Shot through the heart, and you're to blame

The past few days have been full of injections. Yesterday morning, we were able to find a clinic in Virginia that would give us both the H1N1 vaccine, since we are both the highest risk categories. They only had 200 doses, so we took shifts waiting in line from 5:30 in the morning. (By which I mean, Jonathan got the first unpleasant shift -- waiting in the cold -- and I got the second unpleasant shift -- holding down a toddler whose eyes were fixed on a big needle.) He was SUCH a trooper -- the shot HURT (I am still achy today) and he cried a bit, and kept saying "HURT! HURT! KISS IT? KISS IT!" I did that lots, but then he found that if he suggested the same to the nurses, they would kiss him. And then he would kiss them, and say "Thank you! Love you!" Everyone was a winner.

Today, he had his 18 month checkup (oops, 3 weeks late.) The doctors and nurses reported that he is ridiculously ahead in terms of vocabulary (well over 500 words, and putting 2 and 3 together at at time). You'll all be glad to know his head remains in the 99th percentile. His flirtation skills have also improved, as Nurse Diana ("DIE-NA!") discovered. (He loooved her. Perhaps it had something to do with her being dressed up as a cowgirl. He was fascinated; it was a real "They come in pints?" moment.) And then came the shots. For the first time, in his little arms -- so I had to hold him down on my lap for the shots, and this time, he knew exactly what was coming. But he was so brave and so awesome, and after each shot, he whimpered and then said, "DIE-na! Kiss it? Please?" And got kisses from the nurse. He then thanked her, hugged her, kissed her, and asked her for a "Cuddle?" before leaving.

But the best part was that on the way home -- and despite more than 3 hours of car and doctor's office time with no lunch or nap, he was a gem -- we stopped at Wendy's in Woodbridge. We ordered "NUGGETS!" And "FIES!" (Fries.) And on the off chance they had it, he asked me for "ice keam?" Turns out, they do -- so Cody had his first Frosty. It was a huge hit. And the start of a great new tradition. I hate fast food and all, but come on. Four shots in two days (and one more tomorrow) earns you as many nuggets, fies, and ice keam as you want, as far as I'm concerned.



So strange, but despite all the exhaustion and tension of going through this with him, I feel like an actual, bona fide Mom now. And one with the sweetest child ever. I couldn't have hoped for a better kid, really. He's just awesome.