Yearly Appointments

It's that time of year again where all kids need to visit the doctor. It's always a good time. This time proved to be no different. Last week I took Max & Lila. There wasn't much to report there. I'm not sure how this percentile thing really works. To me Max looks super thin. To see him out on the soccer field with other boys his age is almost funny. He's so small comparatively. But the doctor said he's really not.

Max's Stats
Weight 37 lbs (25th percentile)
Height 42.5 (40th percentile)

Lila is a pretty much a giant in Bontrager family terms.
Weight 30 lbs (40th percentile)
Height 38 " (75th percentile)

We also discussed Lila's speech. The pediatrician told us that at 3 a stranger should be able to understand 50-75% of what she said and she said she could understand almost everything Lila said, so at this point I don't think we are going to do any outside therapy. Last therapy was an absolute disaster with Lila completely shutting down and not talking at all. We finally have her confidence up again, we don't want to lose it. So we will just continue working with her. If we could just find some motivation for her....

And then there is Bryce. We had his appointment today and in typical Bryce fashion, he was more than a handful. The first thing we are supposed to do is get his weight checked. Ha ha. That would require me not holding him in a new environment. He doesn't do well in these situations. Note the previous post. So I set him on the scale. Instant screaming to the point of almost vomiting. The nurse couldn't get a reading on the scale so I picked him up naked to try to calm him. Big mistake. As soon as he had the comfort of mommy he peed all over me. Awesome. I always pack extra clothes for the kids. Apparently I need some extra clothes for mommy too. So we proceeded w/ the appointment while Bryce screamed the entire time and I was covered in pee. The big kids had their hands over their ears most of the appointment since Bryce was crying. Wish I would have gotten a picture of that. So we discussed Bryce's lack of appetite. She said 'Let's face it, with your family he's not going to be a linebacker.' True. She thought that he was probably eating enough as long as he was growing. We are going to cut back his milk intake and see if his appetite increases. So for now, it is what it is and I'm not going to stress about it. He's going to be little....runs in the family. So after we saw the doctor the nurse came in and attempted to get Bryce's measurements again. I laid him on the scale and he immediately stood up and tried to jump off. Fantastic. The scale read anywhere from 19 - 24 lbs depending on how close he was to jumping off. The nurse thought that probably he was probably about 21 lbs 7 oz and 31.5 inches tall. I looked online and that was below 5th percentile in weight and around 25th in height. He's got quite a few new tricks now.

1) He has learned to climb on the kitchen table and stand up.
2) He has learned to scale the stove and try to stand on it.
3) He has learned to get into the pantry, open a cereal box and dump it on the carpet in the family room.
4) Say 'I spilled' when he throws something on the floor. Not really spilling Bryce.
5) Making long distance calls to Mexico

I believe children become what they are labeled, so I'm going to try really hard not to label our children...You know like 'the smart one, the cute one...but man it's hard not to call this one trouble. :) Good thing he is so lovable.