18 month stats

After turning 1.5 on May 16th, we visited the doctor for a once over this Friday. Finley enjoys going to the doctor's office, in general, and this visit was no different. After playing around in the waiting area (checking in on the fish in the tank, swatting at the window shades, smiling at the secretaries, and trying to sit in the grown up chairs), we got called in. Finley wasn't thrilled to be laid out on the table for a height measurement, but he was surprisingly cooperative sitting on the scale to be weighed. I suspect this was due to the fact that he actually got to keep his diaper on for the first time, I guess we're not so worried about a few ounces here or there these days.

He came in at 25 lbs 10 ounces and 34 inches tall. This puts him in the 91st percentile for height and the 47th in weight. NBA here we come!

I filled out some questionnaires about Finley's social and play habits while we waited for the doctor and Finley asked to open the door (door is a recent addition to his vocabulary). I obliged and then he pointed out to the hallway and asked, "that way?" I said we had to stay in our room, but he was tiptoeing out and turned just in time to see Dr. Pangburn. He looked right up at the towering figure, waved, and said, "Hi." Then, he ran back onto my lap and the doctor followed him in and said how he appreciated the warm welcome. We went through all the usual stuff (sleep habits, eating habits, daycare, milestones) and finally got to language skills. At 12 months and 15 months, I wasn't looking forward to this part, but at 18 months I finally had things to talk about! The doc asked how many words Finley had and I asked if he wanted to know about words said spontaneously uttered or those he mimics after we say them. Just spontaneous (darn!) so I had to do a quick count of things that Finley just blurts out on his own. He asked either 10-15 or 15-30 and I went with with 10-15 that he uses fairly consistently and totally on his own. The doc was pleased with these developments and thrilled that he seems to be a sponge for language now. We're really getting there! Since our appointment, I have been trying to figure out if my 10-15 choice was the right one....let's see, without prompting he can say:

1 dada

2 hi

3 bye-bye

4 ball

5 car

6 bus

7 truck

8 more

9 no (I'm not thrilled with this one, though)

10 stroller

11 up

12 that way

13 door

14 shoe

15 dog

16. kyle (pronounced aisle, a friend at daycare)

17 baby

18 nana (banana)

I suspect there may be a few others...plus he can answer, "What does a cow say?" "What does a duck say?" "What does a lion say?" and "What does a sheep say?" (that's four more!) and he will fill in words during "Wheels on the Bus" such as, "The horn on the bus goes ___ ___ ___" with "beep beep beep"!!

So perhaps my quick estimate was a bit off, but in a great way! We don't go back for a physical until he's 2. Gulp. Perhaps by then, Finley will be able to tell the doctor himself how he's feeling and what he's been up to :)