Would you believe...

I gathered my courage yesterday and tackled my first solo outing with both kiddos. They both had doctor's appointments; Ella for her three year check-up and Cade for his one month. First of all, I can't believe my baby girl will be three in a couple weeks. Seems like only yesterday... sigh. And are you sure this little guy has been around for four weeks already? I mean, where have I been?! That moody, sleep-deprived, forgetful, emotionally-overwhelmed, exhausted, but otherwise HAPPY, New Mom haze that I've been living in doesn't count! Anyways, our first stop (the doctor's office) went so smoothly that I ventured to make a quick trip into Kroger, which also went better than I expected. I'd say we were two for two for the day, although I could have done without the pouring rain as I was trying to buckle two kids into the truck! Oh well, like I said, I'm a mom with a new baby and a very rambunctious (almost) three year old- I figure I'm supposed to have that frazzled look, and the rain-drenched hair and clothes just added to it! Haha!

Back to the doctor's visits! Cade is a healthy, little guy. He has gained another pound and is now 7 lbs even and 20.75 inches. There is some question about whether his in-utero growth was restricted and if that is why he was born so small, in light of the fact that Ella was over 8 lbs at birth. My fundal height never changed from 33 1/2 weeks until he was born at 38 weeks, so his growth may possibly have been restricted during that time and may be why I went into labor when I did. That being said, he's finally to average birth size, so that means he's "catching up", which is what the doctors want to see. He's at the 15th percentile now- a good step up from the 3rd. Everything else is right on track and he is "cute as can be"- which we, of course, already know, but love to hear anyway!

Then on to Ella. This little girl just cracked me up yesterday. There is no question that she is a bright, intuitive child; they just don't come any sharper than her. But for some reason yesterday, our lil' miss "I-usually-only-talk-in-complete-paragraphs" and "I-can-recite-entire-books-to-you" daughter decided to make the doctor unsure of whether she knows ANYTHING- even how to talk! So this is how it went:
Dr: Ella, are you a boy or a girl?
Ella: Don't know.
Dr: Can you tell me your name?
Ella: Don't know.
Dr: How old are you?
Ella: Don't know.
Dr: You have a birthday coming up. How old will you be then?
Ella: Don't know.
Dr: Can you count to ten?
(Ella's thinking, "Hmmm... let's see, Doc. Forwards or backwards? English or Spanish? Only to ten? How about we go to twenty? I can maybe even make it to thirty.")
BUT Ella answers with... yep, you guessed it... "Don't know."
Dr: Ella, what color is your shirt?
Ella: Don't know.
Dr: Do you know what color this folder is? Is it blue?
(It's red by the way)
Ella: Yeah, it's blue.
WHAT?!! I'm pretty amused by this point, because I know just how much she is not telling and I can only imagine what the doctor is thinking. The doctor, by the way, is not smiling.
Dr: Okay, Ella, can you show me how to jump?
Ella (just standing there): Don't know.
Dr: Can you stand on one foot?
Ella: Don't know.
And on and on and on... Ella finally went through her colors and answered some questions, but I don't know that the doctor was very pleased with Ella's "progress" or perceived lack thereof, I guess you could say. She asked me whether I had any concerns regarding Ella's learning abilities. Umm, no. She asked me if Ella was putting together 3 and 4 word phrases. Umm, yes, more like she talks in paragraphs, sometimes mini-novels (she does have Lawyer blood in her after all!). She even suggested some dance or gymnastics classes "might help with coordination". Seriously? Why, because Ella said she didn't know how to stand on one foot?! If only the doctor could see her "essercisin" (exercising) with me or dancing around the living room anytime she hears music. In the doctor's defense, she was filling in for another doctor and had never seen Ella before. Usually she's a pretty cooperative patient. So as we were getting in the truck, I was still laughing to myself as I was thinking about our visit.
Ella asked, "What are you laughing at, Mommy?"
I said, "I'm laughing at you. You sure pulled the wool over their eyes, didn't you, Babe?"
She laughed and said, "Yeah, I did!"
Hahahaha!!!

And not to forget the basics- she was 34.5 lbs and 37.5 inches tall. Such a big (and silly) girl!