Samantha's 18 Month Check-up

On the left is a picture taken at a friend's baby shower back in May of '08.

On the right is Samantha on her half-birthday, March 17.

Samantha had her 18 month check up a week ago, but I forgot to record her stats.

Weight: 23.5 pounds (about the 25th percentile)

Height: 31 inches long (about the 50th percentile).

She must have had a growth spurt, because up 'til now, she's always been in the 25th percentile for height and weight. I was surprised that she weighs so little, because she's pretty chunky looking, especially in the cheeks and thighs.

She did really well while the doc checked her out. She just sat quietly on my lap while he looked in her eyes, ears, and throat, and listened to her heart and lungs. She didn't even cry when she got her vaccine. She did give me a dirty look, though, as if to say, "Why would you let them do that?"

Drew was really impressed with the whole thing. He kept asking questions like, "Is the blue doctor [the doc had a blue shirt on] listening to her heart? Is it in her chest? What is he doing now? Is he looking at her eyes?" On and on, he gave us a play-by-play (in question form) of what was happening.

Owen was really quiet the whole time, perhaps hoping that if he didn't make a noise, the doctor wouldn't notice him and wouldn't poke and prod him (he didn't realize that we weren't there for him anyway).

Samantha is doing really well with all her developmental stuff. It seems like she'd made just enough progress that I could answer "yes" to all the questions I was supposed to, and then the day after the appointment she suddenly starts making all kinds of progress.

For example, the doc asked if she has any two-word (or more) phrases. I could think of one: She says, "Ee-o, out." [Vito, out.] Then the next day it was like she was saying all kind of mini-sentences. Here are some of them:

What is, Mom? [What is that, Mom?]

Doing, Mom? [What are you doing, Mom?]

Where Drew, Mom?

Where Owen, Mom?

Where Dad, Mom? --She also asks where Merle and Vito are; she has to know everyone's whereabouts.

Ee-o, sit. [Vito, sit]

Mil mill. [Milk spilled]--she says this if anything spills, and always in a very whiny voice.

I off. [Light off]--the first time she said this, it sounded like she said "giraffe," but she says it a little better now, even though she only pronounces one letter of the word "light."

'Bye, Dad. --this one totally made David's day. He was on his way to the gym and she looked at him and waved and said, "'Bye, Dad," as clear as could be.

My favorite thing is how she ends everything with "Mom." She says the most undecipherable babble, and then says, "Mom" at the end to let me know she's talking to me. It's so cute.

Some new words she's added are:

'Ocks [socks]--she loves getting ready to go places, and her ocks are the first thing she looks for.

Bapba [Grandpa]

My [mine]--I'm thinking she got that from nursery, just because when she says it, she doesn't whine like crazy, like Drew and Owen do. She says it more forcefully like a nursery kid would.

Uck [yuck]--she got this from me. I say it to her when she puts things into her mouth such as toy cars or wood chips from the flower beds. She says it to me when I try to get her to eat broccoli or chicken. (I guess there are some people who would rather eat wood chips than broccoli.)