There's a reason people are always saying Gabe looks like he's 5 years old - he's officially off the charts for height, measuring 43 3/4 inches tall - and is in the 95th percentile for weight, at 46 pounds.
He had his 4-year checkup today, and he did great. He sometimes gets scared about getting on the scale, but today I told him that he had to get on the scale so we could weigh him and find out if he's officially a "Big Kid." He loved that idea, and was thrilled when the nurse told him that yes, he was a big kid, and when we got home, the first thing he said to Scott was "Daddy, I'm a big kid!"
It's really fun bringing him to appointments now, because the doctor talks directly to him, and asks him questions, and it's so cute to hear him answer. She asked him if he eats a lot of fruit, and he said "yes, I love apples and oranges, and pears....." And when she asked him if he eats veggies like broccoli or salad, he said "oh, I love salad!"
He wasn't quite so chipper when it was time to get his two shots, but it didn't go too badly. But now he's complaining that his arm hurts, so we gave him some Tylenol, and hopefully that will help him sleep ok tonight - especially since he was up until 10pm last night. I don't know why he stayed up so late last night - he didn't nap yesterday, and he's been so exhausted from being sick, I thought for sure he'd go right to sleep. But nope.
Aside from his doctor appointment, we didn't do a whole lot today. I was going to take them to the park this morning, but it started raining a bit, so that was out. So we stopped at the bookstore and I used a gift card I had to get them each a book, and then in the afternoon we were able to get outside and play for a little while, so at least we got some outdoor time.
Yesterday, even though I was having an incredibly crabby day, two things happened that definitely lifted my mood for at least a short while.
In the morning, Gabe was sitting on the couch and he said he was cold, so Dante grabbed a blanket and walked over and handed it to him and said "Here, Gabe. Cover up."
And before lunch, Gabe was at the kitchen table playing with some dinosaurs, and Dante came over saying he wanted to play, and I was in the process of telling him he'd have to go get some of his own dinosaurs when I heard Gabe saying "Do you wanna play dinosaurs with me, Dante? I can share my dinosaurs with you. Here - which ones do you want?"
I almost fell over. And I immediately shut my mouth. I have to learn to butt out sometimes, and let them figure this stuff out on their own.
Something I've been meaning to write down, too, is how I've learned one of the best ways to distract Dante if he's upset about something - ask him to help me do some housework. It works like a charm every time. I usually have to employ this tactic in the morning when Scott goes down the hall to his office to start work, and Dante freaks out, running after him screaming "Daddy come back!"
But then I ask him to come and help me make the coffee, and he comes scurrying right back down the hall, happily yelling "make coffee!"
It's a very good trick to have up my sleeve!
I thought of another good trick last night, too. Dante has been giving us some trouble about having his teeth brushed at night. He wants to do it himself, but he really can't do it effectively, and ends up mostly just chewing on the brush, so we really need to help him, but he just keeps yelling "No! Me do it!" and fighting with us about it.
So last night I told him I needed him to open wide so I could see what was in his mouth, and as I did so, I gently took the toothbrush and started brushing, and then told him I saw an elephant. He laughed. But he let me keep brushing. So I told him I saw a motorcycle. More laughing and more brushing. I 'found' a few more objects in his mouth, we finished brushing, and all was well.
It worked so well, in fact, that now we have to 'find' stuff in Gabe's mouth, too.
It's always nice when you can add a bit of fun to an otherwise mundane task : )
Last but not least, there's the little matter of that 5-mile race I'm supposed to do tomorrow morning.
I'm still planning on doing it, but I didn't pre-register, so I'm going to play it by ear, and see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow morning. If I feel up to it, I'll head down there and run.
If not, I won't. And that's really fine.
I haven't run all week, and I only had one short workout on Monday, so I feel in no way prepared for a race, especially one at which I was hoping on running 5 miles in less than 40 minutes.
So if I do go ahead and do it, I'll just go out there hoping to have fun.
Because that is why I do this, after all.
lol...Reese has been saying "I do it" alot lately. I will have to try the elephant trick! Good luck at the race if you do it!
Posted by: Shawn | April 11, 2008 at 10:26 PM