Tales of a Fulltime Mom: Birthday Stats

Today we went to see Dr. Anne for the 3-year and 1-year well visits, respectively. I didn't know if Calleigh was going to be getting a shot or not so I just went ahead and promised we would go to Bruster's for ice cream afterwards. I don't know that I even needed to go to that extreme because she was fine. I remember Dr. Anne telling me that usually by age three the crying stops and she was right. Calleigh was fully cooperative in getting weighed, measured, blood pressure taken, etc. It was such a nice change. Aubree was as happy as can be too. I was quite surprised at that. Calleigh was already bawling by the nine month appointment but I guess it just speaks to what an easy baby Aubree is. Before I go into the details on the appointment, here are the stats:

Calleigh - 3 Years

Weight - 34 pounds, 75th percentile (gained 4 pounds since age 2)
Height - 38 1/4 inches, 75th percentile (gained 4 1/2 inches since age 2)
BP - 90/58 (first time it was taken)
Shoe Size - 8.5
Clothes Size - 3T

Of course, these last two categories have nothing to do with the doc but I wanted to write it down for the record.

Aubree - 1 Year

Weight - 18 pounds, 8 ounces, 10th percentile
Height - 29 inches, 50th percentile
Head - 46 1/4 centimeters - 90th percentile
Shoe Size - 2
Clothes Size - 6 - 9 Months

Everything checked out very well with Calleigh. She said that Calleigh thinned out a little from where she was last year but only a little. The only slight concern she had was that Calleigh appears to have an umbilical hernia which has to do with there being a small hole next to the bellybutton or something to that affect. You can read the link. Anyway, they say it often closes up on it's own but if it does by about age 5, she would need surgery to close it up. Dr. Anne says it's a very minor thing. I also asked her about the lack of potty training and how Calleigh shows no interest in it so I've just let it be despite some pressure from other people who will remain nameless. Dr. Anne concurred that if you push it, it will just become a power struggle which isn't good. She says when she's ready, she's ready and not to worry about it. So there you go.

So Aubree...she's still a tiny little thing. I was hoping she would have put on some weight but alas, she's still in the 10th percentile just as she was at nine months. Dr. Anne wasn't concerned about it though so neither am I. The only thing I'm thinking of changing is maybe feeding her breakfast and then nursing her in the morning instead of the other way around. At nine months, you may recall, that the doc was a bit concerned about Aubree's development. She didn't do the questionnaire again but she asked how I thought she was doing. I said I thought she had come a long way in the past three months, she's crawling, pulling herself up, walking with assistance, she got two teeth, etc. Dr. Anne concurred that she seemed fine. Aubree then got some shots and we were out of there. It was on to Bruster's. I felt a little bit bad because I didn't actually buy anything. You get a free baby cone if your child is under 40 inches so we scored two of those (I just didn't feel like an ice cream at 11:45 am). I let Aubree take the actual cone for the first time and she chowed it right down.

Speaking of Aubree, she was scheduled to have surgery for her cyst tomorrow morning but we've tabled it until June 15. We were under the impression that she was going to have the first appointment of the day, which would be around 7:30 but when I called to confirm the time this morning, they said that there was a newborn scheduled first and Aubree wouldn't be until about 9:30. Unfortunately Duncan has a very important meeting tomorrow at 9:00 so it wasn't going to work. But not only that, I hate the thought of her having to go all that time without something to eat. It's not so bad if you're going in at 7:30 but to have her be awake for like 3 hours and not be able to feed her (including nursing) and obviously she can't understand why, it's really tough. My prayer is that on the 15th, she'll be first. They told me that they go in order of the age. The youngest one always goes first.

Enough about medical things. Yesterday we were so excited to go to Busch Gardens. We had a party for the girls up at my parents so we decided not to do it again down here. Instead, when I heard about the new Sesame Street Safari of Fun at Busch Gardens, I knew that Calleigh would love it so I thought it would be neat to do that as a birthday celebration. We were hoping that Braelyn would be able to join us but clearly with the twins, things are a challenge. Maybe next time! Anyway, we made reservations to have Lunch with Elmo and Friends and I was like a little kid looking forward to it. We didn't tell her anything about what was at Busch Gardens other than rides so the whole thing was a big surprise. Ron and Elaine went with us and then we met Aunt Shirley there. It took us about an hour and twenty minutes to get there which really isn't bad. We opted to get the combination annual pass to Busch Gardens and SeaWorld since it's $149 which more than pays for itself if you go to each place just once.

The lunch was at 11:30. It was in a big tent and it was buffet style. We thought the food was quite good and we didn't have to wait in a line to get it or anything. After about 20 minutes, Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, and Cookie Monster all ran out. Calleigh's back was to me so I couldn't see her face but she couldn't take her eyes off them. Aubree was next to me and she got so excited and wouldn't stop pointing. It was great because the characters would come to each table and pose for pictures with everyone. We also got to take a professional picture with Elmo and Big Bird. It was just so cute watching Calleigh hug each character and give them high five. I think she enjoyed Ernie the most and Cookie Monster the least. At one point, she told me that she didn't want Cookie Monster to come to our table. I asked her why not and she said "I think he wants to bite me." When he did come, she wouldn't stand next to him. She stood next to me, clutching my leg.

After the lunch, we roamed the park hoping they would fall asleep so we could go on the adult rides. Of course, they didn't really cooperate. It figures. At all the other parks, we try desperately to keep them awake and then when you actually want them to sleep, they won't. They both slept a total of probably 30 minutes at most during the whole day. We took turns watching them so we could go on some of the other rides. We did a bunch of kiddie rides with Calleigh but probably the biggest hit was the splash playground area of which they had several. Aubree got really into it too.

I saved my best for last...Sheikra! That's the big roller coaster that suspends hundreds of feet in the air for several seconds before it shoots down. I had been on it before a few years ago and I didn't want to miss out! Duncan almost chickened out but at the last second, he didn't want me to go alone. It was fantastic but I did lose my beloved Red Sox visor. Stupid on my part. By that time, it was five o'clock and compared to how long we've stayed at other parks, that was pretty late. We let Calleigh go on a few last rides and we were out of there. On those last few, she met a little friend who was begging me to let Calleigh go on some more rides with her. I had gone on one of the little rides with the three of them and while we were on it she asked me "Are you her sister?" So I almost let Calleigh do some more rides since she was such a cute and smart little girl!

But alas, we had to leave. We stopped at Panera Bread in Lakeland on the way back and then we hightailed it home to open presents. We hadn't given them any yet and neither had Ron and Elaine. Calleigh's big gift was a scooter. She had loved Bruno's which he had brought over to her party at my parents. We also got her "Dentist Barbie" so that she can become acquainted with that whole process. Her appointment is on June 9. Elaine scored a bunch of Weeble's stuff at a yard sale and it has proved to be a hit for both of them. Since we're talking about her birthday, I'll mention here what Calleigh had said to me on her actual birthday. She was so excited that she was a "big girl" and had proudly announced to me that "Now I can have a knife and drive a car." Whoa Bessie. She's definitely getting ahead of herself. Let's work on piddling in the potty first.