Poopoo Patrol

Yes...we are going to talk about poopoo (and I'm assuming that everyone knows what I'm talking about)...so for all for you out there who have issues with poopoo, it's best you disregard this blog. Now on with the show...

Emily has become somewhat infatuated with all things involving poopoo. With the recent addition of our new puppy Zoe, and Emily's repeated visualization of her own poopoo in her diapers, poopoo has become a big part of Emily's life.

Since we potty-trained Zoe inside the house (she uses a "potty-pad" and does her #1/#2 on the pad in the house)...Emily has been on poopoo patrol. Any time Zoe poopoos on the pad (or occasionally not on the pad), Emily is there to notify us by constantly repeating "poopoo...poopoo...poopoo". And whenever we pick up the poopoo and place it in the toilet, Emily is there to say "byebye poopoo", as it begins it's journey into the beyond.

Emily has also begun to notice her own poopoo and bowel movements. She not only feels necessary to notify us whenever she has had any kind of bowel movement or gaseous release, but also has taken to removing her diaper whenever she feels like it so that she can get a better look at what's going on down there. We have learned pretty quickly that we need to have some kind of pants on her whenever we're at home, or she'll quickly grab the velcro straps of her diaper and away she goes! On one occasion, I was showering and the kids (Emily and Zoe) were playing in the bathroom together. While I was in the shower, Emily notified me of "poopoo" and I quickly realized I hadn't put any pants on her...but the damage was done. I glanced outside, the diaper was on the floor, but the poopoo was nowhere to be found. All I can say is that there is good and bad in having a dog that will eat just about anything.

Emily's Stats

Emily went to the doctor's office last week for her 18 month check up. I can't believe how quickly she's growing up. For the last three trips to the doctor's office, she has gotten to stand on the big girl scale all by herself. Then she has to lay down on the paper covered exam table, which she protests quite vocally, so they can measure her length. And then the nurse tortures her with measuring her head circumference. This is all before the doctor comes in and wants to look in her mouth and ears and give her a shot. Emily is a pretty good sport about it all, but it definitely isn't her favorite thing to do in the afternoon. Here's where Emily landed on the charts at her last appointment.

Length - 30 3/4" (22nd percentile)

Weight - 19 lbs 8 oz (neg. 3rd percentile)

Head - 48 cm (85th percentile)

So basically, she's a tiny thing with a big head. I don't know how you can be in the negative third percentile (I thought it was typically 0-100)... but Emily has managed it. She's still gaining weight, so the doctor isn't concerned with her weight, but I still don't understand how it's possible. It's like they thought they had found the smallest 18 month old in the world, but then they found Emily, and instead of reworking all their charts, they just moved her to the bottom of the list.

Emily's Words

It is amazing to me how quickly Emily is picking up new words and signs. In addition to talking to her almost every day since she was born (at least one word a day... I know, impressive), we have been trying to get her to use sign language to communicate. Now that she is able to repeat after us, and use a lot of her own words, she had finally started to sign as well. She normally says the word she is signing, so it isn't as helpful as we would have hoped, but still very cool. I decided to compile a list of the words she is using now, so we can see how far she has come when she's 5 and we can't get her to be quiet. In no particular order, here's the list: bye bye, night night, milk, bird, bear, puppy, Zoe, good girl, thank you, mama, daddy, Barbara, who is it?, more, bunny, hello, cookie, banana, water, wee, Josh, no no, poo poo (in reference to Zoe going potty), cheese, baby, belly, nose, toes, booby, shoes, bubba, cracker, five (as in "high five"), two, three, here you go...

I'm sure I'm missing a few, I may have to update this list as I remember, but it's a start.