Under our new definition of “normal,” it wouldn’t be a normal month without a trip to the UIHC for a Peanut check-up. Last Monday marked the day this month and Peanut was on her way for a quick visit with her GI doctor. (She doesn’t see her team of surgeons as often now.)

As check-ups go, this one was a bit of a mixed bag. Peanut is just shy of 20 pounds (that’s in the 15th percentile for her age), her most recent incision is healing nicely, and everything that was reconnected seems to be working without issue. She’s still battling with a horrible diaper rash, but even that is under control most days. With all that, maybe the most noticeable thing is that Peanut is starting to fill out – chunky? – not even close, but her cheeks are starting to resemble infant checks for the first time ever.

But, all of that progress was tempered slightly by Peanut’s most recent blood work. Unfortunately, some of the results showed some underlying back-tracking in her progress. Among some of the results, blood tests done to monitor Peanut’s liver function came back with elevated results. You may remember that she was on a medication to help with her liver function for about a year, until a couple months ago. At this point, the doctors have decided that a wait and see approach may be the most prudent. There’s a chance that the liver numbers are still the result of Peanut recovering from her surgery at the end of October, and it may correct on its own. We’ll need to wait until next month’s check-up to find out.

In the meantime, Peanut never fails to impress with what she manages to learn on a daily basis. Her list of words is now too long to keep track of and she’s started adding multiple syllable words as well – though, her favorite word is still “no.” She’s been caught a handful of times sneaking in a few steps while standing before dropping to her knees to crawl after someone or something. And her appetite is the best it’s ever been. Actually, we’ve discovered one way to get her to eat just about anything – have Lulu feed it to her. It’s rather a sight to see. If Lulu has the spoon, it doesn’t matter what’s on it Peanut wants it. And if letting your older sister shove a spoon in your mouth doesn’t sound like a good idea, Peanut is way ahead of you – the majority of the time, she will pick the food off the spoon with her fingers as Lulu presents it instead of letting Lulu feed her. Let’s just say that’s one smart girl.