Indulge Me to Brag a Bit

So, today was E's 2 year check up. Yes, I know her birthday was 2 weeks ago, but there you have it. At any rate, her appointment was today, and the hubby could not come with us due to work conflicts. So off we went to see the Doctor.

We got there, and the waiting room was pretty full. But we had an appointment, so I was not too worried. They are really good about getting to you at your appointment time. I was a little apprehensive of the visit, because I could not remember if shots would be involved or not at this appointment. And it just sucks to be there by yourself when the stabbing occurs. And E just looks at you with tears streaming, and crying, and, well, it just sucks. But we went back at our appointment time, and everything was cool. E walked back there by herself, where as in the past she has insisted on being carried, and clinging to either me or the hubby. Not this time.

So we get into the room, and the Nurse Practitioner is giving the exam today. No biggie. We start out by easing E into the room by asking her to identify the brightly colored animals on the walls. The hubby and I do this each and every time we go as a well tested method of 'distraction.' It worked, as usual. Then the NP pulls out a piece of paper with line sketches of different animals and starts asking E to identify them. My heart skipped a beat. OMG!!! A Pop Quiz!!!! No one said anything about giving a pop quiz! To a 2 year old!!!!

After I regrouped, I realized that E knew all the animals, and identified each of them for the NP. When she came to the drawing of the Man, E said "that's a daddy." It caught me a little off guard, 'cuz she calls the hubby "Papa." God, you gotta love NOGGIN!!!

She was asked to identify animals, which she got mostly correct. She could demonstrate what each animal "said", buts she did not, however, know what each animal "did." For example, identify the bird when asked "which animal flies in the sky?" Gotta work on that one.

She knew that a pig was pink, but other than that, not good with colors. The NP told me that colors are a 3 year old skill, so not to be too concerned.

From there, we moved onto blocks. The NP brought over about 10 little blocks and asked E to stack them up. She immediately stacked 6, and then it fell over. As we were talking about different colors and shapes and animals, E kept stacking and knocking over these little blocks, and eventually stacked all 10!

Then on to the physical stuff. She can jump with both feet leaving the ground, but doesn't know how to kick a ball. Guess we will be buying a soccer ball sometime in the near future! She does, however, know how to throw a ball, and she demonstrated for the balance of the visit. :o) "Get it, mommy!" Awesome! I love playing fetch!

Next came height and weight. She is 34 3/4" tall and 24.12 1/2 pounds, which puts her 75th in Height and 25th in Weight. Which is keeping with her trend since birth. Tall and skinny.

Next came eye check, 'show me your teeth' check, 'can you say AH' check, and a hearing test. She did not object to any of these checks. The NP was just in shock at how calm she remained. I told her that on E's very first appointment with the Doctor, at 2 weeks old, he didn't get a rise out of her until he gagged her with a tongue depressor. He told us then, that she would be a very even tempered child. He was Right! We are very blessed! She obviously gets that from her father. :oP

The NP then told me that we need to start thinking of E as a mini teenager. As in, there will be mood swings, there will be "NO!" There will all kinds of behavior changes, and this is normal, and not to take it personally. The hubby and I have already witnessed some of this. I thought it was because she was getting her 2 year molars. Nope! Just the fact that she is two will suffice. Yay. This will be fun. :o\

The appointment ended with the NP telling me that E, according to the Denver Development Activities, is functioning above her age group in almost all areas. And very high in speech and articulation. I told her that was my fault. I'm a born talker. I talk to E -all- the time. And when I can't understand what she says, we go over the words so she can say them correctly. Because misunderstandings can lead to frustration....and temper tantrums....and screaming....and then "Time Out." Not Fun.

And the bonus: NO SHOTS!!!! Yay!

She gave us a parting gift of 3 stickers, which E promptly placed on her hands and shirt. We also got a sheet explaining some activities we can do to help her develop the next level of skills. Pretty Exciting Times!

But, hey, what do I know? I'm just a first time MOM. :o)