Charlotte’s pediatrician is extremely pleased with Charlotte’s growth and development. Mommy’s suspicions were confirm—-Charlotte is going to be a tall girl: today, Charlotte is 83.5 cm, which is at the 97th percentile for Southern China girls; this equates to the 50th percentile on the North American chart. Charlotte is 12.05 kg, which is at the 90th percentile for Southern China girls; this equates to 50-75 percentile on the North American chart.
Dr. Lewis was particularly pleased with the good eye contact that Charlotte made with her. Today, Charlotte received the second part of her flu vaccine, and tetanus (5 in 1), and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines. Mommy’s heart broke as Charlotte cried when she got the needles, but after a short while sitting on Mommy’s knee getting logs of kisses and hugs, she jumped down on the floor and was back to playing as before. Once Charlotte receives one more tetanus shot in 6 months, she will then be all caught up on her vaccines—-her doctor has been treating Charlotte as a toddler who has not been vaccinated, as we’re unsure as to the accuracy of the report that we received from China. Today, Charlotte got 3 stickers for being such a good girl. Overall, we had a wonderful appointment. Charlotte’s next appointment isn’t until she is 2 years old; however, she is scheduled for repeat HIV and iron tests in March.
Late in the afternoon, Daddy and Charlotte picked up Mommy from her office and went to the shoe stoe to have Charlotte’s shoes checked. The man who served us the last/first time recognized Charlotte right away and commented on how much she had grown since her last visit. Daddy put Charlotte up on the counter top so that the man could check Charlotte’s shoes—-as Mommy suspected, Charlotte’s feet had grown and she would need a bigger size.
It was confirmed when the man removed the insole of Charlotte’s shoe to see the wear marks. As a matter of fact, Charlotte’s feet are now measuring wider than they were in the fall at her first visit and she is flat-footed; apparently, this is quite common. On our next visit, Charlotte will likely get a shoe implant to help shape the arch of her foot.
The man suggested that Charlotte be fitted in a toddler boot that would give her more ankle support. He was quite sure that Charlotte’s legs were strong, but the boot would help with her balance. Apparently, Charlotte does tend to walk on the outside of her left foot very slightly when she’s in bare feet, but the shoes don’t show this wear. Once again, the first pair of shoes tried on were the keepers—-the white boot with the flowers on the side. Mommy paid for the shoes and was watching Charlotte chat and help another man who was being fitted for special orthotics, when she wondered whether she should have been so quick to dismiss trying on the navy blue suede shoe with navy patent on the back and a navy patent flower on the side. Of course, there was lots of ribbing by the men about women and their shoes while Mommy tried the shoes on Charlotte. Charlotte didn’t mind one way or the other, but didn’t want to take these shoes off.
As Charlotte was prancing around the store in her new shoes, Mommy broke into a rendition of “These boots were made for walking…” Of course, everyone laughed, mostly at Mommy, and chuckled at how animated and social Charlotte was. The salesman could see that Mommy was really struggling with the decision, so he did what every good salesman should do: offered Mommy a good deal to buy both pairs; however, Daddy convinced Mommy that Charlotte would likely get only 3 months’ wear out of these shoes, so it would be prudent to save the money until the next trip. So, Mommy decided on the blue shoes, which Charlotte wore out of the store. Of course, we weren’t in the car but a few minutes, when Charlotte was trying to take off her shoes—-the exact same routine as the last time we got shoes.
We then took Charlotte to a noodle restaurant that we like to go to. Charlotte was her usual social self, saying “hi” to everyone that entered the restaurant and trying to chat with the ladies in the booth on either side of us. Unfortunately, within the first few mouthfuls of food, Charlotte dropped food on her brand new shoes—-they weren’t even an hour old yet. I guess the white leather boots might have been the better choice—-easier to wipe clean. When we went to leave the restaurant, the ladies behind us were quite taken with Charlotte. Charlotte said “up” to the first gal; she asked if it was okay to pick up Charlotte—-this was quite refreshing, as no one has asked permission before obeying Charlotte’s wishes. I’m sure there is a story there, as this gal kept saying that she would like to have “one” and would like to take Charlotte home. She asked me if I needed a babysitter; she was very sweet.
Next stop, T & T Supermarket, a really big Asian supermarket in the north end of Scarborough. Charlotte received quite a bit of attention from other shoppers—-you could see the thought processes going through their minds as they looked at Charlotte and smiled and then looked from Mommy’s face to Daddy’s face—-ah, ha, the connection was made. Charlotte was fussy in the shopping cart, wanting to get out and walk around, so Mommy and Daddy took turns holding Charlotte’s hand while she walked around the store. She didn’t try to pick too many things off the shelf when she was walking; however, when she was in the shopping cart, it was a whole other game. Mommy picked up a few things and some sweets for Chinese New Year celebrations before heading home.
At this point, it was after 8 pm, Charlotte’s bedtime. Mommy thought Charlotte would fall asleep while Daddy drove Mommy back to her office to get her car, but she stayed awake almost until Daddy got home. Around 9:15 after a long day of activities and outings, Charlotte went to bed; Mommy wasn’t far behind her.
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