What a charming little girl we have on our hands these days! Ginger and I went to visit Dr. Shaw for her 1 year check-up, a little late but I felt better about it because Ginger had been sick for a few weeks right after her first birthday, and I didn't want to shoot her up with vaccinations when she was a little down for the count. So, once she was feeling better, we decided to go in and get it over with :)
Up until this visit, Ginger hasn't so much as made a whimper when she recieved her shots. This time around, we had a very sweet nurse who was almost too gentle in injecting the shots. So I watched Ginger's little thigh wiggle like jello while the tip of the needle worked on poking through. I almost wanted her to just pop it in and be done with it- it felt like slllllllow motion to watch this needle, and Ginger DEFINITELY told me how she felt about it. Mommy teared up too, but a few seconds of rocking afterwards, and she recovered.
At 13 months old, she is 22 lbs. (52nd percentile) and 31" tall (86th percentile). She is growing SO fast these days, I still call her my baby, but she sure doesn't look like a baby to me anymore!
Dr. Shaw was really impressed that Ginger was already walking so well, and he kept telling us how absolutely adorable and charming she is. I don't know if they say that to everyone, but Ginger adores him (surprising, as she only has met him a handful of times) but she sure turns it on for him. Smiles, giggles, she even kissed his forehead while he was leaned over checking her. It was too cute.
On Sunday, Paul and I took Ginger to her first Nascar Race. We were invited to attend and watch the race from an executive suite, complete with catered lunch, sound protected environment, comfy couches, and children and parents of all ages. We had a blast, as did Ginger. We took her up to the rooftop to watch the race (of course we put little ear plugs in her ears, and surprise! She didn't pull them out!) and she pointed and said "Ca, Ca"!! She see's Daddy's model cars displayed in our house, and with Paul's garage it's no surprise that car is one of the 10-12 words she uses frequently these days.
Ginger loves to laugh and giggle, in a very goofy charming kind of way. She likes to tickle mommy and daddy these days, especially our toes! On of her favorite things to do with Dad is play together on the living room floor. They roll around and kiss and tickle each other. If he's laying on the floor with a pillow she will make sure to rest her head on the pillow too, or just lay on top of dad for a quick snuggle.
Ginger is also a bit shy with others these days, which we knew was coming! She definitely keeps her goofy silly personality under wraps until she gets to know you a little bit. I remember watching other people's children and internalizing it as an adult, but now I watch when Ginger is shy and see that it has nothing to do with the adult- more it has to do with her and wanting comfort from mommy.
We are working on cooking more together, and she absolutely has to be part of the action these days. She doesn't like to go and play and watch a cartoon before dinner- she MUST be in the kitchen with mom, and these days she MUST be shown what we're cooking, etc. Luckily I can plop the Bumbo chair on the counter, and she's content with a spoonula pretending to mix right along with mommy.
Here are some pics from the doc's visit and Nascar!
