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

Resurrected

For the past 11 years, Selection Sunday has been dead to me. I’ve only paid enough attention to college hoops so as not to totally suck in my tournament brackets but, as each of these Sundays went by, I was bummed because something was missing. All of it just wasn’t the same without my alma mater. I shouldn’t complain because I was a student and a fan and I worked in the athletic department during the Fab Five era. While that was an AWESOME time, we’ve been paying for it the last 11 years.

Anyway, today, Selection Sunday was resurrected. I really can’t describe how I felt after waiting FOREVER and then finally seeing that block M on the screen. I was honestly teary-eyed. It’s been so long and it’s been so awful, especially for the whole generation of kids who have only known crappy Michigan basketball.

No matter what happens when we match up with Clemson on Thursday, it’s so good to know this program is finally headed in the right direction. The only other thing I can say is John FREAKIN’ Beilein!

Go Blue!

Harmon at 40 months

Harmon is counting down the days until we can consistently go outside again. After a long winter, and a new brother, he just longs for parks and walks and playing outside with his toys. In due time, my man!

Since we’ve been trapped inside, Harmon FINALLY discovered the movie “Cars!” I remember trying to get him to watch it over a year ago and he wasn’t the least bit interested. But, a few weeks ago, it was on ABC Family and he was all into it! When I returned to work, I bought both boys a little present and Harmon’s was a Lighting McQueen car and the “Cars” DVD. He has worn this DVD out. It’s replaced the Polar Express and BOTH Madagascar movies (which is probably a good thing). He had cooled a little on playing with his cars but, after seeing this movie, he is back into playing with them all the time.

When he’s not playing with cars or sheepishly asking (with the DVD case behind his back) to watch something, he is reading. I can’t (and don’t want to) total up how much money I’ve spent on books for him but I KNOW it’s a lot. And, the bookstore – especially the Barnes and Noble in Ann Arbor, which has an escalator and is “down the mountain” – is one of his favorite places to go. He loves so many different kinds of books and I hope this NEVER fades!

Even though the winter has been LONG and COLD, he’s been relatively healthy (knock on wood). He’s had one bout with a cough and had a touch of the stomach flu at the end of February. This stomach flu was highlighted by him puking at Boston Market and then on the street in front of Afternoon Delight – yummy! But, even when he wasn’t feeling all that great, he still was eating like crazy. He’s been ravenous for a month or so and I’m sure we’ve made him about 100 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (his favorite) during that time.

Our big task right now is getting him to pee standing up. I wasn’t sure WHEN to start this so I read a ton and spoke with his teacher at school. She said it was the “cool thing” with all the boys in his class right now so we’ve moved forward with it. We make him try at least once a day. He’s doing well and I honestly don’t think it will take very long at all. I’m sure once he can get outside and pee on a tree or something like that, he’ll be hooked!

An open letter to Harmon

Dear son,

I must take this opportunity to apologize for some of the things that will happen during the next 15 years, until you turn 18. Your Mom and I probably will not let you get that earring, or stay out past midnight on your first date, or play hockey (Mom's choice, not mine!). But, these small disappointments are nothing compared to what I put you through this past weekend.

You are a good-looking kid, but your hair was getting a little long. We had planned to take you to your usual spot, Carnival Cuts in Twelve Oaks Mall, but we found out they have closed their doors (at least temporarily). Luckily your usual stylist, Ms. Laurie, called and told us that she was cutting hair at a different salon, so we decided to take you there. I should have been tipped off by the name, but, OH NO! Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next at ... wait for it ... Sweet & Sassy!

Now they do cut boys' hair, as suggested by their Web site: boy's cut, boy's cut with shampoo, and baby's first cut. The girl's menu really points to our experience: the cutie cut, the sweet cut, and the (getting original here) SASSY cut. Not to mention the menu of up-dos! But, it wasn't just the haircuts going on; it was the runway hair and fashion shows, the glittery faces and sugary-sweet music blaring the whole time. You didn't cry once, even though the cloud of perfume and make-up dust made me a little weepy in the eye.

Anyway, you were a good boy, but I am sorry we turned you into Simon's big sister for 20 minutes. OK, so maybe you can stay out until 12:30 a.m.

Love, Dad