3 Years / 9 Months

Kole and Karissa had a joint doctor's appointment yesterday. It was Kole's 3-year check-up and Karissa's 9-month. Here's the stats:
Kole
Weight: 34 pounds (75%)
Height: 39.5 inches (90%) this was his very first vertical measurement. All others had been done laying down, head to heal.
Karissa
Weight: 18 pounds, 12 ounces (85%)
Length: 28.75 inches (50%)
Head: 43.5 cm (30%)

Obviously, Kole is still ahead of the game on the growth chart, in comparison with other boys his same age in the US. Karissa is pretty much average, though she's slightly on the full-figured side. Her head measures 43.5 centimeters around, which puts her in the 30% range - meaning 70% of US girls her same age have a larger head.

This is the result of her misshapen head that we got the helmet to help correct. That experiment is now over. A day before her 9-month check-up, Karissa had her final visit with Cranial Technologies where final castings and pictures were taken. The first shot really isn't to show much of her head shape changing, but to show how much SHE changed in such a short time. Such a noticeable addition of darker hair. And she's able to hold her head up a little better than she did when she was just a 6-month old. They had to wet her hair down to better show the shape of the skull, so her little fluffy chick feathers aren't prominent here.
The most telling shot of how her head changed the most is the bird's-eye shot - but really, the picture doesn't do the change justice. It's more of a thing you had to see for yourself to really know the difference. Photos are limited to just one dimension, but if you really had a good study of the top of Karissa's head before and after, the difference is pretty significant.

As noted above, her head circumference is 43.5 centimeters, which is on the smaller side for her age. But as she grows older her head will fill out - as will her hair, and no one will know a lick of difference anyways.
What's more important is that she's totally, 100% healthy and happy. She makes little teepees on her hands and feet - not quite crawling, and not quite standing up, but she definitely wants to be upright even if it's only her butt sticking up in the air. She has event shown the ability to grab hold of the coffee table or a chair leg or crib rail and attempt to pull herself up.
She is slowly getting more gabby, and her front four teeth shine when she giggles. She cuddles. She sees you from across the room and smiles and flaps her arms. She was such an unexpected surprise, I guess it was 18 months ago when we were first clued in to her arrival, but she is such an integral and special part of our lives. Kole is the squeaky wheel that gets the majority of the grease. He is 3 and needs attention and engaging most of the time. And then there's the little princess, quietly nibbling on a toy, disinterested in the chaos her brother is stirring up, waiting to lock eyes and acknowledge that she is content.
She is a joy to be around.