Our Peanut

 Violet had her four-year-old doctor's visit on Friday. She is well! And tiny. Not that we didn't already know that, as many children half her age are taller than her.

Violet is now 31 pounds, putting her in the 17th percentile, and 36 1/4 inches. Her height ranks her in the 2nd percentile, down from the 5th a year ago. If Vi were in a room of 100 four-year-olds, one would be shorter than her.

Dr. Brockett said that with her family history of shortness, this isn't a cause for alarm, and who knows, she could have a growth spurt this year and climb up the charts a bit. Pediatricians like to see children this age grow two or three inches a year, and Violet came close to that mark, with a growth of 1 3/4 inches.

Let's all hope she can at least reach her mother's lofty height of 5-feet-even.

 Violet cooperated well throughout her appointment, with its blood pressure check and hearing and eye tests. She was then a brave girl for her shot, one that combined the MMR and chicken pox vaccines. She barely flinched, and set a good example for Cora, who came along to get her chicken pox vaccine booster.

Yes, it was Cora who needed more consoling after the shots, but at least my 7-year-old wasn't thrashing and kicking.

To celebrate a successful trip to the doctor's, I thought I'd treat the girls to a smoothie at McDonald's. (They're doing a buy one, get one special right now for their fancy drinks, and I got an iced mocha. Yes, I had ulterior motives.)

Sadly, Violet wanted an ice cream instead of a smoothie to such an extent that she cried the whole way home. She didn't even want a sip of the mango-pineapple frosty goodness. The tears continued off and on during her rest time, until I put on a Disney princess CD that accompanies a book, with several stories using the voices from the movies.

Cora went into Vi's room to listen and flip the pages, and Violet then joined her, with her smile back in place. Thanks, Uncle Dean and Auntie Jen, for a birthday gift that rescued Violet from her bad mood!