Ian and Tractor Baby

Ian had a routine check up today at the pediatrician. When I told him this morning he was going to see Dr. Davies, he walked around saying what sounded exactly like Tractor Baby....Doctor and Tractor sound a lot alike, but so do Baby and Davies. So, I picked him up from school and we headed for Tractor Baby.

He did great, and as suspected, has grown a ton since his last appointment. By their measurement, he is 35 inches...I measure 36, so we'll call it 35.5. Still, it's more than 5 inches of growth since coming home, 3 since April. He has gained 2 pounds since April (4 total since coming home), and gained over an inch in head circumference since his last appointment. Now, all told, here are his stats (coming home stat in parentheses): 50th% for height (25th%), 60th% for weight (85th%), 10% for head circumference (-5%)...yes, that's a minus 5 percentile for head circumference coming home. It's hard to tell through his hair, but he was very flat in the back when we came home. Along with everything else, he's growing into his body...including his head, which has filled out a lot and isn't so flat in the back and high on top. Maybe it's the Omega 3's we've been giving him! Needless to say, the fact that he has caught up in so many areas, has only been sick twice in 10 months, and doing well with his iron levels, he doesn't need to see the pediatrician again until he's 3! For a boy who supposedly was "special needs", he's doing better than most kids I know. He is due for another hearing test, but beyond that, he is Tractor Baby free for a while. He'll have his fill of doctors a few years from now to make up for it.

The doc showed me his chart from April when I estimated that Ian had a vocabulary of less than 12 words. Today, he is well over a hundred...at least, and is starting to put together 2 word combos. I've thought about counting his words, but realized that the number is constantly changing. Between school, the Tractor Baby office, and home, he added several new words. That was just 2 hours of one day. It really is amazing how when sounds and word associations start to click, they just take off. I never realized how cool it would be to watch him actually learning in real time. It's pretty darn amazing.

So, tomorrow is Grandma Trish's day and we're hoping things go better for them than last week. Ian was overly dramatic and Grandma is still getting used to what makes Ian tick around nap time. Once they get each other figured out, I know Ian will start anticipating Fridays as much as Trish does.

Some might have noticed the tickers at the top of the blog. I can't believe it, but it's time to start counting down to our first Family Day! November 6th is just over 2months away...the day Ian made us a happy family of 4 (including big sister, Polli).

Also noted up there is a ticker for the trip we're planning to Maui next September. Now that I've made the deposit, I can talk about it... another wait is ahead of us, this one not nearly as notary intensive as the wait to Ian. We are meeting my parents, his parents, and my brother in Maui next September for 10 days of fun in the sun. We are renting a house overlooking the water with it's own pool. I can't wait to see how Ian settles into island life. He's already our "hang loose" boy, so I think he'll do just fine. This time last year, we were enduring the grueling wait to travel. I never could have fathomed that today would have ever come so quickly. By the time we go to Maui, Ian will be 3 & 1/2. How will he grow and change between now and then? I know now not to even try to imagine the possibilities.

Also very exciting, Ian and I are headed to Arizona to visit his Grama and Paga (my parents) for a few days at the end of September. I am so excited for them to see him. They were here for his birthday in March, but so much has changed since then. My goal is to pack us both in one carryon...maybe I'll get Ian one of those tiny rolling carryons and he can handle his own bags!

I can't believe it, but I haven't taken a single picture this week. You'll have to settle for a preview of our house in Maui. I was going to upload a video of Ian and dad playing with blocks that was really cute, but Blogger tried all night and couldn't seem to get it loaded...I'll try to take more pics of Ian this weekend. Shawn goes on an all day dive Sunday and Ian & I are meeting up with my good friend Lu for what she calls a "Mom In Motion" day. Hopefully Ian will be in the mood for lunch at Zao Noodle and some shopping.

The view and pool we'll be enjoying in Maui next September

The sunset views...I can almost taste the mai tai