Smallest to Tallest

( KN at 15 mos old. ) I was always small for my age. My husband was always small for his age. There was no doubt in our minds that most likely, our children would be small for their age. When we had our first baby, CT, we had the most wonderfully sweet pediatrician. We loved her. She told us how healthy our baby was and that he would be like us - not the tallest kid on the block and that was just fine. When we had our second baby, KN, our tiniest baby at 6 lbs 14 oz , we had to switch our medical services and therefore got a new pediatrician. She wasn't quite as personable and knew you by your chart rather than by your face or name like our old pediatrician had. When KN was 1 year old she weighed 18 lbs. At 2 yrs old she weighed 19 lbs. We never doubted that she was a normal healthy little girl. She ate everything, not being picky. Her foods of choice were vegetables and fruits and she doesn't care much for carbs or sweets. She could out do her older brother at everything and she was even one of the tallest of the toddlers at all the family gatherings on my husband's side of the family! Her doctor however, looking at her growth chart, decided that she wasn't growing and must have something wrong with her. That she needed tests run. She got blood tests, urine tests and told me to visit a nutritionalist to talk about what and how KN was eating and what I needed to do to help her grow. I kept trying to tell the doctor that I was very small for my age as a child. So were my brothers, my father's sisters, my husband, his entire family etc. I even called my dad's cousin who has 5 children, all very petite because one of her daughters was only 16 lbs at age 2. She assured me that although her daughter was that tiny and their own doctors had them all worried about her small size, she grew up to be a lovely, healthy young lady - just a very petite one! Our pediatrician was never able to find anything wrong with KN. When we had MN 2 yrs later, also low on the growth chart ( both girls were in the 2 percentile for weight and 5 percentile for height ) this doctor mentioned the size thing again to me. I ignored her concern this time. We switched medical again shortly after MN was born and went back to our first pediatrician who was so excited to have us back. She's told me she loves to see all four of our kids and that Little J is a "giant"! ( *wink - wink * in our family. ) She understands that our kids just run on the small side because of genetics not because they're unhealthy. She said over the many years she's been a pediatrician that she noticed the mixed race children are overall, the healthiest. All of this was brought to mind the other day when we were taking some Spring photos for this year. As I was looking through them I noticed that the child that was once my smallest, is now my tallest as she now stands above my shoulder! Sure, she's no giant, she may stop growing at age 12 like several of her aunties did and be a whopping 5 ft 2 inches! But nothing wrong with that! No need to take on the mantra of my oldest brother when he was the age she is now " Hi, my name is David ... and I know, I'm short for my age. " Yes, that is how he'd introduce himself. She's healthy and smart and just the way God made her.