Chocolate

My parents and sister, Erin, were here recently to watch Harmon while Kevin and I went to a U-M football game. While we were gone, Harmon saw Erin eating M&Ms and asked to try one. Usually, when you give Harmon chocolate (or sweets of any kind) he ends up spitting it out. But, this time, he kept it in his mouth … and liked it.

Not that we want him to eat chocolate all the time but we’ve tried several different things (chocolate basically is a food group in the Bergquist house) and he never has taken to any of them. Not cookies, muffins, brownies, candy, cake or anything else. He DID eat a piece of fudge when we were in Traverse City in July, which was a shocker! Just ONE, TINY piece, though!

So, when he ate the M&M, we thought it would be a one-time thing. Not so much. Now, he says “chocolate” a ton and anytime we say “Erin,” he responds with “chocolate.” Erin came over tonight and the first thing he said when she came through the door was “chocolate!” The best thing about this is the WAY he says chocolate. He says it with a French accent, perfectly annunciating every syllable, which is hilarious!

Although I LOVE chocolate, I surprisingly didn’t like it at all while I was pregnant so maybe that explains it. And, like I said, it’s not like we’re begging him to eat chocolate and then allowing him to get his own M&Ms or Fritos out of the pantry. He’s an excellent eater (a healthy one too) and we’re hoping to keep it that way, with maybe an M&M or two every once in a while!

Sacrifices

We know that both sets of parents made sacrifices for us from the day we were born. And while this is a very small and seemingly insignificant one for us, it does show how your thinking changes when you become a parent.

As I type this, tickets are on sale for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Palace in November. Besides it being on a Monday night, and good tickets being $89 before Ticketmaster comes blasting in with surcharges and delivery fees, the timing is just not right this time around. Normally this is a no-brainer for Aimee, right up there with Tigers Opening Day (except for this year; cut it out 2007), Michigan football and the first night of any Will Ferrell or Vince Vaughn movie. We are finishing our basement right now, and that has been expensive, especially the past three weeks, but this is also about Harmon (in a good way).

Any time we plan something or go to buy something, we always think of our little buddy. For example, the day after the concert is a daycare day for him. Plus, the fact that we would have to drive home in the wee hours of the morning is not fair to his sleep. It is amazing as a parent to feel so strongly about your children and make sure they have all that they need and are not hungry, cold or sad.

Aimee is such a great Mom at this. Aside from my behavior in buying our new TV, I can be impulsive at times. My gut would be to buy the tickets and then figure out later who is going and how it is going to work out. Aimee is always thinking about what is best for Harmon. When she goes to the mall with him, who gets something? Very rarely her. It is usually Harmon, who also scores when Nana goes shopping and Grandma and Grandpa come to visit.

As I said in the beginning, I know this is a small thing, but Aimee has such natural instincts as a good Mom and Harmon is turning out to be a great son because of it. Maybe next time, Bruce.

Unexpected nap

OK, enough ogling of Russell Crowe! Let’s get back to it. As many of you know, Kevin and I split our Mondays – he works the early shift (7 a.m. – noon) and I work the late shift (12:30-5:30 p.m.). So, Mondays are always a little hard for me as I have to leave Harmon after spending a few fun hours with him in the morning. And, yesterday, he made it even harder.

It’s been a while since he’s taken a nap with us (at LEAST six months). We try every couple of weeks to get him to take a family nap but he wants none of it. Yesterday, though, after we had breakfast and played for hours, I got him all changed and dressed and asked him if he wanted to take a nap with me. He said yes but he’s said yes before so I was skeptical! We got all snuggled up together under the covers and he got comfortable on his Daddy’s pillow and then was snoring within minutes. Initially, I was afraid to open my eyes and look at him as he sometimes has this open-eyed, staring-off-into-space-but-still-awake look but he was dead asleep.

Of course, I wasn’t able to nap with him long as I had to get ready for damn work. So, I moved him into his bed and he took a nice, long nap. I was so sad that I couldn’t enjoy it more. Why a Monday and not a Friday or the weekend? Who knows when he’ll take a break from his busy toddler life to take another nap with us? Everything just goes by way too fast!

A sight to see

After two straight crushing, embarrassing defeats at Michigan Stadium, finally something good happened on the Michigan sideline on Saturday:


Ahh, yes, that would be THE Russell Crowe. He and Coach Carr became fast friends in the off-season and he graced Michigan Stadium with his presence on Saturday. I can't believe Russell freakin' Crowe was in my town! I love him (not to mention he's a tremendous actor and SO should have TWO Academy Awards - damn Denzel and that stupid Training Day movie). And, he's in my five. GOD!

Oh yeah, the game. Anyway, we crushed Notre Dame AGAIN, 38-0. I could get used to these yearly beatings. Granted they are a god-awful football team so Saturday's game was in no means a measuring stick for where we are at this point. No matter what, though, it's always fun to beat up on the Irish and their a-hole QBs (Quinn and Clausen). Guess it will be at least ANOTHER year before we hear from our ND friends.

The big 22

Any time someone has asked us how old Harmon is, it was fun to have answered eight months, 14 months, 16 months, etc. But, now he is closing in on the end of his "months" ages. Pretty soon, he will be our big 2-year-old boy. And, as he turns 22 months old today, he is growing up every minute of every hour of every day. He continues to amaze us every day with his intellect and his love for everyone (except, again, Mr. G). Here are some things he has been doing:

1. He is in love with his stuffed animals lately. His two favorite animals right now are a snow leopard he got when we went to the zoo two weeks ago, and a sea otter that Aunt Stacey got him in San Francisco.

2. He has always loved to have us read books to him, but now he is repeating words and lines back to us. It won't be too long before he is reading books to us. One of his favorite places to do this is on his potty chair. In the course of the rest of his chatter, he will say, "potty, potty" and off we go to his chair. He has gone several times for us, with a few false alarms.

3. The boy loves to count. He had become very proficient in counting to 13, but now he is going all the way up to 20. Tonight at dinner, he just kept going: 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

4. He does more than count numbers. He is getting more conversational every day. When we ask him if he wants something, instead of laughing or grunting, he now says, "yeah." Conversely, he has always been good at saying, "no." Dada has become "Daddy" of late, and last night he got to talk to his godfather, "Uncle Steve." He knows all of his aunts and uncle by name, but we still don't know who "Dee-dee" is.

We know it is still two months until he reaches those "terrible twos," but we don't think Harmon has it in his nature to be a bad boy. Sure, he disobeys sometimes and can be trouble at the dinner table, but he has been such a joy to watch grow up. As any parent knows, it is growing up.

Love you, little man.

Bergquist quote bag

When Kevin worked at the University Record, he and his co-workers used to keep a quote bag or sorts and they would re-visit them a few times a year for a good laugh. He’s suggested doing this at home so I finally got with it. Here are a few and we’ll see if we can keep this up.

1. Recently, Harmon said “hey, baby” to a cashier at Hiller’s and to one of the student helpers at day care. They both thought it was so cute!

2. Kevin used to work in a restaurant during his summers in Minnesota and the bus boys would yell “hot butter, gotta’ go” as they were clearing the candle-heated butter dishes that were used for the lobster. When we were out running errands on Saturday, Kevin taught Harmon to say, “hot butter, gotta’ go” and now he can’t get enough of it.

3. Kevin and I were watching VH1 the other day and a commercial for the Scott Baio show came on. If you’re not familiar, the show is called “Scott Baio is 45 … and Single.” Kevin suggested a new and improved title, to better reflect the star of the show – “Scott Baio is 45 … and a Tool!”

These next four are all Detroit Tigers’ related (what a surprise):

4. There was a quick shot of Pudge in the dugout and Kevin asked “is Pudge practicing his strikeout swing?’ All too appropriate this season!

5. The great Tigers’ TV analyst Rod Allen was commenting on Ramon Santiago’s fielding skills, calling him a vacuum cleaner. I replied with “yeah, and he bats a buck fifty!”

6. Kevin and I were discussing the recent demotions and promotions of pitcher Zach Miner. Kevin said I’m sure he’s thinking “I’m not your yo-yo!”

7. When discussing my favorite Tigers’ pitcher Jordan Tata, I mentioned that he’s from Texas. Kevin replied with “he’s from Texas, I wonder if he’s a prick?”

Wow, Coach, these are some IMPRESSIVE numbers!

Today’s U-M football game was filled with all kinds of record-breaking performances. Unfortunately, they all were BAD records. These are just a few to digest although I’m sure more will come out after the record books are inspected overnight. What can I say, I am SO proud!

1. Michigan’s 39-7 loss to Oregon was the worst since losing 50-14 to Ohio State in 1968 – the season before Bo Schembechler came to Ann Arbor.

2. Speaking of Bo, Michigan hasn’t won a game since he died the day before the Ohio State game last year.

3. Oregon rolled up 624 yards, the second-highest total by a Michigan opponent in its 128 years of football. The most was to Northwestern (654 yards) in 2000. While letting Oregon score at will, Michigan scored the fewest points in a game since a 9-3 loss to Purdue in 1996.

4. The last time Michigan started a season with two losses was in 1998 (with losses at Notre Dame and at home to Syracuse). The last time Michigan started a season with two losses AT HOME was 1959 (to Missouri and Michigan State).

5. This is the first time Michigan has suffered four straight losses since 1967.

You know, Coach Carr could have walked away a few years ago as a freakin’ hero. With his career record and his National Championship, not to mention all the things he does off the field, he could have ridden off into the sunset. He probably even could have had the new football building named after him. But, he insisted on sticking around way too long and now his legacy will be this 2007 season – YIKES. I feel bad for the seniors, like Henne, Hart and Long, who stuck around Ann Arbor for a chance at a National Championship. I also feel really bad for the U-M students who are having their college years ruined by 1902-style football.

I don’t even know what more to say. I am completely and totally embarrassed but I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. I think many people who have been critical of the program over the last few years aren’t surprised by this. We are disappointed but not surprised. As Kevin and I said today as we left in disgust during the third quarter, if we knew a change would come after going 4-8 or 5-7, I think most people would suck it up and endure. But, we don’t know and that’s what’s scary. I’m scared to think what kind of damage this is doing to Michigan football.

OK, on to humor (it’s how I deal, OK)! I read this on the U-M mlive.com forum a bit ago and died. Michigan Stadium is the hole that Yost dug, Canham carpeted, Schembechler filled and CARR DESTROYED.

And, this is something I said a few years ago (similar to Steve Spurrier’s “you can’t spell Citrus without UT” blast): You can’t spell underachievement without U-M!

Quick note: Thanks so much to my Detroit Tigers for once again pulling out a victory on a Saturday night after Michigan football completely ruined my Saturday afternoon.

Not in the job description

A lot of people are clamoring for LSU coach Les Miles to become the next coach at Michigan. There are many who object to that, in part because he is a little more vocal than what our fans are used to, and he once had the nerve to swear during a press conference. To that, Aimee replied:

"I don't care if he says f-ity, f, f, f throughout every Monday press conference, as long as he wins games."

'Nuff said.

Special Comment

I try not to let myself get too into politics these days. This administration has been such a disaster from the beginning that if I DO get into it, it’s really hard to get away from it. It’s so enraging that it just starts to take over. But, hey, at least I didn’t vote for him and thus can sleep at night.

One show Kevin and I do watch is Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Maybe it’s his SportsCenter history that drew us in but he’s great to watch and much more intelligent (and funny) than doing NFL highlights required him to be.

Last night, he had an extra special “Special Comment” and it’s something everyone should see:



If you would rather read the transcript, click here.

On a lighter note, I offer a compilation of Letterman’s Great Moments in Presidential Speeches. And, my all-time favorite! I think I say “internets” at least five times a day!

Going with the flow

Harmon graduated this morning upon his return to daycare. Our big boy went from a Grasshopper to a Butterfly, as did all of the older toddler group. It was not a seismic shift, just a new room, and he stays with all of his old friends from the Grasshopper Room. We weren't sure what to feel, or how he was going to react, but he was his normal happy self. He was a little apprehensive when he went into his old room (all of the kids get dropped off in one room and spread out from there) and there were new, younger kids there, but then he saw his new teacher, Deborah (she actually is moving with the toddler group to the Butterfly Room) and she gave him a big hug. So, as with most things, Mom and Dad worry for no reason. Harmon loves everyone (except maybe, Mr. G), and while he still has an occasional rough morning, just goes with the flow. Of course, butterflies do have wings, which is appropriate because every day he is learning to fly (like Tom Petty).

That Dog Won’t Hunt

These exact words were used by Jim Rome to describe Lloyd Carr after yet another crushing Michigan football defeat last season. Basically, the gist of Rome’s segment was to point out that he’s never going to change, no matter what. And, if that isn’t obvious to the world after Saturday’s debacle, I don’t know what it’s going to take to make everyone in the Michigan family see it.

It’s interesting, leading up to Saturday’s game, there was all kinds of talk in the media about what Carr’s legacy would be. Well, he defined his legacy by coaching (I use that word loosely) his team to the biggest defeat in college football history. No matter what the team does the rest of the season, this will never go away! We’ll always be the #1 seed that finally lost to the #16 seed.

There are NO excuses for what happened Saturday. Being in the stands, I saw a team that was unmotivated and unprepared. I saw a team that was completely predictable and this was confirmed by the entire Appalachian State team in the post-game interviews. But, a complete lack of imagination and an inability to adjust, not to mention the failure to ever go for the throat or play to an opponent’s weakness is what most of us fans have seen for years now. I can’t say what happened on Saturday is a complete shock because it’s seems we’ve been building up to this (or should I say deteriorating to this) since our national championship season in 1997.

The ’97 season was magical, due mostly to Charles Woodson. As is typical, we did just enough to get by offensively, always waiting for Woodson to make a difference. I sometimes think if 1997 hadn’t happened, maybe Carr would have been gone a long time ago. But, half a national championship buys you lifetime job security in Ann Arbor and allows you to do whatever you want. For example, he hired back his friend and crony (Mike DeBord) to handle the offense after he did such a bang-up job (12-34 over four years) at his previous school (Central Michigan of the high-powered MAC). Sounds like a great hire and, better yet, a great candidate for the future head coaching job at Michigan (especially if Carr has anything to do with it)! He absolutely refuses to put any thought into special teams, which is evident in how many issues we’ve had over the years. There is no individual coach who handles special teams, like at most schools. It’s coaching by committee at Michigan, which always makes for great execution like getting two field goals blocked on Saturday. He also loves his seniors, always choosing seniority over talent, unless his seniors are maimed on the field and underclassmen have to play by default. If it wasn’t for injuries to starters, who knows when Chad Henne or Mike Hart might have made their Wolverine debut! On Saturday, a walk-on, senior kicker was on the field kicking field goals with his eyes closed (I saw this photo on Saturday and now I can’t find it) while a SCHOLARSHIP kicker sat the bench. I could go on and on but it will just piss me off more and more.

For the first time since 1979, we have a three-game losing streak. Of course, our obligatory losses to Ohio State and our bowl opponent du jour along with the Appalachian State disaster. At this point, Michigan football is known for the following things: losing that big game early; losing another crap game during the season that we shouldn’t; losing to Ohio State; losing in the bowl game; and now losing to Appalachian State in the biggest upset in the history of college football.

No matter what we do the rest of the way, it won’t matter. The season is over and we’re the laughingstock of college football – and will be for years to come! Of course, the rallying cry in the locker room after the game was as follows: we still have a lot to play for; we still have a Big Ten championship to win. To that I say, who the eff cares! It’s not just about Big Ten titles and Rose Bowls anymore. The game has changed and the stakes are higher and, unfortunately for Michigan football, its leader has been passed by.

I’ve met Carr on several occasions and I know he’s a nice guy. He’s a great speaker and he does many, many nice things for the community. And, the Carr apologists out there love to say that “he runs a clean program and he has good kids” but that’s not so much the case anymore with our academic standards in question and players in trouble left and right.

If this awful, embarrassing, devastating loss is a catalyst for change, I could concede that MAYBE, just maybe, it’s a blessing in disguise. But, I think I know better. Carr will leave when he wants and most likely will have a big say in the selection of his successor. In spite of Carr, Michigan football has been able to sustain itself but how much longer can we survive the slow deterioration that most people can see so clearly? I hope Bill Martin has an answer to this question!

Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32

Yeah, pretty much speechless about this.

I'm sure we'll have more to say once we're off suicide watch.