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!