She's beginning to even out.

That's what Morgan's Pediatrician said today. :)

Morgan had a fashionably late 18mth check-up today with her Pediatrician. At least we made it to her appointment on time. We were walking to her Pediatrician's waiting area as the Nurse called our name... just in time.

I hadn't ever met this Nurse before and although she was polite I don't think I hid my disappointment very well that our usual nurse wasn't there. I actually look forward to seeing her and she makes everything so much more relaxed and easy with Morgan. This nurse, even though she was friendly, did not radiate calmness or relaxation for either of us. We first got her weighed and measured. 28lbs and 32.5 inches. Such a long way from 7lbs and 19inches. It took SIX attempts to measure Morgan's head and she asked that I hold her down for her to do it. I am afraid that I didn't hide the look of "are you crazy lady" on my face because she immediately asked for me to hold just her hands down. Which, anyone who knows my child would know that was a recipe for disaster but I humored the demanding little woman and naturally it didn't help her in the least. Morgan became more agitated and was now outright angry at her and tried to headbutt her once. Finally out of pity for Morgan I picked her up and asked "You want to wear the neat headband?" and naturally she said "Uh-huh" and I gently wrapped it around her head, 18 inches.Finally done. You would think that this would have been a learning experience for the lady, but it wasn't. She then asked for me to hold Morgan's head against my chest so she could check her temperature in her ear. I told her that I would not restrain her just to have her temp taken and I asked Morgan if I could clean her ear and she got all excited and of course tilted her head in anticipation. So easy. I'm assuming since Morgan's Pediatrician is also an Internal Medicine Dr. that maybe this lady wasn't familiar with Pediatric patients. Morgan's Pediatrician and both of the other nurses in that office will be quick to tell anyone that Morgan is extremely smart but stubborn and has a temper out of this world. The one thing that absolutely infuriates her is being restrained and we all do anything we can to not have to go there with her. It gets ugly. At least that's all this particular nurse had to do today. If Morgan had needed shots or lab I would've asked for a different nurse. No way.

So we waited for Dr. S to get to us and it seems that this time of the visit becomes more and more difficult with each visit. She's so active.. and curious.. and strong willed.. and there is so much stuff in those little rooms. Whoever decided that BioHazard stickers should be brightly colored is on my hit list. Seriously, as soon as she wears me down and wiggles her way to the floor that's the first thing she goes for, the trash! That brightly colored sticker in a room full of white and gray just lures her right in. So, I spend what feels like an eternity (which was only about 10 minutes tops) trying to keep Morgan from opening drawers, digging in the trash (with that pretty sticker), unplugging things and beating on the door shouting "HEY!". She finally noticed the tissue box and begins to point at her nose and blow snot all over the place trying to convince me she needs a tissue. I already know where this is going but I finally give in and let her grab one which immediately leads to her gesturing and shouting "away" at me because now she has a reason to go to the trash. At this point she's worn me down and I give in and let her pull countless tissues out of the box to only walk across the room and toss them into the trash (that I held her at a safe distance above so that she didn't use it as an excuse to DIG in the trash) again and again. Oh well, my sanity is a lot more valuable than their box of tissue. :)

Dr. S said that Morgan is doing wonderful. She's now in the 75 percentile with her height AND weight. She said "Morgan has finally evened out and her height has caught up with her weight". We thought she seemed to be getting taller and thinner. She got a wonderful report on everything today. Her ears were great and Dr. S was impressed with all of those teeth she's been working so hard on lately. She said it's great that Morgan has such an interest in Potty Training and to just let her take the lead. She says that we shouldn't push her until we hit 2yrs old. We're in complete agreement. Right now there are some days that she will go ALL day with using the potty and then other days she never asks and when I ask her I get a very quick "No, No, NO!" So, we'll just keep giving her the option and see how it develops. We're still extremely proud of her!!! :) She also said that Morgan is extremely smart and that she can put herself to sleep just fine and that we're just waiting on me to decide that I'm tired of the nightly battle. Yes, Morgan has me figured out. I'm being played by a 19mth old. So, we're going to be working on that a lot now. :)

An example of the sheer determination and the fact she's too smart. As me and Dr. S talked I let Morgan play with my iPhone out of desperation. I knew that she could unlock it (which this alone astonishes me) but I had no idea that she knew how to rearrange my applications! I had to search for my Phone button so that I could call JC after the appointment. It's still a wreck and I'm not 100% sure nothing was deleted. Little heifer. :)

After her great appointment we went to Sonic so that I could get a Sweet Tea to celebrate while Morgan was napping away. :) It seemed like a win for both of us. The weather was so cold, windy and rainy that JC had pity on us and said he'd go grocery shopping after work so we didn't have to get out in the weather. Yay, no WalMart in the cold rain for us today! Thanks honey. :)

The early nap in the car did wreak havoc on her schedule though and I did have to demand a late afternoon nap though because she wasn't even happy being around herself. :) While she was napping I ran out to the mailbox and was ecstatic that her Christmas Stocking was finally here! I ran inside and put it straight up on the mantle. I love it and I'm so excited to put little things in there for her and let her finally touch it and open it on Christmas morning. I'm so excited. Right now her toys are stacked up on my side of the bed just waiting for me to get to wrapping them. I'm really behind this year. Ugh. You'd think I'd have everything done since I'm a stay at home Mom now but I'm no where close to being caught up with anything. Oh well, life gets easier each day and we form more and more of a routine and I know there will come a day that I can just relax during nap time without leaving things undone (like updating this blog).. one day.