William's 18-month checkup

Today, William, Katelyn and I headed to Kansas City for William's 18-month checkup.  Before heading to the doctor's office, we did a little shopping.

This visit to the doctor was a little bittersweet.  I LOVE our pediatrician.  He is not the pediatrician we started with, I also LOVED her, but he took on part of her patients when she left the practice.  When I was pregnant with Julianne, Brian and I discussed what we wanted in a pediatrician and even met with 3 or 4 before we decided on one.  Our first pediatrician was terrific.  She was a wife and mother.  She was gentle with the kids, patient with everyone and told us the truth.  She was gentle in her presentation, but didn't beat around the bush.

She left the pediatrician practice when I was pregnant with Katelyn.  I was bummed about it, but I totally understood.  She made her choices based on what her family needed.  Two new doctors (and I do mean new, they just finished their residencies when they started with the practice) took on her patients when she left.  I had not met either of them when I needed to take Julianne to the pediatrician for what I thought was chicken pox.  Chicken pox is not alarming to me, but I was pregnant and there are risks for mom and baby when exposed to chicken pox.  So, I called the practice and when the doctor we were going to use wouldn't see us, because she too was pregnant, we saw our current pediatrician for the first time.   Once we got the appointment scheduled, Julianne and I hit the road and we were off to see Dr. Kevin Burgert.  What a blessing this was!

He has been great with all 3 of my kids.  Julianne likes to jokingly call him "Dr. Burger", which makes Katelyn giggle uncontrollably.  So, over the last 4 and a half years we have taken the kids to Dr. Kevin for well-baby visits and a few sick visits.  We have experienced firsts with him and listened as he has said that will be my 2 kids in about six months (that was today as William was picking on Katelyn).  He has a little girl that is about 6 months younger than Katelyn and a little boy that is about 6 months younger than William.

So, back to the bittersweet.  Today, hopefully, was the last time we will see him.  Since we will be moving in June, my kids do not need any more well visits before the move.  And while I don't want my kids to get sick, I wouldn't hesitate to take them to see Dr. Kevin one last time!

Now, onto William....

Age: 18 months, 3 days
Weight: 27 pounds, 15 ounces (75th percentile)
Height: 31.5 inches (25th percentile)

William is a healthy, active boy.  He LOVES to climb and I do mean LOVES to climb!  His vocabulary is starting to grow and currently includes the words: Momma, Dadda, Papa, basketball (he says ba-ba-ball when he sees one), balloon, ball, banana (na-na), bat, more and some others.  He loves to make car sounds, "vroom, vroom" while playing with his cars.  He is learning to "meow" when you ask what a kitty says.  I am also working on getting him to say "woof, woof" for a puppy.

He loves belly buttons.  When asked where his is he will lift his shirt up and then try and get everyone else to lift their shirts also.  He also points correctly to hands and feet when asked.

His favorite foods are definitely fruits.  He will eat pretty much any fruit put in front of him.  Really, he will eat almost any food.  The couple foods he does not care for are raw broccoli, refried beans or plain scrambled eggs. He prefers his scrambled eggs with sausage, cheese, salsa and hash browns!

William is a boy and little brother thru and thru.  He knows how to irritate and bother his sisters.  But at the same time he has such a kind heart.  When one of his sisters is hurt, he will give them a hug and pat their back.  I love my baby boy and continue to enjoy each moment with him!