When did he stop being a baby??

Today was Jack's 15 month checkup (even though he's almost 16 months old - so I wasn't right on top of scheduling that appt - oh well).

This morning Jack and I get ready to go to the Dr. and we get there and are in the waiting room when he keeps walking back into the offices before we're called and I have to chase him again and again. I'm pretty sure he didn't anticipate the shot that was coming or he wouldn't have been so anxious to get back there!

When the nurse called us back, she asked Jack to stand on the scale - the real people scale! Wait a minute - what happened to placing him in the baby scale - isn't he still a baby?? Then, to add insult to injury she asked him to stand up by the height chart like a real person too - what was this woman thinking, we needed to lay him down on the table next to the tape measure like always - he's just a baby - this is a baby well-care visit, we are still tracking his age in months for God's sake!

So, there in the pediatrician's office I realized that I now have a toddler and I have to admit I was a little shocked. No one ever told me how quickly the baby stuff would be done - I mean EVERYONE told me how fast it goes, how it's gone in a blink, how he'll be driving a car next week, but no one told me exactly how fast it would be gone, because I'm not sure it's possible to explain. So, I blinked back the tears and focused on keeping my toddler from jumping off the exam table and wondered what I would wear to his graduation tomorrow.

I am glad to report that Jack is doing great which is just what we expected. He's a little on the small side overall which we've known from the beginning. The Dr. wasn't concerned though and just wanted to make sure that we were giving him enough fat (why doesn't my Dr. ever say that). He gobbles up the whole milk and cheese all day but I swear if I moved as much as he does I could eat Graeter's all day. Maybe we could video him and market it as the new toddler workout - you just mimic your child and drop 20lbs.

The Dr. was impressed with his language skills though. He was pretty quiet which is typical when he is around a stranger, so she started to tell me that we could expect him to start to pick up a few more words over the next month or so. I told her that he consistently says about 15 words on his own and will repeat (or try to) almost anything you say. She was very impressed and I know she couldn't say it out loud (it wouldn't be fair to the other kids), but her eyes were screaming "genius!".

She did tell us that we could start giving him choices and letting him exert his independence more and it was at that moment I knew for sure - he is no longer a baby.

He was brave big boy when he got his shot and I of course felt horrible that he had to endure it. He cried just like I want to when I get one, but his trusty ba ba and the trucks moving outside the office window helped him overcome it.

His stats at 15 months - 20.2lbs, 31 Inches - Mr. String Bean!