Hooray for preschool!

So little...and yet, so big!

She was a tiny bit shy at first, but then warmed up pretty quickly.

Sitting in the teacher's chair already...

She apparently thought she needed to show off every bit of knowledge she’s already stored up, as she walked around the room pointing out various things that had her name on them (her star for circle time, her nametag for her seat, her coat hook, etc.) and counting aloud all the numbers she saw.  Then, instead of building a tower out of the alphabet blocks as she was instructed to, she lined them up in alphabetical order.

Oh, it's an "O"!

I really hope her teachers didn’t think I coached her to do all that…

18 months, 6 days old
24 lbs. 14.5 oz.
32″ tall

Anna had her 18 month visit today.  She’s still pretty much right in the middle of the growth charts for height and weight.  The pediatrician was impressed with her vocabulary and how tolerant she was about being examined.  She only needed one shot today, and only cried for a moment – as soon as the nurse stuck that Hello Kitty bandaid on, she was happy to meow for us instead of cry!

Anna is still pretty much in the 50th percentile on the charts in all respects.  My average little baby!

Poor girl got 3 shots today, and was not happy about them.  The nurse commented that it’s a good thing she does this all the time, because Anna is strong and nearly succeeded in pulling her leg away.

Wow!  Anna is almost exactly the same size as her big sister was at this age!  Too bad the two girls are off a season, I would never have had to buy any clothes at all this time.  (But I would have anyway, of course.)

Today Anna had to have three shots and a toe prick to check her iron and lead counts (which were both great).  So she was not exactly a happy baby this afternoon.  Actually she was quite mad at me, because I was the one who had to hold her down during all of this.  Sorry, kiddo…

Anna is now in the 50th percentile for height and weight. A little less than last time, but pretty much exactly average. She’s mostly out of 6-9 month clothes, and some 9-12 month clothes are getting a little short…

She only had one shot today, and she wasn’t entirely pleased about it. Poor baby was having fun playing with the paper on the exam table and charming the pants off of everyone in the office, showing off her clapping and standing abilities…and then she got stuck! Much howling commenced.

Oh, and we pretty much have the green light to give her any foods we want at this point. Not that we have much choice in the matter – if it goes in someone’s mouth, she must share too. I think I’m still going to wait until she’s a bit older before we try peanut butter or shellfish, though. There’s plenty of other things to try before then, anyway!

Anna is now in the 60th percentile for height and weight, which explains why all of her 3-6 month clothes are starting to not fit!

Luckily, her lungs sounded clear, but they’re having us finish the course of antibiotics anyway (as they should, of course). I hate that they’re affecting her tummy in not-so-great ways, but I’m glad that they exist and she didn’t get seriously ill instead!

No shots today as we wanted to wait until Anna was done with the antibiotics and feeling completely better before taxing her little immune system again.

Anna is still pretty much in the 50th percentile for everything, although she jumped up a bit on the height chart. I’m taking that with a grain of salt since I think it’s really hard to accurately measure a squirmy baby!

She had her second round of vaccinations, and although there were tears it wasn’t nearly as traumatic as last time. Carrie also had to get two more shots to catch her up for all the vaccines required for kindergarten next fall, and although she was very, very brave, they hurt very, very much. So there were more tears there.

We wound up giving both girls pain relievers before bed, because Anna was inconsolable and Carrie had a gigantic bruise on her arm from one of the shots and said that it hurt a lot. Poor kid – she says she doesn’t want any more shots ever. Not even when she’s my size.

Anna is pretty much in the 50th percentile for everything. So I was kind of surprised when the pediatrician remarked that she was a “solid” baby. But then my mom pointed out that the second child has to be solid to stand up to all the loving from the first!

And there was the first round of vaccinations today. I feel really, really bad, because this pediatrician doesn’t allow babies this little to have even Tylenol, so Anna has been miserable all afternoon long. Hopefully she’ll feel better by morning!