ONE

Simon turned one today, how did that happen? I feel like my water just broke and I was in the bathroom with Harmon at my side, both of us calling for Kevin to come upstairs and help.

He's one. He's crawling (on all fours for the first time on Nov. 10) and pulling up and cruising and saying Mama and busting out teeth left and right (seventh tooth - top and to the left of his front tooth - poked through on Oct. 29) and even getting haircuts.

He's one. He's still snuggly ... but not for long. He has too much to explore.

He's one. He's almost done with Enfamil and bottles forever, which, despite the cost of formula, makes me a little sad.

He's one. He pretty much eats what we eat now and, as Kevin always says, he'll be eating a whole steak next week. I guess that's why he never liked that baby food much!

He's one, even though he looks way bigger. Official stats - 24 1/2 pounds and 32 1/2 inches long. For comparison, Harmon was a little over 28 pounds and was about 33 inches long. So, while he's a little lighter, he's almost as tall. In short, big boys.

He's one and his first birthday falls during the Thanksgiving rush, which is bad and good. Bad because it gets lost in the shuffle. Good because it's an even bigger reminder of how thankful we are for him.

It's amazing that I thought I couldn't love another child as much as I love Harmon. I worried about that a lot while I was pregnant and Kevin would always tell me I was crazy. I guess I WAS crazy because all it took was one look at Simon and I was in love again, and, one year later, I love him even more!

Happy birthday, Simon!

Bergquist boy birthday party

Since the boys' birthdays are less than two weeks apart, we foresee many joint parties in the future and 2009 was the first. We had their party at our house on Saturday, Nov. 14. It was just family, but it was fun! Nana and Papa and Aunt Erin were in attendance but Aunt Stacey was sick so she and Uncle Marc kept their germs in Chicago. Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Angela made the drive from Peoria. Because Simon is too little to understand birthday themes, we let Harmon pick and, surprise, he picked Cars. We decorated with Cars stuff everywhere and got yummy Cars cakes from Just Baked in Twelve Oaks Mall. While we weren't in love with the Lightning McQueen cake (it looked like the decorator kept messing up and then just adding MORE frosting to cover the mistakes), we loved the two smaller cakes we got - Luigi for Harmon and Guido for Simon.

Before we cut the cakes, we downed pizza, salad and breadsticks (regular and Harmon's favorite, cinnamon) from Pizza House and then headed to the basement to open all the gifts. It was like Christmas down there - these boys are so spoiled! Both boys got so many nice things - thanks to our all-too-generous families. Harmon opened all his gifts and then started in on Simon's, too. Simon got tired so we stopped with the presents and put him down for a quick nap. He actually ended up opening the rest of his gifts later in the week. After he woke up, we sang happy birthday and they both looked so sweet sitting together taking it all in (at top). I hope we can catch a photo like that every year!

Happy birthday, boys!

Comfy Pants

One of the first questions Harmon asks me when it’s time to get dressed each day is “Mommy, did you pick out comfy pants for me?” If the answer is yes, all is right in the world. If, however, the answer happens to be “No, I picked out corduroys or jeans,” we’ll there’s going to be a problem. Sometimes, that problem is resolved by reminding him he can change when he gets home OR he can get wear comfy pants the next day. Other times, though, he’ll put up a decent fight and do his fair share of whining about the injustice of making a 4-year-old wear denim. I hope he gets over this because Catholic Schools and most workplaces don’t embrace a comfy pants policy!

Harmon’s special day

On Harmon’s 4th birthday, we thought we should spend a special day with just him. So, we sent Simon to school and celebrated our day o’ Harmon. We began by dropping off cookies Harmon had made for his classmates. They thanked him by singing happy birthday and quizzing him on what he was going to do the rest of the day. It was very sweet to see them all interacting together in that classroom setting – something we normally don’t get to see.

After cookies, we headed to Kerrytown for a trip to a very cool toy store called Mudpuddles. There he played for a long time with everything that was on display, including a wooden marble run. While I thought he might one (we didn’t – marbles and one-year-olds don’t mix), he chose a very cool floor puzzle with emergency and construction vehicles as his special gift. It was then about lunch time so we drove over to Pizza House for pizza and Harmon’s favorite – cinnamon bread sticks.

Lunch then was followed by his first trip to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. We’ve meant to go 1,000 times before but it just never worked out. I’m glad, though, that we chose to go on a special occasion so he will always remember it. The special exhibit when we visited was Bob the Builder and he had a great time with it! We then made it through the rest of the museum and he loved every part of that too. The ambulance, the bubble machines and the very cool ball popper were probably his favorite things!

After a great afternoon at the museum, we scooped up Simon and headed home. Again, we knew his official party was coming over the weekend but we did get cupcakes to close out the day. I think he liked his special day and I hope we can continue to do that for both boys as they get older. It’s nice for them, at least one day out of the year, to have our undivided attention and have everything be about them!

4!

I Wonder If I'm Growing

I wonder if I'm growing
I wonder if I'm growing
My mom says 'yes, I'm growing'
But it's hard for me to see

My mom says 'eat your sandwich
It will make you grow up tall'
But when I eat my sandwich
I'm hardly bigger at all

I wonder if I'm growing
I wonder if I'm growing
My mom says 'yes, I'm growing'
But it's hard for me to see

My mom says 'Wash your hands now
Then you can go and play'
Hey, I can reach the tap now
For the very first time today

And I think I must be growing
Oh I know I'm really growing
My mom says 'yes, I'm growing'
And now I know it's true

Harmon, today you are 4! I don't know how many times I have to say it or write it before I actually believe it to be true.

This song, by Raffi, is special to the both of us but for different reasons. You like it because you're a kid and you like Raffi music. I like it because, even though it makes me a little sad, it reminds me of times when you couldn't "reach the tap" or of the times I told you to eat so you would "grow up tall."

I love you, little man, no matter how much growing you do! Happy birthday, buddy!

First haircut

After Simon needed a little Photoshop trim in his official one-year photo, we thought it was about time for a haircut. We were trying to wait until after his first birthday but his hair wasn't in on that plan. So, on Sunday, Nov. 8, we took him to a place in Northville called Snip-Its and it went great! He was a good boy but he looked so grown up when he was all done. To deal with the emotions of the day, we headed straight to the Franklin Cider Mill for some donut therapy!

Official photos

On Sunday, Nov. 1, we met up with the great Martin Vloet for the boys’ official yearly photos. The original plan was to take them outside somewhere on campus but it was too cold so we figured the Michigan Union would be a great spot. We started in the hallway behind the café on the first floor where they were some nice couches. Martin, and his great eye and speedy, flashy, professional camera, was able to catch the boys like this:

Harmon - official four-year photo


Simon – official one-year photo


Since we weren’t in love with any of the boys together in this location, we decided to head upstairs in hopes that the Ballroom – where Kevin and I had our wedding reception – would be open. It wasn’t so we simply settled for the hallway and we think it worked out just fine:

First official photo as brothers


We love this photo for the obvious reasons but also because it reminds us where we started back on the evening of Dec. 2, 2000:


Many thanks to Martin for his time and effort and, side note, wardrobe provided by Baby Gap!

Halloween 2009

Simon's last "first" holiday was a cold Halloween night in Ann Arbor. Luckily, he had on a layer or two under his frog costume:


The cold did not bother Harmon, our little certified organic banana:


He was a little shy to start but, near the end of night, he was walking up to doors all by himself. He also for the first time really enjoyed his candy! Simon, on the other hand, had no idea what he was looking at:


In due time, little man!

11 months

Simon turned 11 months old today and a few of the highlights from the past month were, of course, food-related. Shocker! As Kevin was picking him up from school earlier this month, he witnessed Simon at the table YELLING for more Cheerios! He tends to just yell when he’s hungry. He also had his first donut just a few days after the Cheerios incident as Kevin took him and Harmon to Erwin Orchard.

This month was also big at school as Simon moved into a new room. He’s no longer a ladybug at Annie’s, he’s now a big bad dragonfly! This move really spurred a lot of new activities, especially pulling up on any and every thing AND cruising.

Who knows what the next month will bring!

Let's go Krogering

Harmon doesn't always like to eat his dinner, or go to bed, or, for that matter, get out of bed on school mornings. But, one thing he does, without fail, is accompany me to Kroger. It may seem simple, but one of our special times together is when we have father-son time at the grocery store.

There was a time when he would tell me which Kroger to go to (the one "by the stadium" is actually Westside, while the one "by our house" is actually just that -- nearby on Carpenter Road). Once there, we are a machine. Now, just ask Aimee, I love me some lists. I write lists on everything, so, of course, I bring my list to Kroger. But, Harmon seems to always know what we need.

First, no matter what entrance we go through, he insists on running to get this yogurt. Then, it varies from pretzels to Pop-tarts to bread to fruit. But, one thing he loves to do is to carry the next item we pick up. It never fails: he could be walking down the aisle with a bag of "chester" (Chessman) cookies, and if I stop and get more applesauce, he has to carry that. Heck, I could pick out a 40-pound bag of charcoal and Harmon would strap it to his back if it meant he could carry it around the store for a while.

When we head to the checkout, Harmon will take the last item that has now become his best friend and hand it to the checkout clerk. But, they must scan it right then and there and hand it back to him in its own bag. If not, he will let them know.

Lately, he has loved taking quarters and buying things out of the gumball machines at the entrances to the stores. Hard to believe most of those things are $1 now. But, I did feed Donkey Kong and Crazy Climber machines when I was younger, so I am happy to give him quarters.

Overall, we have fun together and it makes the chore of grocery shopping more fun. I tell him I always enjoy my trips to Kroger with my buddy!

Simon's 10-month update

Simon has spent most of the last month getting after it at the dinner table. While we had let him try a few things – Cheerios, banana and those Gerber puffs – it wound up as a total finger food fail. So, we waited until Thursday, Sept. 17 to try it again and then IT WAS ON. He had some cheese and bread that night with us at dinner and loved it. He has not looked back since. He’s devouring Cheerios, several kinds of bread (biscuits, crescent rolls, garlic bread, etc.), pasta, bananas, strawberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, apple, raisins, zucchini, peas, carrots, squash, applesauce, puffs, oatmeal, yogurt and tortilla. We also are adding things by the day and DUDE LOVES ALL OF IT. He loves to eat and there is no way possible you can feed him fast enough. If you take one split second longer than he wants, he will let you know about it. In short, he’s a great eater and we're happy about that!

Because of all the finger foods, he is way less interested in his bottle. He still has it but not nearly as often. I hope he weans himself at Christmas like Harmon did.

To work off all that food, he is army crawling like nobody’s business and just starting to pull himself up. While he loves his toys, his favorite activity as of late (well, besides eating) is giving his big brother a heart attack by getting into his toys. We’re working on sharing – it’s going OK.

Lots of new words and sounds but STILL NO MAMA! Damn it, kid.

And, lastly, yes, at 10 months, the eyes are still blue. I’m starting to believe.

Ring my bell

Last night, when we all were playing in the basement, Simon busted out his fastest army crawl toward the exercise room/playroom. Of course, as evidenced here, Harmon can’t handle this. So, in an effort to prevent Simon from touching his precious toys, he stormed by him and crashed right into one of the exposed basement poles. The impact knocked him to the ground and the sound was that of a dinner bell ringing (I still can hear it). By the time Kevin got to him, he was up on his feet but we quickly had to wrestle him back to the ground to put some ice on the already-developing bump (oh and he HATES ice). I think we caught it in time because the welting and the bruising, fortunately, weren’t bad at all.

All this bell ringing, though, got us to thinking that we’re REALLY going to have to do something about those poles as Simon learns to walk. The basement wasn’t finished when Harmon first started walking so we never had to worry about it then. Now, though, we need to come up with a plan – quickly – or we’ll have to wrestle two kids to the ground for ice treatments.

Please, stop, noooooooo!

Now that Simon is mobile, Harmon can't stomach the thought of his baby brother putting all his precious cars – with or without faces – in his mouth. So, the minute Simon is on the loose, Harmon totally loses his damn mind.

Harmon will be playing in the living room and the minute he sees Simon peek his head out of his bedroom AT THE OTHER END OF THE HALL, this is pretty much his reaction:



I’m hoping he’ll grow out of this!

Becoming a Bookworm

On Thursday, Sept. 10, Kevin and I dropped off Harmon in his new classroom for the first time. He’s transformed from a Lightning Bug to a Bookworm now at Annie’s Children’s Center and being a Bookworm is serious business. When we went to orientation in August, his teacher busted out the workbooks and we were like WTF! Neither of us (or our siblings) ever went to daycare or preschool so this whole thing is foreign to us. But, we’re all in so we got him some workbooks for home too.

We’re not exactly sure when we’ll start him in kindergarten (his birthday is JUST before the cut-off date so it’s up to us) but we’re determined that he be at least academically ready (if you can use the word “academically” when referring to kindergarten).

All this workbook talk is a bit of a change for him after his summer of hot lunches, field trips (Mill Pond Park, Timber Town Park, Kerrytown Bell Tower, etc.) and being the big man on the playground (he was the oldest in his class this summer as the handful of kids older than him made the move to the Bookworm room in June). He was fine his first day and was excited about it beforehand, noting with excitement that his NEW room has computers. It also helps that he “visited” a few times over the summer months. I’m sure he’ll be fine as he usually adapts pretty well to new situations. And, we’re excited about all that he’ll learn in this new environment, even if it does put him one step closer to “real” school.

Simon @ 9 months

We had Simon’s 9-month appointment on Sept. 4 and, after the weigh-in, our doctor declared him “mega baby.” While we’re fine with our big, healthy boy, we couldn’t help but think back to his first week when we had to wake him to eat so he wouldn’t keep losing weight!

He is a big boy – 23.5 pounds and JUST shy of 29 ¾ inches – although STILL not as big as Harmon at the same age (25.3 pounds and 30 ½ inches). While he may be smaller than his big brother, he definitely beats him when it comes to cuddling. He loves to snuggle up to you when you’re holding him and he’ll just lay with you and reach for you the time and again. He doesn’t like it at all if you get too far from him. He’s such a good baby – we’ve so far been blessed with two of them – and he really only cries when he wants his food. He has six teeth now – top front, bottom front and one on each side of the bottom fronts – and you would never know he cut them, unless you measured the amount of drool that flows from his mouth.

He wakes up so happy, after going down between 8:45 – 9:15 p.m. each night (I know, I know, our boys have late bedtimes compared to most). While he’s not too active in his sleep, he has figured out how to successfully sleep on his side, which is adorable. Just like his big bro, he prefers to roll rather than crawl to get where he needs to go. He is developing quite a repertoire of words, which sadly still does not include “mama!” I honestly feel like he’s holding out on me on purpose, especially after my parents have sworn THEY’VE heard him say it. He says dada, along with baba, rara, wawa and what sounds like an “h” sound. He’ll probably say some version of Harmon before he says mama! He also loves to make this teeth-sucking sound and is interested in any mouth noise you can make.

He eats a ton and is getting new and different foods all the time, with yogurt and a few different kinds of dry cereal being the big highlights. One of his favorite things to do before he eats is to kick the tray off his high chair. I think this may signify that we’re just taking too damn long to get his food ready!

He loves his toys, loves going to “school” and especially loves his big brother. At times, Harmon can get him to smile or laugh even when we can’t. Now that Simon is a little bigger, he and Harmon are starting to play together a bit and it’s great to see (and will be for many years to come).

His eyes are still blue and they don’t look like they’re changing anytime soon. Still baffled by this, I spoke with my Dad a bit about his family background. After thinking about it a bit, he remembered that his Uncle Johnny had blue eyes and blond hair. So, assuming someone in Kevin’s biological family has blue eyes, this might explain it. I also learned that my great Uncle Johnny was a minor league baseball player so maybe Simon will inherit his baseball skills too (note: my Dad was a not-too-shabby baseball player too). Genetics are amazing!

Running the bases

We took the boys to their last Tigers’ game of the season on Sunday, Aug. 30 (um, happy birthday, Kevin). The Tigs won (we got ANOTHER Verlander game), which is always a good thing, and Harmon tore up the base paths after the game. His first year, I had to hold him and run with him. His second year, he was very hesitant and was kind of scared. This year, wow, he flew and had so much fun with it. Check him out:

Newt Pneumonia?

After Harmon was diagnosed on a Monday, Aug. 24, we tried like hell to a) keep them apart (yeah, right) and b) disinfect the entire house but, as the end of the week approached, I feared that Simon had pneumonia as well. So, we hightailed it back to East Ann Arbor General Pediatrics. After a quick listen to his little lungs, he also was sent for an x-ray. Let me just say that a 9 month old getting an x-ray is a pathetic sight! He sat on the same “seat” as Harmon sat on but they had to strap his arms up with four different Velcro contraptions and also had to put some kind of plastic strap contraption under his chin so he would not look down and interfere with the x-ray. Of course, he was perfect throughout the whole thing – he didn’t make a peep. While we waited for the x-ray, Simon received his first Albuterol treatment via the nebulizer, which seemed to help. The doctor then came back and informed us that Simon DID NOT have pneumonia but advised us to keep up with the treatments for a few days and just to keep an eye on things. Over the weekend, he improved a ton and by the time he had his scheduled 9-month appointment, he was just fine (thankfully)!

‘Nator Pneumonia

A few weeks ago, Harmon wasn’t feeling well. He was coughing a bit so we suspected just a summer cold but it turned out to be a little more than that. On Sunday, Aug. 22, he was having a tough time breathing. He would play a little and then crash on the couch, which never happens! And, when we ventured out to the U-M Football Fan Day, he couldn’t walk more than 10 feet or so without stopping to rest. So, the next day, we went to the doctor and he was diagnosed with pneumonia in his left lung. The highlight of the doctor’s visit (besides his stats – 41 pounds and 40 ¾ inches) was his x-ray. We told him he had to get a picture taken so he was smiling big when they were taking his x-ray! The doctor started him on some antibiotics and we continued with the breathing treatments we usually do when he gets a cold and he felt better right away. He got a little winded for a week or so but otherwise he was back to normal quickly.

FOLLOW-UP: He had a check-up at Simon’s 9-month appointment (on Sept. 4) and was given a clean bill of health!

Just a little poke … or 8!

After the great cashew butter and jelly incident in Chicago, we, along with Harmon’s doctor, thought it might be a good idea if Harmon got some allergy testing. So, on Aug. 19, we headed to the U-M Food Allergy Clinic at Domino’s Farms. Side note: while we were parking, we saw a few longhorns as this clinic is in the same complex as the Domino’s Petting Zoo. Holy cow (har, har), they are HUGE! I also can see how there would be some serious goring happening with those things around!

ANYWAY, after talking to the allergist a bit about what happened and other things that we’ve figured out Harmon is allergic to, it was time for some testing. Instead of doing it on his back, which we were expecting, the technician did four picks on the inside of each of his forearms. He then had to sit for 20 minutes to give his body time to react to the serums. I held him on the exam table while he sat with his arms facing up and resting on a pillow. The clinic had portable DVD players (and Harmon watched Air Buddies) so that made the 20 minutes go by much faster. We could see him getting small hives on some of the picks so what we thought was confirmed. He is allergic to fish, eggs (straight eggs only, like scrambled eggs), cashews (NO WAY), pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts. Surprisingly, he wasn’t allergic to almonds (he has had those on a couple of occasions with no reaction) but the doctor recommended we just steer clear of all tree nuts just to be safe. We also had orders for a blood draw but we decided he had been through enough that day. So, we instead headed to Toys R Us where he got a nice Cars surprise.

Since the testing, he’s been just fine. We’re learning how to avoid tree nuts, mostly by reading food labels, and we have an EpiPen for emergencies. If I HAD to choose, I would rather have him allergic to tree nuts than peanuts, mostly because he wouldn’t be able to have PBJ anymore. This is his favorite thing in the whole world AND the thing that really got this allergy business started.

This is the ONLY cool thing about Chuck E. Cheese's:

Funny Harmon things

10 funny things about Harmon lately:

1) We let him ride his tricycle down to the fire hydrant in front of our neighbors’ house and back again. When you ask him where he's going, he says he’s going to ride his bike down to the “fire department.”

2) When Harmon was a baby and we all would snuggle up in the bed, he always used to roll toward Kevin. Kevin would say that Harmon was “bum rushing” him. The other day, both boys were in the bed and Simon started rolling toward Harmon. Harmon promptly said that Simon was “bumming” him.

3) He sings “We Made You” by Eminem. He also loves the video.

4) His favorite cookies are Pepperidge Farm Chessman Cookies. BUT, he calls them Chester Cookies.

5) He has a new-found love of strawberry Pop-Tarts.

6) He calls Taco Bell “Bells.” We’re not sure why. We’ve never taken him there and we’ve only been through the drive-thru a few times since he was born.

7) His “th” sound comes out as an “f” sound. He’ll say, on bath night for example, “I don’t have to take a baf?”

8) Sometimes, his “s” sounds come out as “sh” sounds. Case in point – sausage becomes shaushage. Hilarious!

9) Instead of ridiculous, things are ridicleous to Harmon!

10) He just recently decided that he likes things like frozen yogurt and donuts, after basically refusing to try these things for almost three years.

Three hots and a cot

I’ve always loved the “three hots and a cot” line from Boyz n the Hood so I like to work it in when I can!

Anyway, on Monday, July 6 – which happened to be the first day of our vacation – we started Simon on a three-meals-a-day schedule. He had cereal and fruit for breakfast; cereal and vegetable for lunch; and fruit and vegetable for dinner. With each meal, he also had a bottle and then had one last bottle before bed. So far, it’s going very well. Let it be known he’s not one to turn down any food. I buy the two-pack tubs of Gerber baby food and he was having a half tub at each meal so we were going through one tub of fruit and one tub of vegetable each day. Since it’s been about a month of this and he’s still ALWAYS hungry, tomorrow we’re upping the intake to one tub at each meal.

His nine-month appointment isn’t until Sept. 4 and we can’t wait to see how much he weighs. I’m thinking he might finally catch big brother.

Simon @ Eight Months

Simon’s eighth month was pretty eventful. He delved more into the world of Gerber baby food and transitioned to a more regular eating schedule. When he’s hungry, which seems to be a lot of the time, he does this wrist twist thing, complete with spirit fingers. It’s too cute. One thing that's not so cute is when he gets his feet up under his high chair and kicks it off when you're trying to feed him.

ANYWAY, because of all the eating, and subsequent growing, we had to move him to the next car seat. He finally outgrew his carrier – our trip to Chicago was his last time in it – so on Monday, July 13, he got to ride in his big, comfy seat. This move to the next car seat also allowed us to ditch the matching stroller and bust out the Jeep stroller, which we like SO MUCH BETTER.

While he hasn’t sprouted any more teeth to help with the food, lots of other things have been going on with the mouth. He has had a “dada” explosion and loves to blow raspberries. The scream pterodactyl scream subsided for a few weeks and then returned but along with it came a lot more babbling and gurgling. He sometimes sounds like the singing Gizmo from Gremlins when he gurgles! He is ticklish in the rib area on both sides and, if you get him at a good time, he’ll laugh really hard. He laughs a lot and is happy most of the time, especially in the morning even when he wakes up full of pee. Just like his brother, he seems to prefer rolling to crawling. If you put him on the floor, he is gone in a flash, especially if Harmon’s cars are anywhere in the general vicinity. And, speaking of Harmon, Simon is SO IN LOVE with his big brother. No matter what is going on, once he hears or sees Harmon he is locked on him. Seeing them like this is something so sweet that I can’t even come close to putting it into words!

He’s finally adjusted to school and is doing very well. He plays and talks and the word on the street is that he loves to body paint. And, one last note, as of eight months, his eyes are still blue, which CONTINUES to baffle us. We’ll see if there’s a change in month #9!

Guess we won’t have to worry about Harmon picking the cashews out of the bowl of mixed nuts at Christmas (who DOES that?)!

Not too long ago, I was bitching up a storm about kids and their damn peanut allergies. Harmon loves PBJ and I KNOW he’ll eat it but I can’t pack it in his lunch because some kids in his class are allergic. Well, all that bitching came back to haunt me when we were in Chicago on vacation.

My sister, Stacey, offered to watch the boys after work while Kevin and I shopped so we stopped to pick up something for Harmon to eat for dinner. We searched for old reliable – PBJ – but could only find CASHEW butter and jelly so we bought it. About 45 minutes into our shopping trip, I got a call from Stacey. She said Harmon didn’t like his sandwich so I told her to make sure he ate everything else and we would bring something back for him to eat when we returned. Problem solved. Just a few minutes later, Stacey called back again and calmly explained that Harmon is PUKED. She’s not sure WHY but she would love for us to get back to the hotel ASAP. We practically jog up Michigan Avenue all the while thinking WTF. When I open the door to our hotel room, I see Harmon sitting on the couch looking like a blowfish. His eyes are all puffy and swollen, his nose is running like a faucet and he’s having some trouble breathing. He’s already puked so the ONE BITE he took is out of him, thankfully. I had some Benadryl so I gave him some and then I TRIED to get him to calm down. He was crying so hard, probably because he had NO IDEA what the hell was going on. I held him for about an hour and he finally settled down and then got totally ravenous. Kevin ran out to get some dinner (so glad the Cheesecake Factory was less than a block away) and Harmon ate the whole time he was gone. He then ate what Kevin brought back too. By bedtime, his breathing was back to normal and most of the swelling had gone down. The next morning, he just looked a little puffy, like maybe he had just been crying.

He has had small reactions to food before (some face puffiness from scrambled eggs and a measle-looking rash on his chest from fish) but NOTHING like this. When we got back home, we went to see our pediatrician who promptly a) wrote us a prescription for an Epi-pen (YIKES) and b) referred us to a pediatric allergist. Our appointment is Aug, 19.

Since the great cashew incident of 2009, I’ve learned a lot about peanuts versus tree nuts. I’ve also replayed that night in my head many times. I’m glad he only had one bite and I’m glad Stacey and I didn’t decide to “play the heavy” and make him eat the rest of his sandwich (we often have to do that – he IS three, after all). I’m also glad he didn’t LIKE it – can you imagine? I think we all aged about 10 years that night, especially Stacey. Here’s hoping we don’t discover any other such allergies along the way.

And, to all those allergic to peanuts, I am so sorry! I feel you!

Was Harmon blown away by the Windy City?

Hard to say; after all, he is just three-and-a-half. But, our first family vacation as a foursome was a lot of fun for me and Aimee and the boys. We drove to Chicago July 6 and came back to Ann Arbor July 10. In between, we saw fish and sharks and dinosaur bones and the White Sox and Navy Pier and the inside of more train cars than Aimee ever wants to see again.

Monday, July 6
We left Ann Arbor about 10:30 a.m. and rolled into Chicago just after 3 p.m. We checked into the Hilton Suites/Magnificent Mile, ditched the car for the week, and had a little bit of downtime before heading out to dinner with Aunt Stacey and soon-to-be Uncle Marc. It was there on the 26th floor of the Hilton that Harmon saw it for the first time: yes, for 5 days, he was simply transfixed on the parking ramp attached to the adjacent John Hancock Center. Every morning, he had his breakfast near the window so he could watch the cars circle for hours. We packed the stroller and boys and headed out to Gino’s East for a dinner of, what else, Chicago-style pizza. We peeked a little at the stores on Michigan Avenue, and even went into the Disney Store to look for more cars from Harmon’s obsession: the movie, “Cars.” We took it easy for the rest of the night and, true to our intentions of being rested and ready to go when the boys beckoned, were in bed by 10:30 p.m. most nights.

Tuesday, July 7
On our first full day in Chicago, Harmon and I walked a few blocks to Water Tower Place to get a few breakfast items, including, as Harmon told a few people in the hotel elevator, “We need to get a poppy for Mommy.” This was our morning ritual during our time in Chicago and Harmon loved it because he got to ride the escalators up and down every morning. He also liked going up and down in the elevators and showed he is well on his way to being our little gentleman, as he always held the doors for people getting on and off.

Our first trip took us to the Shedd Aquarium. We took the redline from the Chicago/State Street station to the Roosevelt stop and walked a few blocks to the museum campus. Once we got to the entrance, we realized the best thing we ever did for the trip happened when Aimee purchased the City Pass, which allows you to enter several tourist points for one price. While we did have to stand in line for a half-hour or so, it was nothing compared to the snake of a line down the front steps and the adjoining sidewalk.

Once inside, we took in all of the galleries and then went below to see the penguins, beluga whales and sharks. Harmon paid a little attention; he might have liked it more if we had been able to see the water show that is put on several times a day, but it was full twice while we were there. We did purchase starfish stuffed animals for the boys. Harmon named his “Blueberry,” called it “his grandson,” and told us many times in the subsequent days that “Blueberry misses me so much; I am going to go home and give him a hug.” You can’t make this stuff up.

We headed back to the train so Harmon and Simon could rest for a few hours before we headed to U.S. Cellular Field to see the White Sox-Indians game. We hopped the redline back down to the Southside and purchased the cheapest tickets we could find ($23, but still better than going to the city’s other dump of a baseball stadium). After walking up seemingly 30 ramps (because we had Simon in the stroller), we reached the 500 level, which could affectionately be called the nosebleed pavilion. We knew we would not be able to see much of the game, but we sat for a few innings before the boys were ready to head back uptown. It is funny that we were 250 miles from home, but because Harmon was wearing his Michigan sweatshirt, he got politely “trash-talked” by an Indians fan. See, even during baseball season, Ohio fans/residents are obsessed with Michigan 24/7. It was all in good fun. Another train ride and short walk put us back in the hotel and in bed for the night.

Wednesday, July 8
The start of the day brought another train ride and trip back to the museum campus and the Field Museum. Not the greatest place for kids, but we did enjoy looking at “Sue,” the huge dinosaur skeleton on display in the main gallery. We walked around a few of the other galleries, including one we thought would be on the planets; instead it was plants. I guess it shows how tired we were that day. We thought about heading to the nearby Adler Planetarium, but it was raining and Harmon did not seem to be in the mood for more galleries. We headed back to the hotel for a little R&R before Aunt Stacey came to watch the boys while we did a little shopping.

We hopped back on the train to Lincoln Park so Aimee could shop at the Patagonia store. We had just made it back into the city when Stacey called to say that it seemed like Harmon was allergic to his dinner. We had bought him a cashew butter and jelly sandwich to take the place of his favorite meal (PB&J), and the interaction was not a good one. We ran back to the hotel and found our firstborn looking like a blowfish with puffy eyes and hives. We gave him some Benadryl and he calmed down pretty quickly, but there were some anxious moments. We felt so bad for Stacey; obviously it was not her fault, but it had to be scary to see her nephew have an allergic reaction. We had missed dinner, so we ordered takeout from the nearby Cheesecake Factory. All in all, a good way to end a crazy day.

Thursday, July 9
Our last full day in Chicago was the mostly leisurely, but also involved the most walking. We stopped at a few stores, including Niketown. The merchandise was awesome, as always, but it was also depressing. Right as you walk in the door, you are hit with Terrelle Pryor and Juice Williams jerseys. It is then that you are reminded that Michigan dumped Nike for Adidas and their riches, so there was not a single piece of maize and blue clothing to be found. Ugh! After that uplifting experience, we then had the worst meal of our lives at ESPNZone. We then walked about a half-mile to Navy Pier, where we had to get after some Garrett Popcorn and walked to the end of the pier. Harmon was a little fussy, so I faked that I had thrown his “Sally” car from the movie into the drink. He bought it, no pun intended, hook-line-and-sinker, and it wasn’t until the next day that we had him convinced that Sally swam all the way back to our hotel to find him again. He still believes it.

After Navy Pier, we wanted to see one last attraction: Millennium Park. It has the coolest fountain that features the faces of Chicago residents spitting water on the shallow pond below. Aimee and Harmon took a cab to the park, while Simon and I hoofed it to the park, as Harmon was getting tired after our long walks. Harmon really dug it there, even when I dragged him under the spout and he got soaked. We jumped the train back north (our final train ride, during which we realized that Harmon was now naming the next stops), and after Aimee and boys were safely just a few blocks from the hotel, I headed back out to P.F. Chang’s for takeout. Great call by Aimee, especially since I owed her one after our lunch tasted like ass. After a brief stop in the hotel pool, which included Simon's first swim, the boys took it easy, Harmon assumed his perch in front of the window to the study the parking ramp next door, and we began to pack for home.

Friday, July 10
We were all packed and ready to leave, and thought about going to the top of the John Hancock Center, but the weather was cloudy and the visibility would have been poor. So, we decided to check out, fetch the car and begin our trek back to Ann Arbor. We did drive north and by Wrigley Field. The Cubs were playing the Cardinals in about two hours, and there were a ton of Redbird fans there. It was entertaining to see all the lowly Cub fans who have successfully embarked on their second century chasing that elusive next World Series. Harmon summed the trip up perfectly as we urged him to take a look at the stadium as we drove by: “I am not concerned with that; I am concerned with the train station.” We thought about going to see Northwestern University, but it started to rain and so we decided to just head back. After some fun on the I-90-94 parking lot, we were in Indiana and headed east.

Overall, it was a great trip and the boys, while worn out, seemed to enjoy what we had planned. The good: Food, “Blueberry” and Millennium Fountain. The bad: Cashew allergies, Cub fans and Simon’s newfound pterodactyl scream (loud and piercing!). The ugly: The end of our first family vacation; ESPNZone lunch, and my still-throbbing deep bone bruise from trying to jump one of the subway turnstiles.

Thanks to Aimee for planning such a great trip. She is always so thoughtful in trying to plan fun things for the boys!

P.S. – Our vacation coincided with the week that Simon went to three meals a day. Let’s just say that No. 2 is an absolute eating machine, and if you are late getting his “ba-ba” or vegetables or fruit into his grill, he will let you know about it. Overall, he was very well-behaved on the trip, and it had to be hard for him to be sitting in the stroller all the time.

Late seven-month update

The night of Simon’s six-month appointment, we started with the baby food and fed him some vegetables. We chose squash first, only because Harmon liked it, but Simon wasn’t so into it. He liked it the first night – probably because it was something different – but he didn’t really dig it after that. We then moved on to (in this order) carrots, sweet potatoes, peas and green beans. Next was the fruit, which, surprise, went much better. He had, in this order: peaches, bananas, prunes, pears and applesauce. He’s now ready to start with the Stage 2 foods and to move to three meals a day consisting of two servings each of cereal, fruits and vegetables.

As we were working our way through the foods, all kinds of other things were happening. On June 3, he spoke his first word – dada. It happened on a Wednesday so, when I called my Mom to check on him, I got to hear it over the phone. My Mom claims he also said mama but I’m not so sure. I’ve heard dada many times since then but have not heard mama. I hope he’ll say it for me soon!

He’s awesome with the rolling-over thing – belly to back and back to belly. We’ve found him many times on his back in his crib when we get him in the morning. Harmon was a huge roller (in lieu of crawling) so I’m wondering if Simon will be the same way. He does, however, have more leg movement than Harmon did so maybe he won’t wait until 10 months to crawl.

Now that we’ve been through a little more than half a year with Simon, we were thinking about the differences between him and Harmon. Besides the obvious – like Simon being pasty white with blue eyes (at least so far) – Simon is hungry all the time! He is ravenous, no matter what. It’s like he knows he has to play catch-up or something. Maybe because of this hunger, you cannot take a drink of anything while holding him because he’ll have his hands all over it. Harmon was never the least bit interested in sitting up but Simon prefers to sit up as often as he can. He especially loves to sit up in his stroller on the porch and watch his big brother take batting practice every night. Simon has one small character flaw and that is that he HATES to be alone. On bad days, he’ll cry if you break eye contact with him. Mostly, though, he requires that SOMEONE be in the room with him at all times. If not, he’ll cry and, when Simon cries, he quickly produces real tears. It’s very sad. Fortunately for us, though, this is pretty much the only time he cries because, overall, he is the happiest baby we’ve ever seen. He wakes up smiling, smiles most of the day and goes to bed smiling too! While Harmon was happy, Simon is happier.

Late six-month update (complete with stats)

At Simon’s six-month check-up, he weighed in at 19 pounds and 7 ounces and he measured 27 ½ inches long. While that put him only four ounces and 1 ½ inches off Harmon’s pace, I need to point out that Simon’s appointment was almost two weeks later than Harmon’s. So, Simon had the advantage of extra bottles and oatmeal cereal!

The whole sleeping situation improved during this month. In mid-May, Simon started going to bed at the same time as Harmon – 9 p.m. We started noticing he would pass out for a long nap every night between 8-9 p.m. We then would have to wake him up for his last feeding and he would rarely finish it. So, one night, we fed him his last bottle around 9 p.m. and then he passed out. It’s worked ever since.

Although he was passing out, he was waking up often. Our theory was that he was pretty much tired of being swaddled. So, we ditched the swaddle and, on Tuesday, May 26, we put him to bed on his belly for the first time. He loves to sleep like this even though he pees up his stomach almost every morning! I think we’ll take the extra time and extra sleep and just deal with the extra laundry.

Harmon quote bag

Below are some pretty funny things that have come out of Harmon's mouth recently! 3-year-olds are such characters!

"That kid is a ball baby!" - after seeing some little boy eat it on the pavement outside of Noodles & Company.

"Edwina, the dinosaur that stinks!" - his title for this book.

On the way home from work/daycare, he saw a police car and a tow truck down a side street and screamed out, "shenanigans!"

Upon seeing Kevin with his St. Louis Cardinals' shirt on: "Daddy, you have parrots on your shirt!"


"Who's that man? I don't like that monster!" - his take on Ronald McDonald.

When he was REALLY bored one night (and after previous trips with Kevin to Comcast to get a functional cable box), he asked: "Daddy, can we go to cable box store!"

Father’s Day and baseball

On Father’s Day, we went to our first Tigers’ game of the season, which also happened to be Simon’s first Tigers’ game ever. We bought cheap seats and met up with our friends Brian and June and their adorable daughter, Zoey - who is just two months younger than Simon. They totally hit it off and Simon seemed to like hanging with another baby! I also think Zoey may have taught Simon a little about jumping because he’s been jumping like crazy ever since! Later that night, Kevin joked about that being their “first date” and he advised Simon to “wait at least three days” before calling her! Not to be forgotten, Harmon had a good time too. He enjoyed his hot dog and HUGE box of popcorn and he had a blast running the bases for the first time. He was SO CUTE! Despite seeing only three innings of the game (which was another Verlander win), we had a great time and we hope to hook up with Brian, June and Zoey again real soon!

*photo courtesy of Brian and June!

Batting practice

Once it FINALLY got warm outside, we took out Harmon’s tee, bat and balls. He played with them a bit but didn’t seem too interested. So, when we were at my parents’ house for Memorial Day (May 27), I didn’t think he would be too interested in hitting but he was – just not with the tee. Kevin, my Dad and my cousin all took turns pitching to Harmon and he did awesome! Pretty much every night since that day, Harmon has asked to go outside and hit balls and we’ve definitely obliged. He’s had batting practice at home and we’ve taken it on the road to local parks a bunch of times too. He totally loves it! In the beginning, he was early on almost every pitch so the balls would be scattered to his left (he’s a righty). Lately, though, he’s hitting the ball square and has even sent some back up the middle at Kevin. While he doesn’t hit every ball (he does SWING at every ball), he’ll get on a hot streak and smoke 8 or 9 in a row. It’s so fun to watch and I hope it’s something he’ll like to do for a long, long time!

Movie night

Harmon’s not one for a lot of Disney movies (he’s usually just happy with Cars). But, back in May, Kevin had to work on a Saturday night so I told Harmon we could rent a movie and stay up late to watch it. He chose Monsters, Inc. and he LOVED IT. Since then, we’ve done “movie night” every other Saturday and we usually couple it with a picnic – meaning we all eat dinner together on a blanket on the living room floor. In addition to Monsters, Inc., we’ve seen Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Happy Feet. He LOVED Finding Nemo but I’ve struck out with the other two. I need to redeem myself next week so he doesn’t lose interest. Movie night is a blast!

Dinner on October 23 will be ...

They say when you have kids that you should enjoy every moment because the time truly does go by too fast. Well, this is true, as Harmon seems like a little man right now and Simon is a big boy. But, it doesn't help when your 3-year-old is constantly pressing the fast-forward button on life. An example: This morning when Harmon got out of bed, I told him to take off his pajamas and go to the potty. He was, however, more interested in knowing what pajamas he would be wearing to bed tonight. Innocent enough, you say, but he is always doing this. When it is breakfast, he asks what is for lunch or dinner. When we get home from work/daycare in the late afternoon, he wants to know what is happening the next morning. Don't get me wrong, this really is cute and we get a chuckle out of it. Maybe it is a good sign that he is always thinking ahead. Maybe his Mommy can help him organize his upcoming days and nights, meals and pajamas, etc., into a spreadsheet?

BIG LIP

OK, I think Simon wins the big lip contest. Kevin called him "NEWTAGE" really loud this past weekend and this was the result:


Don't feel too bad for him - he didn't cry at all. Actually, he started smiling right away. Weirdo.

This was the result in early 2006 when Kevin called Harmon "NATOR:"


Harmon was a little more sad after the fact but that didn't stop us from doing it again and again. They both have cute pouts and we like to see them so ...

Look alike

This is one of the MANY things I love about having two boys - they get to wear the same clothes! And Kevin and I get to go on and on with crap like "remember when Harmon wore that ... blah, blah, blah!" I'm sure, pretty soon, it's going to get pretty old to BOTH of them but, until then, we're going to keep doing stuff like this. There's nothing they can do about it!

Simon Bunny

This was the first photo the teachers at school took of Simon. It was on his cubbie for the longest time and it was larger than every other infant's photo. They FINALLY took a normal-sized photo for his cubbie and sent this one home with us. God, so smiley! Look at those gums (before the teeth came in)!

Harmon Q&A

This comes courtesy of Sundry. I thought Harmon would have some interesting answers to the following questions and he didn’t disappoint. It’s going to be funny when he reads this stuff when he’s older, although I don’t want him to be older anytime soon. Enjoy!

1. What is something I always say to you? Play with my computer

2. What makes me happy? Going on walks

3. What makes me sad? When you’re frustrated at me

4. How do I make you laugh? You tickle my belly button

5. What do you think I was like as a child? (crickets)

6. How old am I? 10 (holds up both hands)

7. How tall am I? Points to the sky

8. What is my favorite thing to do? Play Legos with me (we pretty much NEVER play Legos anymore)

9. What do I do when you’re not around? You check on me

10. If I become famous, what will it be for? (crickets)

11. What am I really good at? Playing

12. What am I not really good at? Yelling at me

13. What is my job? To play with the computer

14. What is my favorite food? Chicken

15. What makes you proud of me? When we take walks to the park and when you play cars with me

16. What makes me proud of you? When I put my cars away

17. What do you and I do together? On which days, Mommy? We go to restaurants and to the park

18. How are we the same? You look like me

19. How are you and I different? I don’t know

20. How do you know that I love you? Because I love you in the whole world (his version of when I tell him I love him more than anything in the whole world)

21. What is the one thing you wish you could change about me? That you wouldn’t yell at me

22. What do you wish you could go and do with me? I want you to take me to Walgreen’s to get a car

Breaking through

Last Friday (May 8), while playing with Simon on our bed, I noticed some white areas on his gums. Since he wouldn’t let me gain access at that moment, I had to harass him the rest of the morning. By noon, I finally was able to confirm the breakthrough of a tooth – his bottom front right chopper. I immediately called Kevin at work and we both were sad. He’s our baby and he’s our last and now, with teeth, he’s no longer a newborn. He’s simply an infant now. While his gums aren’t as pronounced as Harmon’s were, I will miss them so much. There’s nothing like a toothless grin from a baby!

And to make it EVEN worse, the bottom front left chopper is through now too. WHY do they have to grow up so damn fast???

Simon at 5 Months

Simon turned 5 months’ old on April 25 and it was a pretty eventful month. At his 4-month appointment (April 3), we were given the go-ahead for rice cereal so we gave him some the very next day (April 4). He was digging it but I must point out that he’s never tasted anything but Enfamil so he doesn’t know any better. I, on the other hand, DO know better and that stuff is nasty. I accidentally got some on my finger while feeding him one morning and I made the BIG mistake of just licking it off – GROSS! Anyway, the cereal – rice and now oatmeal – has been great and he’s getting bigger, stronger, faster (oops, that’s the Six Million Dollar Man). He’s been growing like a weed and sleeping so much better at night and doing all kinds of cool things.

The long-awaited meeting with his feet finally happened Tuesday, April 21. They had been flirting for weeks and, finally, they got up the nerve to talk to each other. Simon moves quickly, though, because by Thursday, April 23, he took their relationship to the next level – he put his feet in his mouth. As is typical in a new relationship, you try so hard to impress and Simon thought FINALLY rolling over (stomach to back – both ways) would be quite impressive indeed. This happened on Friday, April 24.

OK, other quick things:
1) Simon loves his exercauser and he figured out how to work it on Saturday, April 18. He played the duck sound!
2) Simon absolutely CANNOT GET ENOUGH of Harmon! It is the sweetest thing in the world to watch.
3) Although it happened in MARCH, I need to note Simon’s first giggle. My Mom got him to laugh out loud for the first time on Wednesday, March 18 (while I was at work, damn it) by hiding and then surprising him while he played in his activity gym.

Falling down

A few weeks ago, we thought for sure we were headed for a trip to the ER with Harmon. He seemed to be falling down ALL THE TIME and all this clumsiness culminated in an ever-so-slightly chipped tooth (a chip only a mother could see on his upper front left tooth) on a Thursday night (April 16) followed by a LONG fall from the top stair of a huge play structure on a Saturday afternoon (April 18). This fall took place at Fuller Park, which we won’t be able to visit for a long, long time. Well, at least until I can get the image out of my head of Harmon falling down 10-15 wooden stairs. Thankfully, this incident resulted only in a few scrapes and bruises. After all that, we were a bit nervous about what was to follow but he seems to have pulled it together. Maybe he was going through some kind of growth spurt, which might explain the clumsiness AND the insane food intake!

3 ½

OK, as promised, Harmon is 3 ½ today so it’s going to be my last monthly update for him. Today was semi-eventful for him. He went for a long walk with Kevin and Simon in the afternoon and, because he was SO GOOD on the walk, he scored Tex Dinoco from Toys R Us.

When I got home from work, we played while Kevin grilled. The best part of playing was realizing that Harmon now can catch a ball! He may have been able to do this for a while and I just didn’t know but he was snagging everything I could throw at him. Maybe Greg Andrade’s prediction will come true and he, indeed, will end up being a “hands tight end!” Or, maybe he’ll be the next Joe Mauer … um, yeah ... not so much!

After dinner, my parents stopped by on their way back home after their trip to Springfield, Ill. for my uncle’s funeral. My Dad was missing the boys so they stopped in to steal an hour or so of their time. Of course, within minutes, my Dad had Harmon running around and doing great big belly laughs (and also had Simon “talking”). They both love their Papa!

All and all, a good day to be 3 ½!

Adjusting

When I came back to work after having Simon, I had to shift my schedule a bit. It’s been about 11 weeks now and we’re STILL trying to get the hang of it. For me, it’s difficult because I USED to be at home in a chunk (off all day Friday and Monday morning) and then at work in a chunk (in Monday afternoon and through the end of the day Thursday). Now, it’s all mixed up and it’s been hard to focus on BOTH places with all the back and forth. For Kevin, going in at 7 a.m. on a Monday was much easier because he had the weekend to rest. Now, he works a full day on Monday and then has to be in early on Tuesday so it’s harder on him too.

As for the kids, Harmon seems to be fine with it. Now, he just gets to spend more time watching the garbage trucks (Tuesdays are our garbage days). Simon, however, has had it a little rough. The breaks between the days the boys go to school are longer now – they go on Mondays and Thursdays instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays – and he’s having some issues adjusting. The teachers have explained to me that he just gets very sad and then he’ll cry if he’s alone for too long. They say he brightens right back up so it’s not a prolonged thing but it still makes ME sad to think about him being sad. I spoke with the teachers and the director and they all thought maybe an extra few hours a week at school will help (evidently another part-timer was having the same issues and it worked for her). We were SUPPOSED to try this a few weeks ago but he got a cold so we delayed it. So, today, Kevin so graciously gave up his Tuesday afternoon with both boys and dropped Simon off at school. I don’t want him to be sad at school so we will do this if we have to BUT I would much rather have him at home doing fun things with his Dad and brother. I don’t think it’s necessary and I also don’t see how just a few hours are going to help things but we’ll see. I’m just hoping it’s a phase and he’ll grow out of it.

Oliver Jeffers

Not too long ago, I was reading the blog of one of our friends, Brian DeWagner, and he mentioned an author by the name of Oliver Jeffers. I had never heard of him so I then was on a MISSION to find one of his books, read it and then decide if Harmon would like it.

At our local Barnes & Noble (the one “down the mountain” with the ESCALATOR, per Harmon), I found a copy of the Incredible Book Eating Boy and I loved it! I read it to Harmon and he loved it too so we bought it. I’ve probably read it to him at least 1,000 times – I’m not kidding. Unfortunately, this was the only Oliver Jeffers book available at Barnes & Noble or any of our local Borders stores so I had to take my search underground – to a LOCALLY OWNED bookstore (imagine THAT). At Nicola’s Books, on the west side of Ann Arbor, I found exactly what I was looking for. I found copies of How to Catch a Star, Lost and Found, The Great Paper Caper and The Way Back Home and Harmon got ALL OF THEM from the Easter Bunny. We read four books to him every night before bed and not a night goes by without an Oliver Jeffers’ book in the rotation.

So, thank you Brian, thank you Nicola’s and, most of all, thank you Oliver Jeffers for writing some great books that further strengthen my oldest son’s love affair with reading. Good things!

Harmon at 41 months

Since Harmon’s month all run together in a sea of cars, cartoons, Disney movies and trips to the park, it’s getting harder and harder to do a monthly update. So, once he turns 3 ½ (on May 12), I will cease to do an update on the 12th of every month. I’ll instead just write about things as they happen. And, this LATE monthly update really isn’t an update at all. It’s just going to some funny crap that Harmon has said (and done) recently. The kid is hilarious!

On a Tuesday afternoon:
Kevin: We can go to Toys R Us OR Chuck E. Cheese.
Harmon: We can go to Toys R Us AND Chuck E. Cheese!

On that same afternoon, he also must have had a dream about Chick Hicks during his nap because, when he woke up, he had a serious case of full-on Chick Hicks’ obsession. I happened to be out running work errands that day so I got it for him and all was perfect in his world (for five minutes).

One day recently, he was in the bathroom going #2. When I walked by the bathroom door he said “It stunks in here, turn the fan on!” I died.

On our way home from a recent grocery shopping trip: “Mommy, you can park cars with me. Daddy, you can make dinner!” Love that role reversal.

When asked what he wanted to do one weekend: “We can go to Target and get Lightning McQueen stuff!”

On another Tuesday, as Kevin was heading out to Chuck E. Cheese, he asked Harmon if Isabel could come. Harmon’s response: “No, she’ll poop on everything!”

Last weekend, he wore shorts and a baseball cap for the first time this year. He had this to say: I’m wearing shorts (a hat); I’m a cool man!”

He calls his fleece a SLEEF – weirdo!

Also, he loves the fine music of Wesley Willis (especially "Rock and Roll McDonald’s" – ROCK ON CHICAGO – and "Cut the Mullet") and would give his right arm if he could listen to ANY freecreditreport.com TV commercial.

Four-month stats

OK, this is so long overdue that it’s ALMOST embarrassing. I was never this late with HARMON’S info. Anyway, at his four-month appointment, Simon weighed 15 pounds and 2.8 ounces and measured 26 ¼ inches long. So, a big boy BUT not quite as big as his brother who weighed 16 pounds and 11 ounces and measured 27 5/8 inches long at HIS four-month appointment. Kevin still has money on Simon being bigger ONE DAY. He better get busy and I mean B-I-Z-Z-Y busy (I love you Rod Allen)!

This cat eats it!

After peeking in our living room window YET AGAIN today, this crazy-ass neighborhood cat needs to be called out. The thing is freaky.

First school photo of the Bergquist boys TOGETHER

Yeah, this is just great. Simon is leaning in like Billy Charlebois from Slap Shot when he takes a quick look in the mirror and Harmon doesn't know what to do with his hands like Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights during his first, post-race interview. It's no surprise we didn't purchase 100 wallets of these photos but we HAD to buy this one sheet - priceless!

Our little turtle

Not cool, not cool!

The last four nights, Simon has had some sleep issues and, needless to say, it’s not cool. Wednesday, it was up at 3 a.m.; Thursday, it was up at 5 a.m.; Friday, again with the 5 a.m.; and Saturday, it was back to 3 a .m. God, we are SO hoping he will make it all the way through the night tonight. It would be different if he hadn’t been sleeping through the night for the last two months. BUT, he has so this sucks big time. Get it together kid!

Timeline

Last night was a weird-ass night. Both boys had some issues sleeping (even though they usually are great sleepers). There was not a full moon. There were not monsters under their beds or in their closets and, as far as we know, there were no nearby alien abductions! So, WTF?

10 p.m. – Trying to watch last week’s DVR’d episode of “The Office” – Simon screams through all of it.

10:30 p.m. – Finally plug Simon’s hole with a six-ounce bottle. Please note we were not STARVING him. He had just eaten at 8 p.m. He’s such a hog sometimes!

11:15 p.m. – Put Simon to bed. He was dead asleep as I rocked him so we thought it was safe. It wasn’t. We have to go in and calm him a few times.

11:16 p.m. – As we’re calming Simon, Harmon wakes up. He bolts out of his room and heads to the bathroom. We thought he just had to go potty but he says “I need to get my clothes on for school!” Weirdo. We tell him it’s still nighttime and tuck him back in.

Midnight – Harmon wakes up again, comes into our bedroom and asks Kevin to tuck him back in. Alright.

12:15 a.m. – Harmon wakes up AGAIN, comes into our bedroom AGAIN and tells Kevin he can’t find Chick Hicks, the car he went to sleep with. Kevin locates said car, crawls into bed with him and sleeps with him until 1:45 a.m.

3 a.m. – Simon wakes up crying. In an effort to salvage ANY sleep, I let Simon sleep with me in our bed and Kevin bolts for the big comfy couch in the basement.

We then get rolling, like usual, in the 6 a.m. hour, still wondering WHAT THE HELL! MUST get some sleep tonight!

Four-month-old Newt!

Well, he really doesn’t look like a newt anymore mostly because the only time he really gets mad (and red) is when he’s hungry. And speaking of hunger, he’s up to six ounces at each feeding now. Not including the time while he’s sleeping overnight, he can go anywhere from 3-5 hours in between bottles. I’m sure all this will improve after his four-month appointment (on April 3) because he’ll then be able to mix in some rice cereal! He’s going to love that!

He’s been a GREAT sleeper over the last month. We’ll give him his last bottle around 10:30/11 p.m., I’ll rock him and then he’ll sleep until AT LEAST 7 a.m. most of the time. Every once in a while he’ll wake up a little bit earlier but, for the most part, we’re very happy parents. Our next step will be to keep pushing back the time of the last bottle so we can get both of the boys to bed at 9 p.m. (and have a portion of our nights free again). I don’t want to rush him but he’s already growing like a weed so maybe it’s OK. I don’t know.

The big deal lately has been his giggle. My Mom got him to laugh for the first time last Wednesday (March 18) when he was playing with his activity gym. She would hide behind the mirror and then pop out at him and he thought this was all kinds of hilarious. She said it was a big belly laugh and I’m SO SAD I missed it. I did re-create the experience later in the night and he did giggle for me but it wasn’t a big belly laugh. Kevin then got him giggling a bit Sunday night and Harmon made him giggle – by laughing himself – Monday night.

Ah, yes, Harmon. He loves his little brother (and is a great helper) and Simon is a HUGE fan of his! Simon just watches everything Harmon does and loves to be everywhere he is, especially if it involves reading or playing with cars or balls. You can just see that they’re going to have a great time together very soon!

Other quick things happening – Simon’s eyes have YET to change. They are still grayish blue and so pretty. I know they will change and end up being beautiful just like Harmon’s eyes but it’s just odd to see that they haven’t changed already (like Harmon’s did). While Simon is pretty much aware of his arms and hands now, his feet, legs and knees are totally blowing his mind. When you lay him on his changing pad (his favorite place in the world), he can ALMOST get them. Pretty soon, he’ll have those feet in his mouth! He’s still not interested in holding his bottle but he’ll claw the shit out of your hand while you hold it. But, two things he IS interested in holding are his duck blanket and his Peter Rabbit blanket. I didn’t use these much with Harmon but Simon likes to grab so he loves them.

Despite many attempts, he hasn’t rolled over just yet. Again, I’m not rushing him BUT, once he call roll from belly to back – both ways – he can sleep on his tummy at school. And, he sleeps SO much better on his tummy. School is going really well. It’s nice to drop him off and have teachers fighting over who gets to hold him! When Harmon was at KidZone, he was always the little rock star and we weren’t sure how it would go with Simon at Annie’s. But, it’s gone much the same way so far. The teachers tell us that he’s so good and easy going and, surprise, only really fusses when he’s hungry. We’re very happy with the school situation and it makes it even better when Harmon can come up and visit Simon every once in a while.

So, four months have gone by and it seems like four days! We feel so lucky and blessed to have such strong, smart, handsome boys and we TRY to enjoy every minute with them!

Boys at Chuck E. Cheese

Winter? What winter?

This photo appeared in the March 18th print edition of the Ann Arbor News with the following caption:

"Officially, it still may be winter, but 3-year-old Harmon Bergquist, of Ann Arbor, was more than eager to swing into spring and enjoy Tuesday's temperatures in the mid-60s in his St. Patrick's Day green while playing at Gallup Park with his father, Kevin."

Photo courtesy of Lon Horwedel, Ann Arbor News