On Thursday, Elias and Graham went for their 3-year and 1-year old check-ups, respectively.
Elias now weighs 28 pounds, 14 ounces (19th percentile) and is 36 inches tall (15th percentile). Because he's now three, instead of giving head circumference as the third percentile, they give BMI. They didn't give the actual BMI, they just said his was in the 30th percentile. People always say that before a growth spurt, kids tend to chunk up, and I think that is what Elias is doing now. He's only grown about 2 inches since his 2-year check-up, and looks much chubbier than ever before (though to call either of the kids "chubby" is a very long stretch).
Graham is now 18 pounds, 13 ounces (4th percentile) and 29 inches tall (23rd percentile). His head circumference is 46 cm, which is in the 48th percentile.
In non-medical news, Elias has begun potty training in earnest over the past couple of weeks. We've been letting him run around the house pants-less and encouraging him to use his potty seat in the bathroom whenever he feels the need. Upon a successful deposit, he receives a jelly bean and, if solid waste is involved, a Curious George sticker to put in his special Poop Sticker Book. He's pretty good at pooping in the potty and rarely has an accident, but pee seems to be a bit trickier for him. This afternoon he came running out of his room asking me, "Where are the cloth diapers?" I handed him one from the laundry basket and asked him why he needed it. He showed me the spot in Graham's room where he'd had the accident and moved to sop it up with the diaper. When I asked him why he hadn't used the toilet, he pointed to a stuffed stegosaurus lying on the floor, backed away from it a pace, and said in a low voice, "The dinosaur was going to bite me if I went to the potty". I was about to inform him that stegosauruses are plant eaters, but decided I'd better not antagonize him.
Graham is truly a delight and it's so much fun to see him growing and changing every day, becoming more of a little boy and less of a baby. He likes to push toy cars around on the floor, making a "Vrmmm" sound while he does it. He's learning to clean up after himself, and will take his foam letter bathtub toys and one by one put them away in the frog basket that holds all the bath toys. His fifth tooth finally popped through last week, and he's been putting it to good use eating the same foods the rest of the family has for our daily meals.
The big news, though, I've saved for last. Over the past week, we've noticed that Graham has been standing without support more and more. He would pull himself up on a table or toy and then let go. At first he would sway precariously while he did it, but he's become increasingly steady with practice. The past two days I've noticed him getting into a standing position without pulling up on an object. Today he stood up next to me, I scooted back about a foot and held my arms out to him, and he took two steps towards me before grabbing my hands! Many babies first steps are more like delayed directional collapsing, but his steps were steady and deliberate. He repeated the feat in front of John a bit later, this time showing off by dramatically pausing after the first step before taking another.
