More Big Girl Steps

Becca had her 15-month well baby appointment yesterday, and she did great.  She had two shots (MMR and flu), and she barely cried at all - 1 tear.  Crazy.  She weighs 13 pounds, 14 ounces and is 23.75 inches tall.  Her head circumference is 17 inches, which is actually somewhere around the 5th percentile for her adjusted age (12 months).  This is odd because none of her other measurements are anywhere near the charts, but it's not a surprise since her head has been big all along.  It just doesn't show any signs of letting the rest of her catch up.  All the more reason to keep it as well-shaped as possible.  She is getting herself up to sitting, though mostly one-sided, and she is thinking about pulling up.  She loves to stand but can't get there on her own. 

My favorite part of the appointment was when Dr. Collins asked us if we tell her "no."  (We do.)  She said that Becca is "at a high risk for having behavior problems."  When we asked her to explain, she said, "Well, when parents have been praying every day for their children to survive, they are sometimes hesitant to set limits or correct them."  So what she was really saying is that we are at a high risk of causing Becca to develop behavioral problems.  That kind of made us chuckle because we get that - especially given Becca's stubborn and determined personality.   Dr. Collins is great at advising and listening to us without making me feel silly.  It was a helpful caution, and we are already working on a couple of issues, namely staying out of the dog toybox and not giving all of her food to the dogs.  So far she receives correction well, but immediately goes back to do whatever she was doing in the first place.  Toddlers are fun.  I think I'm going to start saying, "Not in your mouth," in my dreams soon.  But she can also entertain herself for quite some time, which keeps me sane while I'm trying to fix supper or clean up.

Becca still loves her bathtime, but now she's moved up to the big girl bathtub!  It's so much fun.  She's able to splash even more and play with more toys at once, which is way fun.  Since she has the helmet, she's picked up this move that takes her from sitting to lying on her stomach (ready to army crawl) by putting her head on the ground and balancing on it so that she doesn't have to use her arms as much.  It's cute, but her physical therapist (Jane) is NOT a fan of the move (as it only keeps her arms weak), and it really causes problems in the bathtub where she ends up with a faceful of water.  Maybe the tub will help her learn to use her arms, then.  Here she is in the big girl tub.



We still work with the wonderful Ms. Cindy once a week through Early Intervention.  Today we fingerpainted for the first time!  Here are Becca's masterpieces (with some help from Mommy and Ms. Cindy).  We are working on getting comfortable with different textures, so one of the pictures has oatmeal mixed with the paint so that it was gooey and chunky.  Pretty gross, but very fun!



Becca has grown into one her big Christmas toys (from last Christmas - it took a big longer for her to be able to use it than anticipated).  She LOVES her Crawl and Cruise Jungle, and when she hits that ball that makes everything light up and and play music, she looks at you and claps, as if to say, "Look at what I've done!  I'm amazing!"  I love it.  Here's a cute shot daddy got peeking through the jungle.  Note the green bow.  I made it today, and it's one of my best!



And like any good toddler, she's learned how to make a mess of her play area.  I swear, I walked out of a nice, picked up room for 30 seconds and came back to this:



"What, mom?  I didn't do it!"  Mmm-hmmm.  Sure, Becca.  Good thing you're cute.  And wearing leopard print.