Doctor's Appointment

This past week I took Brielle down to Nephi to see the family doctor. I took her in for her well child check. For some silly reason, I am always a little excited about these appointments. Dr. Oveson has been my doctor for nearly as long as I can remember. He saw me when I was young, he’s been my doctor through my pregnancies and the births of my children (except Tanner, we lived in Logan). He is now their doctor as well. When I take my kids to see him for their well child checks, it’s almost like show and tell. I get to show him how much the kids have grown up, what they have learned, and how darn adorable they are.
He always sings their praises, acts impressed and amazed at their accomplishments, and asks me sincerely how I’m doing.
That’s why I was excited.
I couldn’t wait to show him how my adorable baby girl has turned into a spunky little toddler. Pooper volunteered to babysit my two boys so it was just me and the little princess. She was perfectly charming and very well behaved while we waited in the lobby. Then when the nurse weighed and measured her she didn’t put up a fight at all.
I was thrilled.
Then Dr. O. walked in. He was excited to see her and immediately commented on how big she had gotten. Then he playfully got down to business. “Hey cutie, can you show me where your eyes are?” I was grinning on the inside because she has known the answer to this basic question since she was a year old.
She immediately pointed directly to the ceiling in response.
The ceiling?
I quickly piped in saying, “you know this, where are your eyes?” Another enthusiastic point to the ceiling.
He moved on.
Where is your tummy? She had shown him that trick the previous year when I took her in for her 1-year check-up. This time she didn’t point to the ceiling, instead she triumphantly slapped her knees. She had a big grin on her face as I urged her to try again and show Dr. O. where her belly was. Another slap on the knees.
I couldn’t believe it.
Finally he asked her where her ears were to which she responded by pinching her cheeks. I didn’t bother trying to help. She didn’t say a word the entire time, and spent most of the visit sitting on the exam table with her tongue sticking out.
She was crazy.
By the end of the visit, Dr. O. was explaining what the signs of autism were and what I should be watching out for.
He told me that she should be able to say simple words like cat, and dog among other things. I tried to assure him that she did, but when I asked her to repeat it she made some unintelligible sound then stuck her tongue back out.
Soon the visit was over and Dr. O. left the room. Immediately my little princess picked up a magazine, proudly pointed at a picture of a dog and exclaimed “puppy right there! woof woof!”
Oh well, I guess there’s always next year.