2nd year checkup

We survived the 2nd year checkup and do not have to go back until 3 years old.  There was a flu shot today, but no vaccinations.  The nurses were commenting on how much she has grown and I told them Emma has grown half an inch to a full inch every month.  The nurses didn't really believe me until they plotted it on Emma's growth chart and were blown away at the serious height spike since March.  They brought the chart in and said, "ok, you weren't kidding, you need to see this" and handed me the paperwork.  Dr. B. feels like she is still catching up from her first year and isn't concerned that her height is growing too quickly while her weight is staying around 27lbs.  We are also free to step down to 1% or skim milk because Emma is 93% in height and 90% in weight, on the American growth charts. 

Since gum seems to really calm Emma down, I gave her a piece for this Dr. visit and until the flu shot she stayed calm.  She stopped crying immediately after we sat her up and yelled, "done" which got the room chuckling.  The pediatrician was blown away by the fact that E. does not swallow the gum and encouraged us to use the gum in any situation that we know Emma gets anxious in...she feels this calmness of chewing is related to the little bit of sensory issues she has.

This week was a big week, with a lot of activities and her family party.  By Sunday, Emma was "off her rocker" and trying to come down from all the excitement of attention and stimulation.  Emma is definitely showing off when people are around now and testing us to see if we will discipline her in front of others.  She lures visitors into places of the house where she knows she isn't allowed to play, like the formal living room, dining room and in the stairwell.  Yesterday, her great grandmother came to visit and in addition to dragging her to every room she isn't supposed to be in, during lunch, Emma decided to spit out every bite she took...smiling as she did so.  She got a timeout and when she returned to the table, she ate as she normally would.  We've noticed that sometimes kids just needs to be removed to regroup and will come back to themselves.  Toddlers are odd little humans!  Hopefully the Terrible 2's go quickly...the boundary testing is exhausting.