Pregnancy Update

I hit the 17-week mark on Sunday and it seems, for the most part, that my nausea has subsided. I would call it morning sickness but it was more like an ALL-DAY sickness. I didn’t throw up as much as I did with Harmon but I think that’s only because I knew what to do this time around – thank God for the combination of Vitamin B6 and Unisom. This little pill cocktail limited me to TWO yak sessions total, as opposed to two yak sessions EACH DAY before. It does work wonders.

I’ve noticed the belly has appeared sooner this time. I guess those muscles are already stretched out so they’re like “what the hell!” I’m still in my regular clothes but will have to break out the maternity gear very soon. With Harmon, I made it to July (my sixth month) but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it that far this time. It’s funny, I thought the body transformation would be easier to deal with the second time around but it’s not. It’s still hard and you still wonder if you’ll EVER go back to normal. I guess, when it comes right down to it, I’m just not one of those women who likes being pregnant.

I feel like I’ve been more tired this time but I think that’s deceiving. Before, I didn’t have a 2 ½-year-old to chase around so maybe that’s a simple explanation. I also feel like I’ve been more hungry but, again, I don’t know. I DO know that if I DON’T eat, I go downhill WAY TOO FAST and it takes a while to recover. I’ve had no real cravings and no real food aversions, other than Starbucks. Before I got pregnant, I would visit Starbucks 3-4 times a week (bad), going through countless gift cards and Starbucks’ cards re-loads. Since I took the pregnancy test, though, I’ve been there ONCE. The mere thought of a Light Mocha Frappuccino or a Peppermint Mocha makes me SO ill. It’s the weirdest thing, I swear. Kevin is STILL stunned. He jokes that a representative from Starbucks is going to call the house to find out what’s wrong! Not all caffeine has been banished, though. I still love Diet Coke as much as ever.

One other food-related item – I would like to pimp Crispix cereal for helping me stave off many yak sessions. While I’m sure I’ll never want to eat it again after December, it has been an important ally in my battle against nausea. In fact, I had some this morning and it helped yet again so THANK YOU, CRISPIX!

My ultrasound is one week from today (July 15) and Kevin and I are SO excited. While Harmon was a surprise, we are hoping to find out the sex of #2. I hope he/she cooperates so we can begin to prepare and, most importantly, we can tell Harmon who is on the way – Maizey or Simon.

A few things I miss already …

I came back to work today after being off for almost two weeks and these are things I already miss:

1. Wearing capri pants or shorts
2. Wearing sandals everywhere
3. Wearing t-shirts (I never realized how annoying collars can be)
4. Not wearing a watch (and thus not knowing what time or, hell, even what DAY it is)
5. Not wearing my glasses

I realized all of this earlier as I got ready for work. I think the worst part was putting big black shoes over my freshly-pedicured, banana-yellow painted toes – UGH!

I guess that’s why vacation is called vacation and work is called work. I am looking forward to my usual Friday off more than I have in a LONG time!

Back from Minnesota

Still trying to get caught up after our family vacation in Minnesota. Will document our five days at the Bergquist cabin on Upper Gull Lake later. Some things we learned: Harmon is an angel on planes, mosquitos love his skin, and The Power Loon is lame. Happy 4th to all!

A tough first

Believe it or not, tonight will be the first night Harmon will spend away from me. He will spend the night with his Nana and Papa – and his aunts will visit – and then Nana will keep him for his usual Wednesday.

It didn’t HAVE to happen but we thought it might be a good idea. I didn’t want my first night away from him to come when I’m in the hospital birthing #2. Harmon surely would be thinking WTF when we came home! AND, it would do wonders to fuel that future sibling rivalry.

So, we’ll meet my parents and drop him off after work and then we’ll head down to Comerica Park for the Cardinals-Tigers game. It’s a good thing that I have the baseball game to distract me but I know I’ll check in a lot. I’m sure he will be just fine – he’s pretty laid back and just rolls with it. He probably would be more upset about not being able to go to the baseball game than spending the night away from us.

I just know I’m ALREADY looking forward to picking him up tomorrow night!

PS – I must note that Kevin has only been away from Harmon for ONE night – on an overnight trip to Baltimore about a year ago. Overall, we’re both very lucky that we’re around most of the time and don’t have jobs that require travel.

Harmon's medley

The secret is out

A few years ago, a friend of mine who works for the NBA (and strongly dislikes Danny Ainge because of this), made the following statement when I asked him what he thought about Danny and his efforts with the Boston Celtics:

“If Danny Ainge has a plan, it’s the best-kept secret in the NBA!”

Well, after last night’s Beantown beatdown of the Lakers which culminated with the Celtics’ 17th NBA Championship, I guess the secret is out.

Kevin and I have been Celtics’ fans since the Larry Bird era. I think that was the last time fundamental team basketball was played in the NBA. It was always so cool to watch those old teams that played defense, passed the ball, played unselfishly and put the success of the team ahead of their personal achievements. Since those days, though, there have been some rough years for the Celtics with last year being the roughest as they won only 24 games.

During the off-season, though, Danny made some moves that would make history. In June 2007, Danny traded Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and the fifth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft to Seattle for Ray (Jesus Shuttlesworth) Allen, Glen Davis and the 35th overall pick in the draft. Then, in July 2007, Danny worked a deal with former Celtics’ teammate and current Minnesota Timberwolves VP of Operations Kevin McHale to get Kevin Garnett. In exchange for Garnett, the Timberwolves received Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, two 2009 first-round draft picks and some cash for good measure. This trade was the single largest trade for one player in NBA history.

It was at this point that many experts began to wonder if the Celtics would have enough players to field a team much less players talented enough to help the “Boston Three Party” (Allen, Garnett and long-time Celtic Paul Pierce) win a title. During the rest of the summer and then into the season, the Celtics signed some free agents and filled out their roster.

Now that the team was together, they were fun to watch and they went on to win 66 games in the regular season – the biggest turnaround of all time. Although the NBA is different (much worse, in my humble opinion) than it was back in the day, this team made us want to watch pro basketball again. Just like the old Celtics’ teams, they were unselfish, they passed the ball (sometimes too much), they played defense like no one else in the NBA, they had great role players (and you never knew who would step up and contribute each night) and – most importantly – the players changed their games and put all their personal accolades aside in hopes of achieving one team goal – a championship.

While they struggled in the first two rounds of the playoffs, going to a seventh game with both the Hawks and the Sixers, they took care of the Pistons and the Lakers in six games and won the title. And, along the way, Danny Ainge was named NBA Executive of the Year.

So, I guess he had a plan after all and now he’s got a ring too!

Happy (I am glad I am Harmon's Father)'s Day

One of my Father's Day presents from Harmon was this book, "Father to Son: Life Lessons on Raising a Boy." Taking a few moments to flip through the pages, I came across this passage on page 97: "Take him for doughnuts Saturday morning. Let his mom sleep late." While we don't do doughnuts just yet, although I will be happy when we do, Harmon and I do go for boys' breakfast every few weeks. I usually take him to McDonald's (or Old MacDonalds, as he calls it) for pancakes and sausage, or Denny's, for the same. But, today I wanted a family breakfast, so we had pancakes at home. It was there that I received some of my gifts, including the aforementioned book, Phil Steele's 2008 college football preview issue (which is suspect in that he has Notre Dame as preseason No. 19; but that is for later in the summer) and a new cologne. Earlier in the week, I received my biggest present when, after more than 10 years of the same glasses, I picked out a new pair of specs at Kellogg. After I cut the grass on Sunday, Harmon spent two hours in his backyard pool before we had dinner from Applebees. It was a great Father's Day, and just the way I wanted it with my family, including Baby #2 as we call him/her. I read Harmon his customary four books before he went to bed, which also is included in the "Father to Son" book, on page 16: "Read to him nightly. He'll love it." He does love it, and I love Harmon, Aimee, Isabel, and Baby #2. I am blessed to be a father.

31 months – 3 days late

I’ve been writing SO MUCH at work that the last thing on my mind has been writing for the blog so it’s no wonder I totally forgot to do Harmon’s 31-month update. God, I’m only 14 weeks pregnant and I’m ALREADY forgetting about the first born. I need to step it up!

Harmon is doing wonderfully! No, he’s not potty trained yet but we are oh so close. He no longer goes #2 in his diaper – thank the Lord – and he’s dry overnight most of the time. #1, however, is the challenging part. He’ll go on the toilet at all the usual times – in the morning, before bed and after meals – but he won’t tell us any other time. It’s very frustrating because WE ALL KNOW HE KNOWS but he just won’t do it. I hope it just clicks soon but I just don’t know.

Aside from the potty training, everything is great. He’s continuing to do well at school. We got him a cute t-shirt with his school’s logo on it so now says he’s going to Annie’s Children’s School to play with his friends. It’s very sweet!

He learns new things every single day. He’ll see numbers and letters and yell them out and still is really into all his books. I got him a Curtis Granderson t-shirt to wear to our summers Tigers’ games and he points out the number (28) and spells out the name. I really hope he continues to learn at a good pace.

Although we haven’t officially told him he’s got a little brother or sister on the way, we’re slowly dropping hints. We’ll ask him if he wants a baby to come live with us or if he wants a brother or sister. Since we have names picked out, we’ll ask him what we’ll name a boy (and he’ll tell us Simon) or a girl (and he’ll tell us Maizey) and he gets into it. We’ll tell him a) once I get noticeably bigger or b) when we have the ultrasound (July 15), whichever comes first. I hope we can make it to the ultrasound because we’re finding out this time and it would make it easier to tell him who exactly is on the way.

Once the baby does arrive, we’ll move Harmon from the nursery and into the den. We picked out his new bedding (Junior Varsity from Pottery Barn Kids – it’s very cool) and will change his toddler bed into a full bed. We’re thinking late September or early October might be a good time for this change. We’re hoping he’ll be potty trained by then and it will be after he changes classrooms at school so hopefully his big changes will be behind him. We also thought this was early enough so that he doesn’t feel kicked out right when the new baby arrives. So, that’s the plan. Unfortunately, with him moving into the den, we’ll have to move the computer downstairs which will take some getting used to. We’ll deal, though.

Other than that, it’s business as usual. We’re outside every day – taking walks and going to the park. We’re trying to take advantage of those summer months before the craziness of the fall arrives.

And baby makes four

When we brought Harmon home from the hospital on November 12, 2005, they didn't give us an instructional manual. But, 2-1/2 years later, I think we have it all figured out. We are raising a handsome, smart, playful little guy who will probably tower over both us us sooner than later. We have had so much fun raising him, we have decided to do it again. No, not raise Harmon again. He is well on his way to age 3 and, if we did get the chance, I am not sure we would do anything different.

No, the news is that Bergguist Baby #2 is on the way. We have been very blessed to have gotten pregnant so quickly with our son or daughter to be. We wanted to space our children three years apart, to give Harmon time to be the baby and enjoy being the spoiled one. And, believe me, he is. The due date for Harmon's new brother or sister is December 13, 2008. Because Harmon was a C-section, Aimee will have another one, so he/she may come a week earlier. Of note, our anniversary is December 2, so it will be a joyous month every year between Harmon's birthday in November and our anniversary and the new baby's birthday in December. And, just in time for the holidays. Whew!

Aimee is a trooper to carry the baby during the hot summer months again. If the new baby is anything like Harmon's size, it will be quite a summer. She has been such a good Mommy with Harmon; he loves her so much! Aimee no doubt will document her pregnancy more as we go, but we couldn't be more blessed. Harmon is even getting into the act, as we often ask him if he would like a brother or sister. When we first asked him, he said "a cat." But, now he says brother or sister. I think sister is in the lead now. BTW, for a point of prediction, Kevin thinks it is a girl.

P.S. Isabel takes great offense to the title of this entry. Maybe it should be high five.

Shoes

I love Harmon’s spring/summer shoes so much that I felt the need to document them FOREVER. I’m sure this is more for me than him but whatever, here goes:

These are his Keen sandals. He has them in navy, with yellow accents of course.


Here are his brown Kenneth Cole Reaction sandals. These pretty much go with everything and he LOVES them.


For the times he needs gym shoes, we went with the old stand-by in this house: Nike. They are blue and orange and really cute but sometimes difficult to put on his big feet.


On occasion, Harmon does need to dress up so he has these cute Merrell slip-ons. He’s worn these a few times already this spring and they are adorable, especially with his brown sweater vest and jeans.

And, to complete the shoe wardrobe for the season, yesterday we bought him these Crocs. We thought they would be great for our upcoming trip to Minnesota – easy on and easy off and it’s OK if they get wet.

Old vernacular

One of our favorite phrases since way back when Kevin and I first met is “boot in the eye.” I’m not sure where it originated – most likely from our crazy days at U-M Sports Information – but it still gets A LOT of play in our household.

We love to joke with Harmon and tell him he’s going to get a “boot in the eye” if he doesn’t do something we ask of him. Or, if he’s crying, fussing, whining, etc., we’ll ask him what’s wrong. After he’s done explaining, we’ll say “well, how about a boot in the eye?” His hilarious response is ALWAYS “no, no boot in the eye!”

There are lots of other choice words and phrases that we use from the old days. They’re probably not the nicest things for Harmon to say (like “talkin’ ‘bout fat chicks,” for example) but they are hilarious nonetheless. One of the many fun things about having a 2 ½-year-old!

I guess I'll just ...

Harmon has had a few choice phrases lately and one of our favorites is:

"I guess I’ll just …"

If we tell him to pick up his cars or eat his food, for example, he’ll sit there, wait a few minutes and then say the following:

“I guess I’ll just pick up my cars” or “I guess I’ll just eat my food.”

The funniest usage of this phrase is when he knows he’s in trouble. He’ll lower his head, lower his voice and mumble “I guess I’ll just go back to bed!”

We have no idea where all this “I guess I’ll just …” comes from but it’s hilarious. Who knows where kids pick up this stuff!

Baseball and parks

Two words that summed up our Memorial Day weekend: baseball and parks.

On Thursday, it was finally our turn to use the tickets from the Tigers’ season ticket package we split with my parents and sisters. It was a fun game – we actually won – and Harmon was a good boy. We watched the first half of the game from our seats and then headed for the carousel and the gift shop. Harmon loved riding the tigers so much he cried when the ride stopped but he perked up in the gift shop when he spotted a Tigers’ diecast truck. Our next game is June 14 so I’m guessing Harmon will be excited to go back to the ballpark.

Kevin worked on Friday but his office closed early and he was home by 3:30 p.m. We headed out to Burns Park and then grabbed dinner at Harmon’s favorite restaurant – Pizza House. We had THE BEST waitress who was so good with Harmon. When we left, she gave me her name and number in case we ever need a babysitter. After dinner, we headed over to the U-M baseball game. Again, Harmon watched about half and then wanted to run around so Kevin took him while I watched more of the game. It was another good game of baseball as Michigan beat Purdue to advance to the Big Ten tournament finals.

Saturday morning, Kevin and Harmon ran errands and I got to worship the sun for the first time this year. I think I stayed out a bit too long, though, as I got a little burned. It was a small sacrifice, though, to get some color! Saturday night brought more baseball as we went back to watch Michigan play in the Big Ten championship game. They won a nail biter – 3-2 – and now will host one of the 16 NCAA Regionals this weekend.

Instead of going to my aunt’s house for a cook-out, we decided to go it alone on Sunday. We drove up to Kensington Metropark and took Harmon to the Farm Learning Center where he got to see baby pigs, sheep, lambs and cows – all SO cute. We then grabbed some sandwiches from one of our favorite markets – Colasanti’s Market in Milford – and ate at Milford’s Central Park. This park has a HUGE play structure and Harmon had a great time making his way through it!

On Monday, the actual holiday, we took it easy. We went for a long family walk, ran a few errands and grilled burgers for dinner. Monday was the hottest day so far this year but we refused to turn on the AC. Of course, that made sleeping a challenge. I think Kevin and I got maybe 2-3 hours of sleep and Harmon had a rough night too. He, however, got to take a three-hour nap at school yesterday to make up for it – must be nice.

Overall, we had a fun weekend and it was a relaxing way to start the summer!

Try again

Lately, everything has been “try again” with Harmon. If you do something he likes – like blowing bubbles with gum or tickling him in an extra ticklish spot – he’ll tell you “try again” rather than something like “do it again” or “more.” It’s very sweet to hear him say “try again” when he’s all excited OR in mid-giggle.

One thing that hasn’t been quite so sweet is his refusal to do something. For example, when we tell him to pick up his cars (before he gets out other toys), his initial response is “no, no, I won’t pick up my cars!” He has to include in his refusal the original request – kind of like phrasing your answer in the form of a question like on Jeopardy. Of course, a simple reminder that he won’t PLAY with his cars anymore if he doesn’t pick them up usually changes his tune.

Mom’s Day Redux

My Mother’s Day weekend was very laid back but very cool. On Saturday, Kevin, Harmon and I took my Mom (and Dad) out to dinner. They chose Pizza House, simply because Harmon LOVES Pizza House (that’s our boy). It was fun and my sister, Stacey, and I are sending my parents away to a cute little bed and breakfast in Grand Haven for a few days for a joint Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gift. I can’t tell you how excited they are to get away! Harmon also presented my Mom with a bouquet of flowers and she melted. It was the sweetest thing ever!

As for me, Sunday was cold and rainy so we stayed inside all day. We didn’t even bother to take showers. It was awesome! Kevin made me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and they were SO good. I ate so many that I wasn’t even hungry for lunch. I was ready to eat dinner, though, and we got sandwiches from Zingerman’s – always a very special treat. As for the gifts, the boys (and Isabel) outdid themselves once again. I got a dozen unbelievably huge and beautiful orange roses (I’m always begging for orange roses and Kevin finally found some), a book, a new Coach purse and a slideshow movie of me and Harmon, which was especially sweet because of the music Kevin used. There are two children’s songs – I Wonder If I’m Growing by Raffi and Theme Song by Baby Genius – that choke me up every time I hear them so I was crying like a baby. In addition to this stuff, Harmon also made me a magnet and a necklace at school. Overall, it was a wonderful Mother’s Day!

2 ½

Harmon is 2 ½ today – halfway through the “terrible twos!” While he’s a good boy most of the time, he sometimes can be a challenge. However, if my biggest complaints are him saying “no” a lot and demanding things without saying “please,” I think I’m doing OK.

We’re still working on the potty training, which can be frustrating. Sometimes it feels like one step forward and two steps back. He’s good in the morning and at night and after his meals but other times throughout the day are total mysteries. Stickers used to work as a bribe but we might have to step it up to, say, M&Ms. I THINK the fact that he’s in pull-ups more than diapers these days will help things along. I hope it all comes together soon.

Now that it’s warm out, he’s all about the park. But, instead of the slide, he is in love with the swings this year. He could swing for hours, if we had the time to let him. On Friday, we went to Gallup Park – a park he usually goes to with Nana and Papa. After sliding a few times and swinging for a while, we walked the inner loop of the park (which measures 1.35 miles). My Mom has told me he’s walked the whole way before but I still was surprised to see him do it. It’s a long way for those little legs!

Besides the park, he still loves his cars, his books, his Legos and his memory cards. His toy obsessions have been pretty steady over the past few months. His language improves each and every day (and blows my mind) but he’s had a funny way of handling plurals lately. Instead of trucks or cars, he’ll say “truckeses” or “caresses.”

School is going well, even though some of his older classmates have moved up to the next class, and he continues to learn so much from being there. I actually don’t feel AS guilty for having him there when he comes home signing and his cubby is filled with great art work.

I think he’ll have a fun summer with many Tigers’ games on the horizon along with a trip to Beloit, Wisc. for a Bergquist family wedding and a trip to visit Kevin’s parents at their cabin in Minnesota – a trip we’ve been trying hard to plan. The challenge has been scheduling time we ALREADY have to take off due to Harmon’s school closure for summer (June 30-July 4) as well as time for the wedding (July 12) and then trying to make it work to go to MN. It also doesn’t help that these basically are back-to-back weekends AND right around the holiday – can you say EXPENSIVE? Travel is SO frustrating.

After a few weeks of shopping, Harmon will be ready for all these summer activities. While we bought him all his summer shoes and a few other things, my Mom and Dad went bananas with the clothes. I’ve never seen so many shorts and shirts for a two-year-old! The kid has so much clothing for a boy! I’ve always gotten a ton of compliments on how I dress him and I promise not to disappoint THIS summer.

Like mother, like son

During the first two years of Harmon's life, Aimee often was bummed because everyone kept saying how he looks like his Daddy, or does things just like his Daddy did at the same age. Well, things have turned recently, and not only are more people saying Harmon looks more like his Mommy, he also is acting like her more and more every day. So, in honor of Mother's Day 2008, here is a list of the Top 10 ways Harmon is Mommy Jr.:

1. He loves chips and breadsticks. We figure he is at least 30 percent tortilla chip anyway, given his frequent trips to El Taco Loco when he was still in Mommy's bellly.

2. He constantly changes sleeping positions. Harmon is an octopus in his bed. His arms flail all over the place, and rarely does he end the night on his stomach. We often find his arms intertwined in his bed posts, and he has been known to completely switch ends of his bed during the night.

3. He is, in a word, orderly. Although the living room at the end of the day may show otherwise, Harmon loves order. He often lines his cars up in perfect rows, and if you accidentally kick one or nudge one out of place, hell hath no fury like jerking with Harmon's parking lot.

4. He appears to be a worrier. Mommy worries about everything, and often Harmon does the same. They share the same brown eyes, as well as the real estate above -- a wrinkled brow. He mostly is a very happy baby, but there are times he is, like Mommy, concerned.

5. His eyes are Mommy's. As mentioned in No. 4, Harmon shares the same big, brown eyes as Aimee. Early on, when Harmon looked like Daddy, ate like Daddy, played like Daddy, he always shared the eyes with Mommy.

6. He hates to be alone. Like, Mommy, Harmon needs human contact. If you leave to go to another room, he often is only seconds behind. And, two of his favorite phrases of late are, "Where Mommy go?" or "Where Daddy go?" Even if we have been there, literally, the entire time he has.

7. He is shy. Harmon talks a big game, but often when he gets around other people he clams up. He is better with kids his age, and women (that's my boy!).

8. He loves to swing. As Grandma can attest, Harmon loves to go to the park. And swing. And swing. He used to like to go down the slides more than swing, but lately it has been swing, swing, swing. Daddy can't do it because of his motion sickness.

9. He dances and sings. And sings. And sings. From an early age, Harmon has loved to sing and dance. He sings all kinds of songs, from lullabies to nursery rhymes, and often dances to the same songs. He also loves to sing and dance to commercials. An early favorite was 800-588-2300, Empire! Now it is freecreditreport.com.

10. Last, but certainly not least, he LOVES to read. He basically has been reading from the day he was born, but every night we read four books to him, and he often goes into his room alone to read books. Mommy reads lots of books, too. Daddy is another story. As Mommy says, Daddy has a hard time making it through a brochure.

So, while Harmon is a lot like his Daddy, as you can read from this list, his is Mommy's boy, too.

Baseball and Ozzie

So far, baseball season has not been fun for me. The Tigers started 0-7, which was stunning, and although they’ve recovered and are just three games out of first place right now, it’s still aggravating. For a team that was supposed to score five billion runs this year, they can be SO frustrating to watch. They just give away at bats – GOD! They did that this weekend against the Twins and it was awful. After sweeping the Yankees, they turn around and get swept by the TWINS – WTF. God, the Twins, annoying. I told Kevin I would rather lose EVERY game to the White Sox than lose to the Twins! I think I feel this way because I secretly love Ozzie Guillen. I should HATE him and the White Sox. They are a division rival and they totally own my Tigers but I just can’t hate them – because of Ozzie.

I love that he speaks his mind, no matter what anyone says, and I love that he’s so entertaining. There are so few personalities in baseball these days and I think I like him so much because he DOES have a personality. His latest rant is awesome and I must say that I agree with him. The White Sox won the World Series in 2005 yet they still are treated like dog shit in Chicago. The Cubs haven’t won a damn thing in a billion years yet they are the toast of the town each and every year. Baseball can be all kinds of confusing!

FYI – My favorite Ozzie sound byte – click on “AUDIO: Pssh Please!”

Llama drama

Harmon has this book called Llama, Llama, Red Pajama. The gist of it is that this little llama has some separation/bedtime anxiety and is upset because his llama mama leaves his bedroom. He calls her and, when he she doesn’t come right away, he has a fit. When she finally does come to him, she says the following:

“Please stop all this llama drama and be patient for your mama.”

Kevin and I reference “llama drama” AT LEAST 5,469 times each day. Lately, it seems there is SO MUCH llama drama in our lives – whether if be of the family variety or the work variety. And, frankly, I am SO TIRED of all this llama drama.

Who's Your Tiger?

"Who's Your Tiger?" is an advertising slogan for the Detroit Tigers but, since I can't choose just one (I love them all), I'll have to choose my own LITTLE tiger. This is Harmon at the park this past Tuesday.


After not wanting anything to do with his baseball cap for a while, he saw I was wearing one and asked where his was. He then found it and wore it for the next few hours. Then, yesterday when he was with my parents, he wore it all day long. I think he saw that Papa had one on too and I think he noticed it kept the sun out of his eyes. Whatever the reason, I hope he keeps wearing that cap - he looks so cute!

And, just to make myself SO sad (he's gotten SO big), here he is the LAST time he wore a cap - October 2006. This particular day was a bad one - the Tigers lost the AL Central on the last day of the season by losing to the freakin' Royals!


Lastly, here is the FIRST time (June 2006) he ever donned the Old English D! God, so damn cute! I want to eat him up (and I want him to be that age again)!

Booty hurt, booty hurt!

Harmon is never shy about telling anyone about his ailments. If he has even the smallest boo-boo on his hand, or other body parts, he will point to it and tell you all about it five times a day. So, when he told us a few times over the weekend that "my booty hurts," we thought maybe it was just raw or that he had a slight diaper rash. Well, on Saturday he developed a small boil near the top of his little crack, and it kept getting harder and more red. He obviously was agitated by it as the weekend went on. We called the doctor and he wanted to see Harmon. There are a lot of "bugs" going around, and they wanted to make sure it was not something serious, like the Super Bug. The boil was coming to a head, so with Aimee and I helping to hold him down (it felt like we were riding a bull), the doctor drained it last night. Harmon cried so hard, but overall was a good patient. We have to keep an eye on the incision over the next few days to make sure it is healing OK. After wiping his tears, Harmon warmed up to a fire truck sticker from the nurse, and was back to his usual self by the time we hit the parking lot. He told us, "My booty feels better," and "I want to go to the park." He crashed hard about 8 last night, and as of 7:15 this morning, he was was still sawing logs.

Go fly a kite

Yesterday my parents took Harmon to Kensington Metropark to go kite flying. My Mom bought him this awesome jelly fish kite last April but, because the weather seems to ALWAYS suck on Wednesdays, she never got to fly it with him. The weather yesterday, though, was perfect for kite flying – 70s and very breezy.

He must have had a good time because he crashed in the car on the way home. Unfortunately, it was a little early for him to go to bed so he played and then couldn’t fall back asleep. I think he tossed and turned in bed until 10 p.m. – he must have been thinking about kite flying.

His fun continues today because, when he gets home from school, his Grandpa and Grandma will be waiting for him. Kevin’s parents will be here for the weekend and they are SO excited to spend time with Harmon. While Kevin’s Dad was here in February, Kevin’s Mom hasn’t seen Harmon since Christmas. I’m thinking there are going to be plenty of walks and trips to the park this weekend so I hope the weather cooperates.

With the grandparents in town, Kevin and I will get a little bit of a break. We’re planning to go to dinner at bd’s Mongolian Grill tomorrow before heading over to the U-M baseball game. It’s supposed to be sunny and 70 degrees at game time – perfect baseball weather. We’re also hoping this weekend will bring us lots of SLEEP. Sleep is SO underrated!

29 months

Today, Harmon is 29 months old. Kevin and I best describe things as steady. He is growing and always learning something new but we haven’t had any major milestones in the past month.

Now that it’s finally getting warmer, his love affair with the park has blossomed again. We’ve gone almost every day this past week until today when it was in the 40s and rainy. He has such simple demands – swings and slides!

When we’re INSIDE the house, we continue to work on potty training. He is wearing the Pampers Feel ‘n Learn training pants a lot when we’re at home and I think he’s getting the hang of it. We’re also starting to transition him into his booster seat and out of his high chair for meals. He seems ready, especially after having breakfast on the bar stool with my Mom last Wednesday, And, speaking of eating, he has been eating (and sleeping) a ton lately so we suspect he’s going through yet another growth spurt.

School has been going well, with the exception of four of Harmon’s older classmates moving up to the next “grade.” We were a little sad as these four kids have been with Harmon since he started at Annie’s but he seems fine with it. He has AWESOME teachers and he’ll see his old friends again soon, I’m sure. One thing we love so much about Harmon’s school is the art and the music. I have a binder full of all his art work (I swear we bring something home each week) and we always can tell when he’s had music time as he sings all night after we pick him up. His class recently learned to sing “Happy Birthday” so we put him to work singing to my Dad earlier this month. He loves to sing and will just sit and sing several songs on his own, all the way through. I hope his love for music continues to grow.

In addition to music, he also LOVES numbers. When I picked him up from school on Thursday, the teacher told me he went potty so he got to choose a sticker. He told her he wanted a #6 sticker and then showed her which one it was. She said she was so impressed because she had NO IDEA he knew all of his numbers (it’s nice to hear when you’re doing something right). He has magnetic numbers on the fridge that he loves to play with and has a numbers puzzle that he does a few times each night. He also loves his “Here Come the 123s” CD/DVD and he counts everything he can get his hands on. He likes his letters too and knows them almost as well but he’s really into the numbers. A typical boy, I guess.

The numbers puzzle is just one of several puzzles that he’s into lately. He also has letters, shapes, emergency vehicles and animals and he loves to play with all of them each night. He’s still into his cars as well as his Lego’s – some things are timeless.

One thing that has been very sweet to watch is the development of Harmon’s relationship with Isabel. He notices her so much more now and, now that she knows he’s not going to hurt her, she’ll let him come up to her and pet her. If she’s in a really good mood, they’ll even have a game of chase. He’s very gentle with her and she seems happy to have the attention. He’ll even go so far as to give her some of his Kix or Cheerios when he’s having breakfast. Food is such a strong bond!

Lastly, we’ve noticed that Harmon LOVES to dwell on his “booboos” FOREVER. If he gets a bump or a scratch, he will milk it for weeks! He loves the attention that accompanies a booboo, whether it’s in the form of some TLC or just a little Neosporin!

Jonesing for the ‘cheese

A few weeks ago, my parents took Harmon to Chuck E. Cheese's when they were with him on Wednesday. Side note: my Dad has been coming with my Mom for about the last two months due to the American Axle strike. Because there are no axles, his GM plant can’t build trucks so they’ve been shut down. He’s been out longer because of this strike than he was because of his own strike last fall. Come on, American Axle!

ANYWAY, since they took him that first time, he wants to go EVERY TIME he's with them now. And, the majority of the time, he gets his way and they go. He IS their first grandchild so naturally they’ve got a soft spot for him.

Kevin and I are more than happy to let Nana and Papa handle the Chuck E. Cheese's duties – we HATE that place. It’s not so much that it’s loud and crazy. It’s simply that the pizza there is GOD AWFUL and we hate to blow our pizza allowance (we must limit ourselves, we could eat pizza every damn day) on Chuck E. Cheese's pizza. The ONLY saving grace for that place is that it serves Diet Coke.

Harmon does love it, though. I’m just hoping this love will fade so that, when it’s time, we don’t have to host any birthday parties there. There are so many OTHER cool places in Ann Arbor. Plus, I think I would feel bad making people eat that pizza (gag)!

Three parks and Ferry Field

We FINALLY had good weather this past weekend and we took full advantage of it. On Saturday, we went for a long walk to and through Arborland Mall (with stops at Toys R Us and Borders for Harmon) and then went to the park by our house – Sylvan Park – on the way home. The park was renovated recently and is much nicer (and I anticipate many stops there in the coming months). It was a gorgeous day and it was so nice to finally be out of the house.

Sunday was even nicer (albeit windy) and, again, we spent most of it outside. We started the day at Ferry Field and Harmon ran around on the infield of the track as well as the long jump lanes. There was a softball game going on as well as a random cook-out near the Academic Center so the place was pretty busy. After he was tired of simply RUNNING, we stopped by Burns Park (one of Harmon’s favorites) and the playground at Allen Elementary School. We then headed home, took another long walk that included a trip to Hiller’s to get some dinner to grill and then finished with another stop at Sylvan Park. After dinner and just a short time of playing, Harmon crashed hard around 8:30 p.m. All that fresh air over the weekend just knocked him out!

I keep checking the 10-day forecast to see if we have indeed turned the corner and I think we have. It was a LONG winter and we are more than happy to make up for it and take Harmon to as many parks as his little heart desires!

Potty in public

While Harmon’s doing pretty well with the potty training at home (and at Nana and Papa’s house), he had yet to go potty in public. We FINALLY coaxed him into going #1 at Twelve Oaks Mall after his haircut on March 15. And then, last week, while we were having dinner at Pizza House, he asked twice to go potty. I took him the first time and he again went #1. Kevin took him the second time and they were gone for literally five hours. When they returned, though, there was good news – he had gone #2. So, I think we’re taking another step in this whole potty training adventure. It’s hard to believe that the first time he went on his little potty chair was last August. It doesn’t seem like that much time has gone by but I do hope he’s fully trained by THIS August.

Opening Day 2008

Opening Day 2008 turned into a father-son day for Daddy and Harmon. Aimee was able to go to the real Opening Day at Comerica Park with Stacey, so that left the boys of the house to hang out. Harmon made it perfectly clear that he wanted to go to the Tigers' game, relaying his feelings just minutes after Aimee had left the driveway:

Harmon: "I want to go bye-bye."
Daddy: "Where?"
Harmon: "The baseball game. I am going to get my coat ..."

Well, we obviously did not end up going, but we had fun, nonetheless. After playing with cars and cards and noo-noos (Legos), Harmon took about an hour nap, waking up just before first pitch. After watching said first pitch, he jumped in the stroller and we walked to Subway to grab lunch. Harmon loved being outdoors again (seems like years). He saw all the birds out hunting worms (like the Robin in the Rain), and every large truck within three blocks ("Ohhhh, big fruck.") After returning home, we watched a few innings and Harmon made it clear where Mommy was, all day: "Mommy's at the baseball game."

After playing some more in the house, Harmon said many times that he wanted to go back outside. But the stroller was no longer an option. He wanted to walk, so we went to the renovated park down the street and took a long walk around the block. Save for the few times he fell down in the mud (he made it seem like an accident; I am not so sure :-)), he chugged his little legs the whole way.

When Aimee got home, it was still in the 50s, so we decided to walk and get some dinner at Noodles and Company. Food was good, but a bad decision. Rain had been threatening all day, and while we were ordering food, the skies opened up and we were five blocks from home with Harmon in his stroller and no umbrella.

We made it home wet, but OK, and after dinner, Harmon crashed hard from all of his walking. He has barely moved, but I am sure he is dreaming about his next baseball game.

No, no, no baby

Since we’ve been thinking about baby #2, we often ask Harmon’s opinion on the matter. Today, while he was on the potty, he and Kevin had the following conversation:

Kevin: Hey, Harmon, do you want a brother?

Harmon: No, no brother.

Kevin: What about a sister?

Harmon: No, no sister. I want a cat.

Priceless! We can’t have a cat because I’m allergic so it’s too bad for the little guy. In a follow-up to that conversation, it appears he would be happy with a puppy dog, a fish or a turtle so that’s a good thing. We do hope, however, that he’ll eventually be able to deal with a HUMAN!

Belated Easter blog entry

This year, for the first time since 2005, we stayed in Michigan for Easter. And, what a Michigan Easter it was – complete with six freakin’ inches of snow. Needless to say, with all that snow we decided NOT to take Harmon to the Domino's Petting Farm Easter Egg Hunt. A co-worker of mine took his son and said it was a TRUE hunt. Evidently, the eggs were dispersed before the snow fell so a lot of hunting had to be done to find them. Although Harmon didn’t get to attend the outdoor hunt, my parents and sister, Stacey, set up an indoor hunt in their family room. They hid a bunch of eggs with Matchbox cars in them and Harmon had an awesome time finding them and then opening them up. In addition to the hunt, they went a little overboard (as usual) with the bunny and the gifts. We held off a bit on the gifts in anticipation of him getting so much from everyone else. He got some Magna-Tiles, a new book that he loves, some new Keen sandals and some other spring/summer clothing. We thought about getting him a sandbox but decided to hold off on that for a while.

All in all, Easter was a good time. We had an awesome dinner at Nana and Papa’s house, including my Uncle Max’s awesome twice-baked potatoes. And, Harmon got to hang out with his second cousin, Trent. It’s all good as long as Trent doesn’t try to take Harmon’s cars.

Me time

After fighting off some big-time guilty feelings, I took last Thursday off (and sent Harmon to school) so I could watch some March Madness. As Kevin will attest, I’m not much one for “me time” but that day was NICE! I got up like a usual Thursday and did my part getting Harmon ready and out of the house and then, after he and Kevin left, I went back to sleep for another two hours. Once I woke up, I spent a WHOLE INTERRUPTED HOUR on the internets before getting in my time on the treadmill. I then ate a leisurely lunch and watched basketball for HOURS on the 50-inch plasma. Although I shouldn’t have been tired, I did fall asleep on the couch. I blame it on the couch – it’s just too comfortable. I did manage to do some laundry and get dinner started but, for the most part, it was a full day of “me time” and it was awesome!

Michigan football R.I.P.

I will miss going to Michigan football games with Aimee this fall. It was fun while it lasted, but I think we all knew this day would come. March 19, 2008, will go down in infamy as the day Michigan shut down its football program. No reason to go on, right? I mean, after all, the most wins and highest winning percentage in college football history have been wiped out by the words of an 18-year-old phenom, who, as is his right, wanted to play instead for "the University of Ohio State," wherever that is. I am sure the University of Michigan will survive as a great academic institution, and 20 years from now a father and son will walk by the ruins that are Michigan Stadium and Dad will say, "Son, I remember when they used to play football in there." They will then share coffee in the world's largest Starbucks. I am just sorry Harmon never got a chance to experience Michigan football. Coach Rod gave it a great run, but it is a shame he never got to coach a game here. Well, at least we go out with a 9-game winning streak over Penn State, and Notre Dame is back where it belongs as our little b---h. Ah, memories. We hardly knew ya, Blue!

Spring preview weekend?

Last Friday was a GORGEOUS day – the nicest one so far in 2008 – so Harmon and I headed for campus. We played outside on Ingalls Mall for a good long time before visiting Kevin at work. EVERYONE at Kevin’s work is in love with Harmon and he just eats it up. The floors in Kevin’s building are set up so that Harmon can do laps around all the cubes and he did just that, about 100 times.

Kevin was able to skip out a few minutes early and then we all went for a nice, long walk. We stopped along the way at Lexi’s Toybox and Borders (to get yet another book for Harmon) and ended the walk at Pizza House for dinner. It was a perfect way to start what I hope is spring, although there’s a wintry mix going on outside right now (damn).

On Saturday, we drove up to Novi to go to Twelve Oaks Mall as Harmon was due for a haircut. He can make it about 5-6 weeks before the hair starts to grow down over his ears. We LOVE his buzzcut but often wonder what he would look like with longer hair. I guess we’ll find out when he’s 16! He was a very good boy during his haircut – I think the frequency of his cuts is getting him used to the whole thing.

Sunday was relaxing – errands and lots of playing – and yesterday, Kevin and I switched schedules and really messed with Harmon’s mind. When Kevin was home with him in the morning, he asked him where I was and he replied “probably at work.” When I was home with him in the afternoon, reading in his room, he gave me a hug and said “I’m so glad you’re here, Mommy!” God, I love him so much I just want to eat him up!

28 months

The other day, someone at work asked me how old Harmon was and I said, “oh, he’ll be 28 months next week.” As it was coming out of my month, I thought I should probably just say he’s almost 2 1/2. I guess I’m still holding on to the baby inside. He’s definitely not a baby anymore, though.

He’s getting used to the potty routine and is excited about underwear. The last time we were at Target, we looked at the underwear and he loved the ones with Spiderman and Cars. He has some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse underwear that my Mom bought him for his birthday but I need to make sure he hasn’t outgrown them. He often asks for Backyardigans underwear but I don’t even know if those exist. I guess I should figure that out. ANYWAY, he’s going a lot at school and we’re noticing he’s just going #1 overnight so there is progress. We are, however, still waiting for him to go in a public place. Baby steps.

I have no clue how much he weighs (my guess is high 30s) but we did measure him last week and he was 36 ¼ inches tall. Still a big boy. Generally, he’s been well behaved. After introducing and using the time-out corner early in January, he hasn’t had to visit there in a while. His favorite word lately has been “no” and that’s kind of a bummer. We’re trying to get him to use it only when appropriate instead of ALL THE TIME!

He still loves his books. Actually, we just can’t believe how much he still loves his books. I recently re-organized the bookshelf in his bedroom to give him full access to all of his books. He’s been choosing a good variety to read during the day and at bedtime so he must like it. Instead of toys all the time, we usually get him books. Sometimes I feel like we live at Borders!

Lately, he’s said some pretty funny things. We took Kevin out to lunch last Friday and, while Kevin and I were talking, he grabs us both and yells, “no Mommy and Daddy talk!” If Kevin looks at him wrong or, God forbid, dances, Harmon protests with “no Daddy look” or “no Daddy dance.” Sentences just flow from his mouth and we never know what’s going to come out. We also have to be really careful because he repeats EVERYTHING.

He is DYING to get to the park so I’m hoping spring is on its way. And, since we’re staying in Michigan this year for Easter, we’re hoping it will be warm enough to take him to a local Easter egg hunt that has gotten rave reviews from my co-workers. If he doesn’t score anything at the hunt, he’ll still get some goodies. We got him some Magna-Tiles and probably will get him a sandbox to play in during the summer. I’m sure he’ll get spoiled by everyone else too.

One last thing, Harmon loves PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!



Actually, we all love it and who knew it was a staple of Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball.

Out.

Harmon the lumberjack

On Saturday, when I was walking on the treadmill, I saw an ad for a new TV series on the History Channel, "Ax Men," about loggers in the Pacific Northwest. Ask Aimee, and she will tell you that I love these types of shows (reality/documentary). "Deadliest Catch" was a favorite, although I never made it through a full season. Anyway, I had planned to watch the premiere last night, but then realized I had already seen a show about lumberjacks. In fact, we see it every day. Or, to be more precise, we hear it every day. You see, Harmon is a big snorer just like his Daddy. He can saw logs with the best of them, and we often can hear him through the wall and closed door of his bedroom. We know it is not his fault, as his tonsils have been enlarged of late. On Sunday, we decided to take a family nap. We usually are able to do this one day per weekend. As we got Harmon snuggled up in our bed -- using the tried and true black panther method -- he immediately began to snore. And it was LOUD! We tried moving him on his back; same thing. One his side; still snoring. I guess we just get used to it after a while, but I really feel sorry for Aimee. She has had to deal with my snoring for seven years, and now Harmon is chiming in, as well.

We just totally ripped him off!

Back in the fall, I got this cool sweatshirt from Russell Crowe’s rugby team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs. I love Russell Crowe anyway so this wasn’t a stretch – especially after his September visit to the Big House. But, I got a little more interested in the whole rugby thing after watching the South Sydney Story documentary on TV (I’m ashamed to say it was on Versus).

Anyway, I ordered the sweatshirt and it arrived and I loved it and wore it non-stop. And then, just a few days later, ANOTHER one came. WTF? I wasn’t sure if we would get double-billed so I kept it in its original packaging with all receipts and tags attached so it would be ready to go back down under if necessary. But, months have come and gone and we’ve never been billed for the second sweatshirt. So, we think it’s kind of funny that we got over on Russell for a whole $82.22. As Beavis and Butthead would say, we just totally ripped him off!

ADDENDUM: The second sweatshirt still has the tags on it and still is in the original packaging. I would return it if it didn’t cost a million dollars to send it back to Australia. And, I have to ask, why should I have to pay for their merchandise fulfillment mistake? Maybe wearing the original sweatshirt around town is worth $82 of publicity.

Cartoons

In case Harmon asks me one day what his favorite cartoons were when he was little, I've got it covered. I’ve been meaning to document this, via blog, so here goes!

Before I start, though, one quick side note. Back when Kevin and I were kids, cartoons were only on Saturday mornings, not every damn day! And, we walked five miles - each way - to school, uphill, in 18 inches of snow ...

ANYWAY, right now, Harmon’s cartoon viewing falls into three tiers:

Tier One – Must-see toddler TV
Tier Two – Maintains a general interest
Tier Three – Likes it for a bit and then it quickly becomes background noise

Tier One contains Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He can’t live without these and, thankfully, Kevin and I aren't annoyed by either of them so it all works out nicely. And, with Handy Manny, there’s the added bonus of Harmon picking up some Spanish, which we think is so important these days.

In Tier Two are Little Einsteins, My Friends Tigger & Pooh and the Backyardigans. He loves to name all the Little Einstein characters with our favorite being, as he says, Pency (it’s really Quincy). He likes the songs on Tigger & Pooh along with all the complimentary characters. On Monday afternoons, Kevin lets him watch the Backyardigans and he’s all excited for half of it and then … it’s on to cars AND the tube!

Tier Three includes Blues Clues, Wonder Pets and Yo Gabba Gabba. He likes each of these for about two minutes and then he finds something better to do. He will point out the paw-print clues and sing the Wonder Pets theme song and he loves some of the songs – like There’s a Party in my Tummy and Hold Still Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle – from Yo Gabba Gabba. But, if these cartoons suddenly were cancelled, I don’t think he would care at all.

Every so often, if Harmon gets up WAY earlier than usual (anytime before 7 a.m.), one of us will have to find Curious George or Clifford the Big Red Dog on Detroit Public TV. This is our emergency plan so we can get ready for work. He’s familiar with these cartoons but they don’t rock his world.

Two shows he doesn’t like, and frankly neither do we, are the Wiggles and the Doodlebops. Both shows freak the hell out of all of us. I don’t know if it’s grown-ass people dressing up or what but we’re not fans at all. We much prefer animation but, if grown-ass people in costumes ARE necessary, we prefer they be in FULL costumes instead of fruity outfits, wigs and face paint. Call us crazy!

Sound bytes

Harmon has been so funny lately. Here are some recent sound bytes from him:

Monday morning at breakfast, after looking at all of the Valentine’s Day cards posted on our card rack:

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mommy!”

Last Friday at Target:

“Oh my gosh, careful, Mommy, don’t fall down!”


Last Sunday when I was putting on his puffy vest:

“HAPPY HALLOWEEN!”

NOTE: He hadn’t worn this vest since Halloween day (what a good memory).

Last week after I got out of the shower (please note I was fully covered by a huge towel):

“I see Mommy’s booty!”

Last week when Kevin brought me a brownie square after dinner:

“What’s that?” I answered chocolate and he then said, with hands placed softly at his chest, “Well I like chocolate!”

At totally random times, if he’s sad, he’ll say things like “Harmon is sad” or “Harmon is upset.” He also loves to say “I’ll go back to bed” if he’s not getting what he wants.

We never know what's going to come out of his mouth!

Valentine’s Day redux

Valentine’s Day was fun and Harmon finally had a holiday fall on one of his school days. So, he was able to give and receive treats. We put together small gift bags with cards, stickers and packages of mini M&Ms for Harmon’s 12 classmates. In exchange for what he gave, he received Valentine gifts from seven of his friends – with everything from cards to Play-Doh to mini tattoos.

Kevin and I exchanged a few small things. I got him a cool hoodie (in crisp green) from Gap and Harmon gave him a certificate to buy a new Nintendo Wii game. Kevin got me perfume, a dozen gorgeous peachy/orangey roses and a gift to be named later and Harmon got me a personalized $25 Starbucks card (note the message he put on it and note that it's orange – love that orange – in person). Speaking of Starbucks, and thanks to Kevin, every time we leave the house together Harmon says we’re going to Starbucks to get Mommy a Frappuccino!

Since he is spoiled beyond belief, we only got Harmon a few small things for Valentine’s Day. The best gift, though, was the “Here Come the 123s” CD/DVD from They Might Be Giants. We’ve seen a few of the “videos” between cartoons on the Disney Channel and he loves them so we thought we would get the whole CD/DVD. And, it is a total hit. He loves it so much and we like it too. Although it’s kids’ stuff, so many of the songs have great beats or catchy tunes and we find ourselves singing them all the time. Take “Zeroes” for example! I dare you NOT to sing it!

For dinner, we decided to eat at our favorite restaurant, Pizza House. It was a good time, mostly because Harmon was hungry as a horse. It’s nice to eat out when he’s like this, we don’t have to beg, pretend to cry or threaten him with the black panther to get him to eat!

The day ended with the nicest present of all – Harmon let me rock him to sleep. Usually, after we’re done reading, he just wants to go straight to bed. But, last Thursday, he let me hold him until he fell asleep just like when he was a baby. What a Valentine’s Day!

27 months

Today is Harmon’s 27-month birthday and, each month, it just gets more fun. It also gets more interesting as there’s always something new.

Recently, we moved him from the potty chair to the toilet and that seems to be going well. Just in case he tells us he has to go when we’re out, we bought a portable seat that folds nicely and fits in his diaper bag. We haven’t tried it yet but I suspect it will be an event when we do. As I mentioned here, he’s also making some potty progress at school so it’s good all around as far as the potty goes.

Speaking of school, since returning after the holiday break, his drop-offs have been great. As Kevin has noticed, he likes to walk up the stairs but then prefers that we carry him into the room. At this point, he gets down and is off on his way. One sad thing about school, though. Harmon’s lead teacher, Miss Deborah, has left. Harmon’s last day with her was last Thursday. He’s been with Miss Deborah almost the entire time he’s been at Annie’s as she assisted the lead teacher in his previous class. We all will miss her but we understand. She is a musician and wants to follow her dreams. Until she makes her next move, though, she will stop by Annie’s every other Thursday for music time with the kids. In Miss Deborah’s absence, Miss Laura – who Harmon just loves – will move into the lead teacher role.

At home, he’s really been into drawing on his Aqua Doodle lately. He asks us to draw lots of shapes, letters and numbers and then he tries to copy. He’s got the oval mastered! He also asks us to draw cars, dump trucks, garbage trucks, etc. but Kevin and I are both terrible at it. I hope he doesn’t try to copy those!

He continues to devour any book we buy him. His newest favorites are Bossy Bear (which was bought intentionally to teach a lesson), Walter the Farting Dog, Buzzy the Bumblebee and Have You Ever Seen a Moose Taking a Bath? If he sees a cute animal in these books, or in any of his books, he says “awwwww” and then gives the book a HUGE hug. It’s so sweet.

He still loves his cars and can’t go anywhere without at least one in each hand. He also continues to show his softer side with his love for his stuffed animals, especially his snow leopard.

Health-wise, he’s been fine with the exception of a day care cold here and there. We did take him to see the doctor last week as his tonsils – especially his right one – were enlarged. Since he had no other symptoms that were out of the ordinary, the doctor assumed he was just fighting something off which could cause the tonsils to swell. The doctor asked us if he snores and we said, oh my God, yes! As an aside, in church last week he fell asleep and was snoring SO loud. It was a little embarrassing. ANYWAY, the doctor said just to keep an eye on things and also told us that it’s very rare to remove tonsils these days. I was glad to hear that – I don’t think I could handle him having any kind of surgery at this point.

All in all, he is doing well and we are so blessed to have such a smart, happy and healthy 27-month old!

Potty at school

I meant to post this last week when it happened but totally forgot. Last Tuesday (Feb. 5), Harmon used the potty at school! It was the first time he's gone at school and we are so proud of him. Evidently, he was pretty proud of himself too because he talked about it all damn day (per his daily activities sheet at left).

He's been going at home on a semi-consistent basis since the Christmas break. I think he was hesitant to go at school because his teachers likely won't spend 45 minutes reading 20 books while he sits there (like we had been doing). Recently, though, we moved him from the potty to the real toilet (with the adapted seat) and cut out the books. He seems to go faster now and maybe that's why he went at school. Whatever the reason, we were glad there was some progress.

His teachers have told us that most of the kids in his class are using the potty consistently now and, while he's not there yet, this can only benefit him. We also need to keep in mind that he is THE youngest kid in his class so we just can't expect him to do what all the older kids are doing. As with most things, it will all come in time.

The power of persuasion

Most 2-year-olds get what they want. Some do it with just a smile; others cry for hours until they are satisfied. Harmon is a simple toddler. Don't get me wrong, he can charm the best of them with that smile, and he does throw a mean tantrum. But, Harmon usually gets what he wants -- simply by asking.

His favorite phrase of late is "How about (Mommy or Daddy) does ... (fill in the activity)." This morning while I was getting ready for work, Harmon wanted me to read him one of his new books. So, he went into his room, grabbed the book and then grabbed me by the finger, looked at me with those big brown eyes and softly asked, "How about Daddy reads this on the couch." So, off we went to the couch and took part in Harmon's favorite pastime -- reading.

Harmon's "How about ... " came about a month or so ago. While we were training him to sleep in his new toddler bed, he kept getting up -- sometimes four or five times per night. So, one night I decided to sit in the room and watch to make sure he did not get up. It worked, and now Harmon is down with having Daddy in the room as he drifts off to sleep. After we tuck him in, and he lays his little head down, the suggestion comes out like clockwork: "How about Daddy sits there."

The requests come in many other forms. When he wants to be held: "How about Mommy holds you" (see this entry for an explanation of his pronoun confusion), or when he wants to go play with his trains: "How about Mommy and Daddy go downstairs." You are a persuasive little fella, Harmon, but you don't have to ask us, "How about Mommy and Daddy love me always." You had us at "How about ... "

Scare tactics

Sometimes, with a two-year old, you just have to do what you have to do – even if you resort to scare tactics.

Early on, Harmon was deathly afraid of this bouncing Tigger that my parents have at their house. When you push him down, he yells “I’m gonna’ bounce” and then he starts bouncing. Harmon actually was OK until Tigger started bouncing toward him and then it was all over. He likes all other forms of Tigger – at Toys R Us and even on TV (damn Tigger and Pooh) – but this particular Tigger has always freaked him out. Over the weekend, we were at my parents’ house and we brought Tigger out again to see if things have gotten any better. Harmon is cordial now but they’re definitely not BFF!

Since he’s warming to Tigger a bit, we’ve had to introduce another big cat to scare him with – the black panther. One random day before the holidays, he was doing something I didn’t want him to do and I simply blurted “you don’t want the black panther to get you, do you?” Ever since then, it has stuck! For his birthday, he received “Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?” and there is a black panther on a page of that book (scanned image above) to make it all the more real. When he gets to that page, it reads “black panther, black panther, what do you see?” and, instead of reading the proper response, Harmon says “I see Harmon’s legs!” Kevin and I die – we must tell him all too often that the panther is going to eat his legs!

We use the black panther a lot, mostly to get Harmon to eat. If he’s being a good boy, we’ll tell him the black panther is at Charlie’s house (Charlie is one of his friends from school). I recently found the cutest black panther stuffed animal and sent the link to Kevin. He said that getting Harmon a cute and cuddly black panther would make us lose our edge. Amen to that - the mythical black panther lives on!

In the car

A ride in the car with Harmon lately has been pretty interesting for the following three reasons:

1. As soon as we are on the move, he yanks off his hat and gloves and tosses them back over his shoulder into the “trunk” area. Of course, it takes us forever to find them – especially if it’s dark outside – and, thus, takes forever for us to re-bundle him and get him out of the car. He takes great pleasure in a really good toss and LOVES to tell us all about it.

2. If it’s dark outside, he absolutely HATES for us to turn on the interior lights. He frets “turn the light off” relentlessly until we oblige.

3. No matter where we’re going or what kind of mood he is in, he simply cannot handle Kevin EVER leaving the car. Even if he’s just getting gas and is IN PLAIN VIEW, Harmon has a meltdown (see photo for evidence) and cries “Daddy comes back” until he returns. Kevin claims he does something similar when I leave the car but it can’t possibly compare to what happens when Kevin leaves.

Clean chiclets

Today was Harmon’s first dentist appointment. Apparently, I missed the memo that his first appointment was supposed to take place at age one – I’m only a year behind.

We were OK with waiting because he only drinks milk and water (he’s never been a juice fan, other than a little cran-apple when he’s not feeling well) and he pretty much hates all sweets. He uses a straw sippy cup and never slept with his bottle or anything like that.

So, the outcome was a good one – he’s got clean chiclets. The exam, however, was a little rough. The hygienist used the polisher to clean his teeth – which he hated – and then she used a regular toothbrush for a quick fluoride treatment – which he hated even more. It’s funny that he hated the toothbrush part when we’ve been doing it twice a day since he sprouted those choppers! After a quick flossing, the dentist came in for a look. Everything was fine and she recommended keeping up the good work. He’ll go back again in six months, just like a grown up!

Pacing the halls

This video has been in the camera for a while, as you can tell. In it, Harmon shows off his early wheels.

Voice of Victor(y)

If there is one thing Harmon loves to do more than even reading, it is singing! Here, he sings the greatest fight song in the world.



He's been singing this song since last summer (with help from my cell phone ring tone) but this is the first time we've caught it on camera!

Harmon caught in bed with ...

... A BOOK! God, this kid loves books. So much so that he gets up in the total darkness of night and manages to locate his "counking book" and then falls asleep with it.

Tonight, Kevin thought he was asleep so he took the book out of his bed. Bad decision! He was NOT asleep so he starting crying for it and we gave it back to him. I swear he was snoring within seconds!

I'm glad he loves to read and this book has paid dividends. He's counting everything in sight and can count 1 to 20 in English and 1 to 10 in Spanish.

Reading is good.

27-game plan!

On Thursday, my sisters, parents and I sealed the deal on a 27-game plan for the 2008 Detroit Tigers’ season. With tickets selling like hotcakes, we weren’t hopeful that we would get ANYTHING when single-game tickets go on sale March 1. So, we decided to split up the 27 games between the four of us and then, if we want to go to any additional games, we’ll have to go it alone. We decided on the Saturday plan mostly because that day is the most convenient day for all of us and, now that Harmon is a little bit older, I’m not too worried about keeping him up late every once in a while.

Now that we’re “in,” we really can’t wait for the season to start! Go Tigers!