Two Important Medical Appointments

Yesterday, July 14, was the day for two important medical appointments--Kate's 3-year checkup and Isaac's visa physical. I thought it was interesting that these appointments happened to fall on the same day--especially because Kate's 3-year checkup was previously scheduled for August 3. It turns out that our pediatrician's office had a cancellation, and the schedule guy (who is so nice, by the way) called to see if we wanted to move our appointment up, as we'd been on the cancellation list. Of course we did; I like to have Kate's checkups as close as possible to her actual birthday, you know. I wonder if this rescheduling is a sign that Isaac could be home before that original appointment? Maybe not, but you never know ...

Isaac had his visa physical yesterday as well. I don't have any other information about this appointment other than it was set for the 14th. I know of at least five other children with Holt who were scheduled for their visa physicals yesterday as well. They all had EP approval dates of June 28th, too. (Some others with the same EP approval dates haven't heard of when their babies' visa physicals are--and one that I know of is set for July 21. Just FYI, in case you are in the adoption community and curious about dates and time lines, etc.) Anyway, it is very exciting as we move through the process!

As far as Kate's checkup ... here is the lowdown. She is 39 inches tall (90th percentile) and weighs 32 pounds (50th percentile). She is healthy and doing well, and we are so grateful for that. I had a list of things to discuss with our pediatrician (who is so awesome!). Here are a few of them:

• The paci. Kate is very attached, still. It's an obsession almost. Dr. G. suggested we get rid of it before Isaac comes home--so that means within the next week or two. We pray that it goes well.
  
• Potty training. No, Kate is not potty trained. In fact, the nurse even said, surprisingly, "Is she wearing a diaper?" (Or something like that.) But Dr. G. said he was *not* bothered or concerned in the least about it. In fact, he said he would suggest holding off on potty training because of all the changes going on in Kate's life right now. He also said not to force it at all--or to show any negative reaction to accidents, etc. So ... the priority of these two items is getting rid of the paci.
• Kate received two shots yesterday--Hib and Prevnar booster--and barely even flinched! Forget crying! LOL! We also got her immunization certificate for preschool. Kate received two little round Snoopy bandages as well as a sucker, so she was happy.
  
• I discussed Kate's eating habits with Dr. G, and he said he would not call her a picky eater (which are words that I had used). She eats meats, a few fruits, at least one vegetable and dairy, so she is doing well for a toddler. Yay! I mean, she could do better, but I was glad to hear Dr. G say that he would not classify her as a picky eater. Here's hoping that her palate continues to improve on its diversity.
• We also talked about Kate's becoming a big sister soon. Dr. G said we could not prepare her too much for this huge, life-changing event. He said to talk about it A LOT, to read books about it, to look at photos, etc., etc. Basically, we can't overdo this.
• Before we said goodbye to Dr. G yesterday, I told him we'd see him soon for Isaac's first stateside checkup. :o) (We had discussed this as well.)
  
• As I was pondering about this appointment and remembering Kate's 2-year checkup from this time a year ago ... I remembered that it was at that appointment that we first told Dr. G that we were adopting and asked him about some of the homestudy paperwork that his office would need to complete, etc. What a difference a year makes! We are so thankful for good health and lots to look forward to!