid of this nasty nose thing. And a haircut - Grant's hair is out of control! Hopefully, this weekend we can get Grant a haircut and maybe he will look less like he's been in a bar brawl and I'll be able to get some good pictures of him.


Chillin with some snacks and coloring

15 Months

Seriously this was the only picture I managed to get of
him sitting still and that was only for a second.

At Grant's 15 month check-up on Tuesday we learned that he is 21 lbs 13 oz and he's 31.5 inches tall. So pretty much tall and skinny. The big news from that visit...*drum roll please*...we've been given the green light for Grant to go forward facing in the car! Yeah, I know - it's the little things, right? I've been looking forward to it for a while (more about that later probably).

Grant seems to be crazier every day. I don't mean like the "committed" kind of crazy. I mean the 100% little boy kind of crazy. And it is so entertaining. When he's not sick (and sometimes even when he is) he is wide open all the time. It seems to be Grant's daily goal to make as much noise as possible before he retires for the night. His favorite toys right now are anything he can stack. He loves his wood blocks, mega blocks...and when he's my kitchen helper he loves to get into my baking cupboard and stack my canisters of various supplies. It's actually kind of impressive - maybe because I'm his Mom - because he almost always manages to get them stacked largest to smallest. And then he usually puts them away.

Grant, for a while now, has been all about some books. His board books are his favorites, of course, because those are easier for him to turn the page. If he's not playing with his toys then you can generally spot him with a book. Before bed he gets at least two stories but it's not unusually to read four or five. He gets so excited about them that sometimes you just have to keep going :)

Grant is doing a little talking. "Dada" is the most used but I get an occasional "Mama". "Uh oh" is runner up for most used. And now he's even saying "Hey" and "Hi" too. The other day he laid down on the floor, looked under the bed at Brodie, waved at him and said "Hi!". It was pretty cute and Brodie even wagged his tail (The whole Brodie & Grant friendship is improving, by the way. Brodie has even allowed Grant to give him some hugs!)

So that's that for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get some other stuff posted in between getting ready for Christmas!

Nine Month Check-up

Today Grant had his nine month check-up! He weighs 18 pounds 3 ounces and he's 28 inches long. And he despises having his ears looked at. I was looking forward to this appointment because he I knew he didn't have to have shots but with the way he carried on for the ear exams (she did it twice because I was concerned about another possible ear infection - all clear there!) you would think that he was having shots. But the doc said he's doing really well and that his eyes look like they're clearing up. Those eye drops suck, but at least they're working.

Grant's going to start on some stage 3 foods and she gave us ideas for other finger foods to try. I haven't really been pushy with other kinds of finger foods. He's loving the Gerber puffs but we haven't really gone beyond those (except for the one time we tried cut up banana but I don't think it counts if we're not positive he got any in his mouth). She also told us to start trying cups with straws! That should be entertaining.

She knew from one of our sick visits that Grant's been crawling so she asked how he's doing with that. I mentioned his walking toy and that he's taken some step on his own. "So you've baby proofed, right?" she said. To which I answered with a very confident yes even thought it should have been ummmm sorta. "And you've got his crib lowered, I'm sure" which we did do a while ago. "And there's no bumper or anything like that in there, right? Not even a thin one?" But I could not tell a lie. I know how people feel these days about bumpers and I know what's been written about them. But, honestly, I don't care. There are somethings that, for me, modern day over-protectiveness will not change. It has saved Grant's noggin from so many head bumps that we can't even count them. This kid has been moving since long before he was actually crawling and that bumper gave us all a little sense of security. But now, the thought of him using that bumper to hoist himself out of his crib (he does try to climb things in the living room - eek!) makes me a little sick to think about. So out it came. It really makes the crib look less cute and comfy and much more prison-like.

Before we left I had to make his ONE YEAR CHECK-UP! Hard to believe.

His eyes still look a little red underneath but are clearing up nicely.