The Beatles

A few months ago, late on a Wednesday, we were eating dinner with Harmon and he was singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles. It was so cute to hear a two-year-old boy sing the following line:

Oh, please, say to me
You’ll let me be your man

Anyway, I found out that my Mom and Dad bought him the Beatles “1” CD and he had been listening to it earlier that day with my Mom. She always loved the Beatles when she was young and I’m sure she sang some songs on the radio with him while they were out doing their Wednesday thing. However it happened, he took a liking to the “Fab Four” and still can’t get enough. At this point, he sings a bunch of songs on the CD, including “Love Me Do” and “We Can Work It Out!” He LOVES music and is proving to have his parents’ musical range – he easily goes from pop to metal to rock to rap. We’re just hoping he never finds country!

Big fall weekend

Last weekend, it finally felt like fall so we took full advantage and did some typical fall stuff. On Friday night, after a yummy – yet speedy – dinner at Buddy’s Pizza in Dearborn, we once again attended the Halloween in Greenfield Village event. We went last year for the first time and it was a lot of fun so we thought we would take Harmon again this year. He had more fun this time as he was able to walk the whole route and get his own goodies at the many treat stations. He did a great job and was very well behaved. He did get tired a few times, though, so he would stop and rest on the curb! I think the highlight of his night was seeing the horses during the headless horseman routine. He loved the small horse, petting him a bunch of times, but wasn’t too crazy about the big horse. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait a while before taking him to St. Louis to see the Budweiser Clydesdales! While I didn’t go all out with the face paint like I will on Halloween, we did debut Harmon’s 2008 Halloween costume (an adorable hedgehog) and it got rave reviews! We had SO many people stop us and comment on it! Just as we did with his name, we also like to go unique with the costumes, especially while we can. Soon enough, he’ll want to be a vampire every year and we’ll have to just go with it.

After resting up on Saturday – and hearing Harmon say “Coach Rod is MAD” during the Michigan @ Penn State game – we headed to the cider mill on Sunday. Just as we did last year, we went to Three Cedars Farm. We got there early enough to just miss the huge lines for donuts and cider and Harmon had plenty of time to play on the slide and toy tractors before we took a big tractor ride out to the corn maze. He LOVED the corn maze but we had to keep yelling at him to not get too far ahead of us. It’s hard, under normal circumstances, to keep up with him much less when I’m eight months’ pregnant! Since Harmon already got a huge pumpkin from my uncle, we decided to forego the walk through the pumpkin patch. This proved to be a good decision because he crashed HARD as soon as we got in the car and slept all the way home. It was a perfect fall weekend – one of those fall weekends you wait for all year!

Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire (Station)

Harmon LOVES fire trucks and fire stations and lately we’ve fed into that love. In August, we took him to the Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsilanti and he had a great time. This museum was very cool, highlighted by old models of fire trucks from years ago and a fun play area for kids. We went on a Friday afternoon and were the ONLY ones there so we stayed and visited and played for a long time.

And, just recently, we surprised Harmon with a visit to the Ann Arbor Fire Department’s Open House. We went to the fire station on Fifth Avenue and it was a great time! In the past, Harmon has admired the fire trucks from AFAR but, on this day, he was totally cool with showing his love up close and personal. After getting his goodie bag, fire hat and balloon, we got in line to get photos in the fire truck. He was cool with it and we got some cute photos of him in the driver’s seat and in the small cab behind the driver’s seat. The one bummer of the day was when Harmon popped his balloon when climbing up in the cab. The “pop” scared the crap out of him and he cried for a bit – of course we couldn’t stop laughing! I think the best part of the day for him, though, was the small bag of popcorn he inhaled – he was elbow deep in that thing! Overall, he had good fire station experiences this summer so we hope he always remembers them!

Bicycle, bicycle (like Queen)

Well, more like tricycle but I love the song and had to work it in! ANYWAY, back in September, a co-worker gave me a tricycle for Harmon. I brought it home and he loved it but had NO CLUE what to do with it. His legs were long enough so he was able to push himself where he needed to go. As the days have gone by, we’ve worked with him and he seemed to finally be getting the hang of pedaling. Well when I came home from work on Monday, Harmon was in the driveway with his beloved tricycle and he was pedaling it all by himself! I asked Kevin when THIS happened and he said “I think just now!” So, we’re calling it – Monday, Oct. 13 – first day riding the tricycle all by himself. I’m sad – he’s such a big boy!

Obsess much?

Lately, Harmon has been OBSESSED with the Backyardigans. While he’s always liked them, over the last month or so he’s really shunned all other cartoons in favor of the Backyardigans. No more Mickey, Little Einsteins or Handy Manny, it’s the Backyardigans 24/7. He has several books that he carries around and sleeps with (and has us read them ad nauseam). He has a Pablo Beanie Baby that I got for him that he simply can’t get enough of. He knows they are on at 9 a.m. and he reminds us ALL THE TIME. He also knows there are episodes on Comcast’s On Demand and he’ll ever so slyly suggest that we go downstairs and watch these (especially W-I-O-WA - the Corniest Station in the Nation)!

But, the silliest Backyardigans possession has to be his box of fruit snacks. We saw these one night while picking up a few things at Hiller’s Market. We got them thinking he would EAT them but, no, he wanted them just for the box. To date, he has eaten exactly ONE packet of fruit snacks yet he carries this mangled, tattered box around like it’s his “woobie!” We suggested taking the snacks out, cutting out the photo on the front of the box and giving it to him but he HAS to have the full box to clutch or it’s just not the same. The box is practically falling apart and has been taped back together more times than we can count but he loves it. Pre-schoolers are funny birds!

Not really a 35-month update

Harmon, yesterday, you turned 35 months old. Since your grandparents were in town for the weekend, the day got lost in the shuffle and, once again, I am late on your monthly update. While it’s ALWAYS on my mind, I’ve been slacking with these updates lately. Missing this particular update, though, upset me – partly because I didn’t see you much this weekend, but mostly because I suddenly realized I’ve only got a month or so left with you as our only child.

There are only so many weekends left with just you, me and Daddy and there are only so many Fridays – the day you call “Harmon and Mommy Day” – left too and that makes me sad.

While I am elated to welcome your little brother, Simon, into this world, I ask Daddy all the time how I’m EVER going to be able to love another child as much as I love you. I know it happens all the time and I know it will happen for me but, right now, I just can’t seem to get my head around the whole idea of it.

I tell you all the time “you are my whole world” and I never feel it more than when I’m NOT with you. I was out shopping (for stuff for you, of course) on Friday and I just couldn’t stop thinking about you. And, it seemed every Mom I saw had their young son with them! It’s hard when I’m not with you and I can’t imagine feeling that way – TIMES TWO! I know this will get better as you (and your brother) get older and want less and less to do with me. I understand that. But, when you’re so little, every moment is so important because it goes by SO DAMN FAST.

You’re going to be 3 next month and then, just a few weeks after that, your whole world is going to change. Until then, though, I just want as much time with you as possible.

Two months from today ...

... our family will grow from three to four. Kevin and I will be the parents of TWO handsome sons! I think we've both had those "oh crap" moments lately. I know I had one on Friday when Harmon was especially challenging. I thought "am I going to be able to handle TWO of these little guys?" I'm sure we'll be fine but it's the unknown that allows doubt to creep in and freak you out a little bit!

We bought diapers today for Simon so that made SOME of the unknown disappear :-)

Are you guys brothers?

Last night, we took Harmon to his “Becoming Brothers and Sisters” class at U-M Hospital. Since he’s been into the whole “big brother” thing, we thought he would enjoy the class.

Um, yeah, not so much!

He started off shy, which we are used to. I’m on the shy side so I totally understand. But it wasn’t the shyness that was tough to deal with. It was more the fact that he was whining and not listening to a word we (or the teacher) had to say. He was more interested in running around than learning about becoming a big brother. We thought he might become a little more engaged when the teacher busted out the fake babies to play with but he wasn’t at all interested. As a side note, it was funny to see all the little girls holding and cradling their babies while all the little boys were dragging their babies around by the head, arm, leg, etc.! I guess that’s one of the MANY differences between boys and girls!

Anyway, he DID get better (thank God). And the highlight of the night was when the teacher asked what the umbilical cord was. Harmon yelled out “a snake!” Kevin and I died!

By the end, he was brown-nosing the teacher and trying to butter up everyone else too. He’s such a ham! For his hour or so of time, he got a “big brother” button, a certificate for completing the class and a Polaroid of him holding his fake baby (and looking as though there was NO WAY he could be less interested). He did, however, carry that Polaroid around with him the rest of the night!

I just hope he’s a little more engaged once he’s REALLY a big brother – it’s only nine weeks away!