We visited the doctor's office for the girls' 18-month check-up on August 28th. Josiah was happy to accompany us once he determined (with repetitive questioning, just to be sure) that he was not scheduled for an appointment. Then he informed his sisters about their ill luck, though they didn't quite understand.
"Lydia, you like to go to the doctor's?" he'd ask.
Of course, she nodded her head agreeably (with mouth open).
"You like to get shots, Abby?"
Head nod.
"You like the doctor to look in your ears, and your eyes, and your teeth?"
Heads nod.
Lydia with rash visible on her cheek
But they did not "like to go to the doctor's" or any of the rest of it once the nurse walked into our exam room. Lydia wouldn't even sit still on the scale, and both screamed and resisted every single touch of the stethoscope and each innocuous measurement. Naturally, the desperation climaxed with vaccinations. Poor girls.
Lydia woke up the day before our appointment with a strange rash. I first wondered about an allergic reaction, but it was concentrated in the cheeks, limbs, and a little on the belly--but nothing on her back, chest, or diaper area. I consulted my mother, who guessed Fifth Disease, a mild virus with the typical pattern of fever and congestion but which ends with a bright rash particularly distinctive on the cheeks. Our pediatrician confirmed my mom's guess and said the rash should clear up within a few days to a couple weeks. As of today, Lydia doesn't appear to have any rash left!
Sister kisses
The girls continue to be tall, healthy, and normal. Lydia is still about two pounds heavier than skinny little Abby, but Abby is about a quarter inch taller than Lydia.
Abby on the left, Lydia on the right
Abby measured 33.75 inches long and Lydia 33.5 inches (both above 90th percentile). Abby weighed a little over 23 lbs. (63rd percentile), and Lydia weighed 25.5 lbs (83rd percentile). Interestingly, while their head shapes remain quite different, their head sizes are nearly identical (about 19 inches in circumference--92nd percentile).
Lydia of the many face wounds . . . she got another black eye on our camping trip
Just this past week Lydia started saying "baby" clearly and attempting "Abby" (it comes out "a-bee" or just "bee" or "da-bee" sometimes). Abby also says "baby." They like to hug, kiss, and talk to their dolls, and they point out babies (broadly defined to include kids older than themselves) when we go out places. They were quite concerned to hear a baby crying at the library the other day, and wanted to give it kisses.
This morning Abby teased Josiah by calling him "baby." She was sitting with me on the couch, and Josiah was across the room at the table. She pointed at him and said, "Baby!"
"I'm not a baby; I'm a big boy!" he said indignantly.
She just smiled, pointed, and said, "Baby."
"No, no, Abby!" said Josiah. "I'm NOT a baby!"
"Baby."
"I'm NOT a baby. I'm a big boy!"
"Baby." (Clearly she enjoyed the back-and-forth.)
etc.
So I had to stop the kerfuffle and asked Abby if she was a baby. This confused her a little bit, but Josiah latched onto the idea. "YOU'RE a baby, Abby!" he said.
Abby pretending to talk on the phone
Abby likes to point to each person successively and say his or her name: "Dada! Mama! Li-ya! Da-ah!" I ask her who Abby is, and she points to herself, but her attempts at her own name are garbled.
Josiah with his Duplo "trailer" for his animals
Abby politely (and sometimes insistently and pitifully) says, "Help, please!"
Hiding under a box!
Who could it be?
Lydia is always up for a game!
No comments:
Post a Comment