E’s 4 Year Old Checkup: The Shots Heard ‘Round the World

Mom told Elizabeth that it was time for her checkup to see how much she had grown this year.  Dad was able to join us (thank goodness!) and Elizabeth did really well getting weighed, measured and checked out.  Everything looked good.  We asked the doctor a few questions and were ready to leave with no concerns.  We knew that shots were coming at the end.  After the doctor left, Mom quickly started to tell E that she needed to get medicine to stay healthy and they were going to be shots that gave her a pinch in the leg.  We told the story of Ben’s experience and how worried he was but that he just gritted his teeth and closed his eyes and didn’t even make a peep.  Elizabeth practiced the face and we let her know we would be by her side the whole time.  It is a good thing there wasn’t much more time before the nurse returned or Mom would have started gloating about this wonderful teaching moment and planning how she would tell Ben what a great example he was. . . . .

 Her pre-shot smiles

The nurse came in and Elizabeth was nervous, but followed the instructions to lie down and hold hands with Mom and Dad and that something cold would be coming first.  That was the first crack in her armor.  She does not like cold things to be on her skin!  She started whining and then before we all knew it the shots came one, two, three………. Blood curdling screaming and messy crying ensued.  Each shot getting louder results than the first and the nurse’s eyes bigger with each one.  The nurse let her know how sorry she was that it hurt and told her to cuddle Mom and Dad and get some hugs to feel better.  Well, she evidently didn’t realize how mad Elizabeth was at Mom and Dad.  “NOOOOO!” Elizabeth screamed.  The nurse looked confused.  Mom and Dad let the nurse know that she just needed a moment and all would be okay.  We tried to comfort Elizabeth and worked at picking her up to hug but she would not have any part of it.  She finally sat up enough so she could spit on and yell at Dad about this injustice that she had just endured.  She was determined to just leave without her pants as she was surely not going to be touched on her legs any more, but Mom convinced her to get back into her clothes carefully so we could press toward the goal – ice cream.  We even collected ourselves enough to give the nurse a smile and a “have a good night!” on our way out.  The nurse looked relieved and was likely glad there was no more screaming and that we were leaving.  It isn’t good PR for a doctor’s office to have a child scream like they are having their legs sawed off when convincing other patients to hold still.  

Elizabeth was still a little grouchy on the way home, but looked forward to getting home so she could eat her sucker.  She enjoyed her sucker at home and we thought we were going to dinner and ice cream next.  Well, she had removed her pants again at a restroom break and let us know that she would not be wearing pants in the car, but would put them on in the restaurant.  That wasn’t a good answer so it took a while to decide that ice cream was worth wearing pants.  By the time we got out, it was getting later so we decided to go for one stop – the new Dairy Queen.  Both kids found something they liked on the menu and were looking forward to a treat.  We agreed that they could even get a Blizzard.  They had never had a Blizzard before so we did our best to explain.  Ben was sold on the concept and eagerly ordered.  E finally decided on M&Ms.  Well, part of the experience is that the nice young man that makes the Blizzard turns it upside down when handing it to you to show you how thick it is.  Elizabeth thought he was dumping it out or something and lost it again.  “I am not eating that!  I need a new one!”  We apologized to the nice young man and let him know it was way beyond his scope to fix this and proceeded to try to get to the car.  On the way out, Elizabeth managed to shove the Blizzard into Mom’s pants and the Blizzard was promptly confiscated.  She whimpered all the way home about her ruined ice cream, but realized eventually that she was the only one not enjoying ice cream.  When reality set in, she magically became compliant and admitted later that she did actually like the ice cream after she tried it.  Longest.  Day.  Ever.  

The good news is that the next scheduled shots aren’t until 11.  Maybe by then she will realize that Ben’s method of closing his eyes is better.

The Harlem Globetrotters

On a whim we got tickets to go see the Harlem Globetrotters when they came to Tulsa.  Both kids had been asking to go to a KU game and since that didn’t work out this year, we thought they might enjoy this.  Ben was their target audience.  He loved their jokes and elementary humor.  He loved the amazing stunts and ball handling skills and he loved cheering against the other team.  The other team is called Global Select now.  Not sure when that happened, but Mom and Dad were a little disappointed there were no Washington Generals.  Ben did struggle to realize that the Harlem Globetrotters were likely to win.  They were down by a lot and were ready for a huge comeback and Ben was just beside himself with the “backwards” score.  But then as they regained their lead, he was playing the part of super fan again and jumping out of his seat cheering.  Elizabeth was tired and probably could have enjoyed a shorter version of the game, but she also really loved it.  She tells some of the happenings in great detail like when they switched the ball for a helium balloon and it floated to the ceiling.  There is also some story that she tells about when one player used a flute, but we have figured out we think she means when he stole the ref’s whistle.  Our whim paid off this time.  The kids are both fans!  Guess we are turning into a sports family!

The Heat

Ben’s basketball team is named The Heat.  He plays with friends from school in a church league.  There are 8 games on Saturdays in January and February and then the season is over.  It is perfect.  The boys have advanced leaps and bounds since they started practicing last November.  Many couldn’t get the ball up to the goal and most are now making layups fairly regularly.  The coaches are wonderful.  So sweet with the kids and knowing what next step to take as the boys are getting better.  It has been so fun to watch.  Ben is pretty intense about winning although we say the number one rule is to respect coach and number two to have fun.  He does both of those, but is very score conscious.  They have won every half except for one.  They keep the score by half and start at zero again after half time.  Gives everyone a second chance.  They also get to shoot unguarded free throws or layups before each half that count as one point toward their score.  Then everyone gets a better chance at contributing.  Ben has made several layups and says he is in the official score book now.  He has also attempted shots in games and come really close.  The best part is watching him hustle.  When it is time to get to the other end of the court, he runs like a monster is chasing him.  He prides himself in getting there first.  He also loves to slide when trying to steal or rebound.  This puts him on the floor quite a bit.  Not sure why this is required in his mind, but it makes things entertaining for sure.  We got to eat with the team after a recent game and it was fun to see the boys get to just goof off together and not have to sit still.  Hopefully they will remain friends and enjoy another season next year.