Pop, pop, fizz, fizz

Josephine's heart is fine! The hole in the heart wall is gone. Poof! Voila! Away with that white rabbit! And the aortal arch, whatever it was, has grown up and put away its tricks. Amazing! I'm not quite sure how it all happened -- my understanding of her cardiac history, as complex as it has been, is somewhat limited by my interventions to make her lie still, lift up her chin just a little bit more, kiss-kiss the cardiologist's plush Barney, Josephinie! No no, baby, just a few more minutes...Hey Lulu, it's okay -- that's a picture of Weenie's heart! Oh, what?

It's fine??

Yippee!!

If anybody ever needs a pediatric cardiologist in the DC area, call Dr. Hougen. And I'm not just saying it because he's got great toys in his office -- from the multi-culti wooden dollhouse to the super-duper camera that takes pictures of baby's hearts. He's so sweet with the girlies, and he's awfully nice to the parents too. He's got a big rubber heart model that reminds me of Biology B and he takes it down to show us all of the pistons and carburetors. Plus, he copies us on all of his reports, which is not as normal procedure as you might think.

We also went to see their developmental specialist -- the "play doctor," Lucy calls her. We don't often get to sit back and observe the babies doing their baby things, so I like these visits. And they always give us new appreciation for Josephine's more quiet talents.

While Margaret blabs and bombs, Josephine has really great persistence skills. She kept at this little peg and hole toy in the doctor's office until she finally, with great precision, fit the peg in its hole. (Margaret tried. Harrumphed loudly. Then put the peg in her mouth and made off with it.)

The doctor also gave them this test -- where she took a cool toy and then put it behind a sheet of glass. The frustration test! After a few, uh, what's going on here??, they figured it out. What smart babies! Except for their verbal ability, which is a little lacking, they're pretty much good for their age. So that's nice too.

In the meantime... Josephine says she likes ketchup.