Coming as he did in the wake of two rather diminutive older siblings, August had some very small shoes to fill. He was born nearly a pound heavier than Alden and a half-pound heavier than Kato. I remember holding Alden in her first days and fearing that she would break in my hands. From the start, August has felt more substantial.

We suspected he was growing at a good clip, but yesterday we took him to the doctor to test the theory. August’s one-month checkup happened to coincide with Kato’s two-year visit, and so we combined the two. Kato, who is just old enough to understand that trips to the doctor’s office often entail getting jabbed with sharp objects, was skeptical of the whole situation.

Surprisingly, he consented to the nurse’s invasion-by-stethoscope with minimal protest.

For his part, August was too bewildered to comprehend the strange happenings.

Moments after this photo was taken, it was revealed to us that August is 10 whole pounds, a threshold the other two did not reach until much later. This places him in the 75th percentile for weight. He is also in the 75th percentile for height. Which is to say, he might not actually be our child.

Kato weighed in at 20 lbs and is quite a bit below the lowest band on the growth chart for weight. He just barely registers for height, resting comfortably in the 5th percentile.

However, given his overall good cheer, strength, and vigor, the doctor isn’t worried. Truly, Kato’s biggest problem these days is his mother’s relentless insistence on showering him with kisses.

And his relentless insistence on rebuffing said advances.

Sitting at opposite ends of the scale, my boys are thriving, each in his own way.

I don’t know how to break it to Kato that he’s likely to lose his body mass advantage over his little brother within a year or two. Though I’m guessing that what he lacks in bulk, he’ll ably make up for in charm.

He already knows how to work that smile.