Shots

Tessa had her 4-Yr check-up yesterday. I can't believe she's four already. We celebrated in grand style in Jekyll Island (will post another one on Jekyll with some pics). We had a little Birthday party with the Rivers (Carla, Ben, Evan and Katy) and of course Omi and Opa were there as well. She had a purple cake (duh) with pink hearts all over and is still talking about her cake.

At four they have to get a round of shots. They do this at four now instead of five since so many kids start Pre-K at age four. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Tessa will be in Pre-K in the fall. Instead of surprising her with the shots, I figured I would prep her. I have been talking about them for a while and we talked about being brave and how important they are, etc. She talked about how brave Opa and Daddy were and that she was going to be brave as well. Monday morning all bravery went out the window. As she was getting dressed I reminded her we had her Doctor's appointment and she said she didn't want shots today, but would go tomorrow. I picked her up from school, it was nap time so she was still sleeping. On the way over she kept saying she didn't want the shots.

As the Nurse did a Vision Test and Hearing Test, she just kept saying "I don't want any shots". She got to wear a hospital gown, which she wanted to model (see picture below). Dr Beckford came in and checked her out. She said everything looked great. She's obviously advanced in her speech and social skills, so there are no concerns there. Then the nurse came back to give her the shots. She lost it. It was hard because I had to hold her arms so she wouldn't accidentally hit one of the syringes. She got two shots in each leg. She cried, screamed, and was scared. Afterwards, I told her I was very proud of her and I know that that was very hard for her. She said "But I wasn't brave, I was scared" I took her to Coldstone as a treat and she ordered Water Melon Ice Cream with Reese's Pieces and Oreo Cookie. BARF! But she loved it and licked the bowl clean. Of course, my little drama queen is now limping around in a very dramatic fashion when she remembers she got the shots. At school she was limping down the hall, but then saw Ellis running and suddenly and miraculously recovered and chased him down the hall. Then she had to limp again.

I just love my little mini-me so much. She is so smart, sweet, beautiful, sassy, dramatic, and funny. I love watching her when she sleeps because she looks so much like me. She does this funny imitating of my angry face that is dead on. Mike and I laughed so hard this weekend when she showed him my angry face. She loves Ellis and always wants him included in everything. They really are best friends and I hope it stays that way. I am just so proud of what a wonderful little girl she is and I am so lucky to have her. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her. She is truly the light of my life and I am just so in love with her.

Stats: She's 35 lbs (50%) and she's 39 3/4" tall (50%). So she's right in the middle of the pack, she was on the shorter side for a while (35%) but has shot up in the last year.