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Sit down next to Sina and watch Kimo play on the balcony. Then skip to the 13 month checkup. The physical growth is slowing down slightly, but his coordination and vocabulary still improved by leaps and bounds

Lena lowers herself onto the concrete beside Sina and the lowering is 730 pounds settling and the settling is the thing her body does without adjusting — the weight finding the ground, the ground accepting it, the two surfaces meeting the way they meet every morning. Sina is cross-legged with Kimo on her lap and the lap is the thing that is holding and the holding is the thing neither of them comments on because commenting would make it a thing that needs words and it does not need words. The sun is higher and the higher is the thing that warms the concrete and the concrete is the thing that holds all three of them.

Kimo slides off Sina's lap and the sliding is the thing that is the decision — his decision, made with the hips and the hands, the body saying I am going now. He walks to the stroller and the walking is the thing that is the 50 inches and the 50 inches is the thing that moves across the balcony with the steadiness of a boy who has been walking since four months and running since seven. He pulls the wrench from the stroller's tool pouch and the pulling is the thing that is the finding and the finding is the thing he does with his hands — the hands that know the shape of tools before they know the names.

He sits on the concrete and turns the wrench over and the turning is the thing that is the studying. He hums while he does it and the humming is the thing that fills the balcony and the balcony is the thing that is the morning and the morning is the thing that is the Sunday. Sina watches him and the watching is the thing that is the soft and the soft is the thing she does not show often. Lena watches Sina watching Kimo and the watching is the thing that is the knowing — the knowing that Sina sees Aleki in the boy and the boy does not know he is being seen that way and the not knowing is the thing that is the innocence and the innocence is the thing that is the thirteen months.

They sit like that for an hour and the hour is the thing that is the quiet and the quiet is the thing that does not need filling. Sina tells one more story — about Aleki teaching the seven-year-old Aleki Junior to catch by tossing a coconut and the coconut was the thing that bounced off Junior's chest six times before he caught it and the catching was the thing Aleki celebrated like a touchdown. Kimo looks up at the word catch and says "catch" and the saying is the thing that is the word and the word is the thing that is the new one and the new one is the thing that goes in the list.

The clinic is bright and the bright is the thing that is the fluorescent and the fluorescent is the thing that is the Monday morning. Dr. Parekh is at the table and the table is the thing with the scale and the scale is the thing Kimo stands on and the standing is the thing he does without being told because the scale is the thing he knows. He has been here before and the before is the thing that is the routine and the routine is the thing he does — stand, wait, look at the number, say "big."

"One hundred and fifty pounds," Dr. Parekh says. She writes the number and the writing is the thing that is the chart and the chart is the thing that has the line and the line is the thing that is the curve.

"Fifty inches." She measures him standing against the wall and the wall is the thing that has the marks and the marks are the thing that are the months. Kimo is 13 months and the 13 months is the thing that is 150 pounds and 50 inches and the 150 and 50 are the things that Dr. Parekh compares to the last visit.

"The rate is changing," Dr. Parekh says. She says it carefully and the carefully is the thing she does with numbers that matter.

"At ten months he was at a 2.5 multiplier. Now he's closer to 2.1. The growth is still far above any standard curve, but the acceleration is tapering. He gained thirty-eight pounds in three months. The previous three months he gained thirty. So the total is still climbing, but the rate of acceleration is easing."

Lena nods and the nodding is the thing that is the receiving and the receiving is the thing she does with medical information — the taking in, the holding, the processing the way she processes measurements on a site. The numbers are the numbers and the numbers are the thing she tracks in her own spreadsheet and the spreadsheet is the thing that has Kimo's column next to hers.

"Physically he's extraordinary," Dr. Parekh says.

"But I want to talk about language and coordination."

She pulls out her notes and the notes are the thing that is the pages and the pages are the thing that have the words.

"At ten months you reported eighty-nine words. What's the count now?"

Lena thinks and the thinking is the thing that is the counting and the counting is the thing she does in her head because the list is the thing she keeps.

"One hundred and seventy-two. Plus Gampa, Ganma, and Auntie from this week. And catch. So one hundred and seventy-six."

Dr. Parekh puts her pen down. The putting down is the thing that is the pause and the pause is the thing that is the moment and the moment is the thing that is the doctor processing a number that is the thing that should not be at thirteen months.

"One hundred and seventy-six words at thirteen months. The median vocabulary at this age is three to five words. He is at roughly thirty-five times the median. And he's combining them — 'Auntie run, Auntie fast too,' 'Daddy big,' 'Gampa big.' That's syntactic combination, not just labeling."

"He does it all day," Lena says. "He narrates everything. He told the wrench 'good wrench' yesterday."

Dr. Parekh smiles and the smiling is the thing that is the real and the real is the thing that is not the clinical. She has Kimo walk across the room and the walking is the thing she watches and the watching is the thing that is the assessment. Kimo walks to the table, picks up a tongue depressor, holds it like a pencil, and drags it across the paper on the table. The drag is the thing that is the line and the line is the thing that is the mark and the mark is the thing that is the drawing.

"Line," Kimo says. "Good line."

"His fine motor is at a three-year level," Dr. Parekh says.

"Possibly higher. The grip, the pressure control, the intentionality of the mark — that's not scribbling. That's a deliberate stroke."

She writes more and the more is the thing that is the notes and the notes are the thing that will go in the file. She looks at Lena over the chart and the looking is the thing that is the question she has not asked yet.

"Lena, I want to see him again in three months. At sixteen months. If the language curve is still vertical at that point, I'm going to bring in a developmental specialist. Not because something is wrong — because something is unprecedented, and I want it documented properly."

"Okay," Lena says. "Three months."

Kimo says "bye bye" to Dr. Parekh at the door and the bye bye is the thing that is the wave and the wave is the thing he does with his whole arm. Dr. Parekh waves back and the back is the thing that is the smile and the smile is the thing she keeps after they leave.