Elsa and I both had doctor's appointments yesterday, but the convenient aspect of having one family doctor is that we were able to schedule them back to back. Elsa checked out fine -- perhaps just a little socially behind (though way ahead verbally) and somewhat light on the scale. She weighed 23 pounds (10th percentile); measured 2 feet, 10.5 inches tall (75th percentile); and her measured head circumference was 18.75 inches (60th percentile). According to the manual for our car seat, Elsa can finally be turned around to be forward-facing. Amazing! I guess she has at least grown some since her last appointment, but she is definitely drifting down as far as the charts are concerned. She had been hovering around the 30th percentile for weight and has since slowly traveled down the line on the chart. Dr. Owen is not overly concerned about this, but we are scheduled to go back in three months just for a weight check in order to keep an eye on things and make sure there is not something bothering her tummy and, thus, affecting her absorption of nutrients (which, really, we have been concerned about since she was a wee little one, and thus makes me concerned that perhaps she is gluten intolerant -- overall, though, she seems to be fine and there are no other real apparent signs of a sensitivity to food).
She received one vaccination for polio, and unfortunately Dr. Owen did not have a good enough hold on Elsa's leg, and thus had to poke her twice. This is the second time this has happened, so I am not sure if Elsa has stronger legs than Dr. Owen is used to with the other little ones she sees or what. But Elsa was not too pleased. Thankfully the tears did not last long, though, especially after being presented with heart stickers. And overall the appointment went really well (even with Elsa continuing to insist on standing on the doctor's nice upholstered chairs in the consultation room, and then proceeding to rip the tag off the cushion).
When Jarrett and I look back on pictures of Elsa from a year ago, we are astonished at how she has changed over the course of the year. And we were astonished last year over the same thing. A year ago she was only just cruising around furniture and crawling to most destinations, and now she is walking, running, climbing, and even attempting to jump (which is quite entertaining to watch at this point). She was not talking yet at all as of her first birthday (besides sign language and other random vocal cues), and now her vocabulary is quite large, and continues to grow by leaps and bounds. She speaks in choppy, fragmented sentences -- but definitely still sentences. And then there are the physical features -- no more huge, chubby cheeks. Her face is taking more taking on the appearance of a little girl, and her hair has grown dramatically (I still refuse to cut it). Her arms and legs are long and lean. But one thing hasn't changed much (besides the addition of more teeth) -- that smile. It is unbeatable in our book.
Elsa's interests seem to be broadening a bit, though she has the attention span of a flea. Certain things will capture her for longer periods of time, especially her new Lego Duplos and certain books -- Wee Sing for Baby (along with the CD), Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses ("Humpty Dumpty), and a new addition to her favorites, Richard Scarry's Best First Word Book Ever ("Happy," referring to one spread in the book that she particularly loves). In addition to her love of swings, she has come to adore slides and, most recently, tunnels. She is doing really well with maneuvering stairs, even when she is going down, as long as she has a handrail. Elsa has also turned into a climber. She proved to me that she could climb a straight wooden ladder today up to the top of a slide, and she has really become a climber of all furniture, a bit to our chagrin.
Overall, she is on the go, go, go. According to Jarrett's mother, Elsa is much like Jarrett was when he was this age -- always nonstop unless very interested in a book, either reading alone or being read to. I think they must share their talkativeness too.
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