Following Up

We're back from the pediatrician, so it's time for the 4-month status report. Tess had a really good visit. The doctor was impressed with how active and interactive she is (and by how long her eyelashes are!).

Tess now weighs 13 lbs. 12 oz. (not quite 14 lbs.!), which puts her in the 60th percentile for weight. She's 25 1/3 in. long--she's in the whopping 85th percentile for height! Maybe she'll be tall like her dad!

I really like Tess' doctor. You can tell she really enjoys babies and she took lots of time to answer all my paranoid mom questions (e.g., vaccines, fluorinated water, BPA bottles).

I just need to chill about that kind of stuff--there's only so much you can do and worrying about it doesn't help. The doctor did a good job of making me feel like I'm doing a good job with Tessie.

The shots were brutal--two in each chunker-thigh this time. Tessie's shrieks were truly heart-wrenching.

But afterwards I held her close, gave her a bottle and she finally fell sound asleep. Since she's still zonked out, I have a few minutes to blog on a few other things I've been meaning to follow up on:

1. Tess's vs. Tess'

Well, the poll results weren't exactly helpful in deciding which way to go on this. The poll did at least confirm that I've been justified in my indecisiveness.

I think I've settled on the spelling Tess', simply because of the number of s's. If her name didn't end in two s's, I'd go the other way. But three s's in a row starts to look a little s-s-snake-like, if you ask me.

Feel free to spell it however you like--I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

2. The "Dipsy" Designation

A while ago, Ann asked how my mom got the name "Dipsy." "Dipsy" is a name that Kenzie picked out especially for my mom (one of the perks of being the first grandchild!).

Kenzie & Isaac

When Kenzie was born, my mom decided that as a grandmother she wanted to be called "Gramsy." She thought that sounded like a sophisticated grandma name. My mom called herself "Gramsy" around Kenzie and tried to get Kenzie to call her that. Kenzie had other plans.

Lauren Kate

We're not entirely sure where Kenzie got the name "Dipsy" from. Granted, it does sound a little like "Gramsy;" at least the end does. However, we have strong suspicions that she picked it up from the only other Dipsy we know:

Not too long ago, Kenzie was watching Teletubbies with Grandma Dipsy. Kenzie was shocked when he came on the screen, "He has your name, Dipsy!" No kidding!

OK, so it's not the exactly the sophisticated grandma name Mom was going for. But, I think it's grown on her. I told her that if she wanted, we'd call her "Gramsy" and try to banish the Teletubbies nickname, at least on the east coast. She'd have none of it.

Tess

I think she secretly even likes the name. It is unusual--she's one of only two Dipsy's I know. And she's definitely the cuter of the two! We love Grandma Dip!

3. Congratulations, Keith!

We recently got the news that the ever-hard-working Keith has decided to enter retirement! Congratulations, Keith, on a full and impressive career!

We're sure that retirement won't be too much of a break for him. He always has plans for staying busy, whether it's through teaching or part-time work. If he does find himself with a little downtime, I'm sure Wendy will be able to help fill it!

And hopefully, he'll have a little more time for this:

That's all for now. Tess is up and in good spirits. It's beautiful today, so I think we'll go for a walk. Bye!