Yes, Yes It Is

My chill totally ran out when Mal woke up and almost immediately started complaining about his knee hurting. I called the pediatrician's office, and they were able to fit him in at 1 o'clock this afternoon.

We headed out pretty much first thing, going first to Bricks and Minifigs, where we browsed a bit before Mal settled on getting Asajj Ventress and Sabine Wren. Then we went to Chick-fil-A. Mal played with a kid there for a while before she had to leave. I was hoping we'd kill enough time to go straight to the doctor's, but we still had about an hour. So we went to Urban Air, where they have a Homeschool Jump every Friday from noon until 3 PM. Mal met a little kid he enjoyed for a bit, then we went to the office.

Mal cried and refused to do anything (although he eventually did everything; they just had to take his temperature under his arm, and he stepped on the scale even as he declaimed never stepping on the scale ever). He insisted, "This is the worst day ever!" The nurse was super patient with him, and our pediatrician is just the best. After having Mal push against with his feet, and then moving Mal's legs and ankles around, the doctor had him lie down (again, with many tears and much protesting). Eventually, the doctor pulled Mal's legs up at a 90 degree angle, held him by the ankles, and had me come look.

I blushed, "Oh, I know. His heels are super dirty; he was playing at Chick-fil-A." "No, this." When I looked closer I saw it: Mal's left leg is about half a centimeter longer than his right leg. The doctor said this is normal, that the long bones in the legs don't grow at the same rate. So right now, his left leg is longer, and that explains why his left knee has been bothering him more. The doctor said it was likely to alternate for the next ten years, though he might not experience the "growing pains" in this manner.

That's a relief to know for sure!

And after the "worst day ever," Mal wanted to go back to Urban Air for a few, so he jumped some more, then we went to pick up a half price pizza at Papa Murphy's. We walked over to HEB, per Mal's request, where he found a very on-sale Mario squishy blind bag (it was a Koopa shell) and was an instant winner at the HEB Buddy Bucks machine (foam putty). He cleaned up pretty well, with cushioning all around the HORRIBLE, VERY DEVASTATING doctor's visit.

Methinks he'll live.

PS Mal is 51 pounds (98th percentile) and 47.5 inches (91st percentile).