Our two oldest sons...

are going to be tall. Quite tall we believe. Have you heard about that neat little trick of taking their height at age two, doubling it and supposedly you get a pretty good estimate for their adult height? These boys will be my first try at seeing if the estimation game actually works.

My oldest son, Chess, his height comes out to about 6' 3". Even though this tyke was a preemie born at 28 weeks weighing a mere 2 lbs 11 ozs and measuring 14 1/2 inches long, by the time he was 9 months old, he had caught up on that pediatrician's graph with the blocks and curves. You know the one I'm talking about--new moms live and die by that chart which gives percentile numbers for height, weight, and head circumference. Since we've stopped talking in weeks regarding pregnancy, it's the next language of numbers to keep us going.

"Yes, little Chess here is in the 75% for weight and the 90% for height!"

And truth, he was there by 9 months and didn't leave either of those curved lines for some time. Since about the age of 5 he has complained of leg aches and pains that always result within a week of another pair of pants being too short. His growth is pretty consistent, as are the growing pains in his joints. Recently he began to also have those charley horse cramps in his leg muscles as well. Growth hurts I keep telling him.

Our next son, Pele, was 26 months old when we adopted him, and he was nearly as tall as Chess. The two boys are seven and a half months apart but their height difference never varies more than about half an inch, with one or the other pulling ahead (and a hair) taller by the month. Keeping track on a door frame became way too complicated. Now they like to measure themselves against me, their 5' 5" giantess of a mom. At their current rate of growth, I'll only be effective as a measuring rod for the next 2 years, maybe.

Pele's estimated adult height comes out to around 6' 5". He tends to grow more in spurts. He has not had the level of growing pains that his brother suffers, but this morning at breakfast he said, "Mom, I could feel myself growing last night." When I asked what he meant, he said, "My legs were so achy. I could feel them getting longer."

I don't doubt the boy at all. His pants are shorter today. Growth hurts, I keep hearing.