Yearly Check Up

Yesterday, we went to the girls' doctor for their yearly combo doctor appointment. They are old enough now to only need a once-a-year check up, and since their birthdays are so close together, we split the difference and go in late January or early February so that we only have to make one trip downtown. That's so much better than when Maggie was small and I was pregnant, and then Kate was an infant, and we were in that office building (my OB was in the same building, different floor) every time we turned around! Exhausting!

Both girls did beautifully. Maggie can officially see and hear (and follow directions!), and they both actually talked to the doctor this time instead of just staring at him like suspicious mutes. On the other hand, Mike and I didn't really have much to say to him: Do they eat well? Yep. Do they drink milk? Yep. Do they brush their teeth? Yep. Are they potty trained? Yep. Do they know their letters and colors? Yep. They don't get sick much, do they? Nope. Any concerns? Nope.

Their growth chart stats were kind of amusing. Maggie, as usual, is on the very bottom of the chart for her age. The arc of her growth over her whole life has the same angle as the average arcs, so she's growing fine and her doctor isn't worried about her. She's just always been small and still is. She's 33.5 lbs. and 41.25 inches. Kate, by comparison, is 32 lbs. and 38.5 inches (and 22 months younger)! She is closer to the top of her growth chart, although she seems to be heading slowly towards average instead of staying on her gigantic track. The doctor described them as mirror images, which I think is funny because strangers often ask me if they are twins. I sort of have two four year old twins instead of a three-year-old and a five-year-old!

After the fun part of the appointment came the sad part. Mike stayed with Maggie while she got four shots (she's thrilled she doesn't need any more vaccinations until she's eleven). And I had to go with Kate to the phlebotomy lab where they took her blood for lead and anemia tests. It was brutal for all four of us, but we survived. Mike headed to work and I took took the girls to Dunkins for heart-shaped, creme-filled donuts with pink strawberry frosting and heart-shaped sprinkles. Those donuts really took the edge off.

I looked for some photos of the the girls standing next to each other, but of course there aren't any good ones. Here are a few where they are at least both in the frame at the same time. Thing One and Thing Two!