Simon @ 35 months

Today, Simon is one month shy of being three. Where did the last three years go?!?! While he did come second, I maintain he has a third teacher in Harmon and much better parents. I’m better simply because I haven’t been pregnant from ages 2 to 3 like I was with Harmon. I remember TRYING to play with Harmon while Simon was roundhouse kicking me and I’m going to say that Simon has a much better deal going on at this age.

This month, there were two pretty big events. First, we woke up one day and realized that Simon basically potty-trained himself. Sure he’s been sitting on the potty since he was just about 1 ½ but the rest has really been him. BOTH boys were great going #2 on the potty but #1 took some work, especially with Harmon. I remember thinking some days that Harmon was NEVER going to get it. But, with Simon, he just did it. He even got to the point recently where he wanted to pee standing up all the time. We told him we would try but wouldn’t go full-on until he got better at aiming! He’s rarely had an accident of any kind and he hasn’t required a lot of bribing either. Maybe a few M&Ms here or there. Harmon loved stickers and would do anything for one. Simon doesn’t really want to deal. He would just rather get it over with and get back to what he was doing - no bribe necessary. He is still in a pull-up at night and probably will be for a bit longer but, for the most part, we’re starting to wonder just what we’ll do one day WITHOUT A DIAPER BAG!!!

The second event was basically the death of “Babo.” Since Simon was old enough to talk, he called Harmon “Babo” - short for big brother. This month, though, he just started calling him Harmon. It was like he woke up one morning and decided it was going to be Harmon from now on, no more “Babo.” And he’s not reverted back at all. Everything is Harmon this, Harmon that. We’ll sometimes slip up and say “Babo” and he looks at us like we’re crazy. All good things must come to an end ...

Bowling

A few weeks ago, Kevin was insistent that he wanted to plan a Saturday for us. This was music to my ears as this job typically falls to me. He told us nothing, other than what time to be ready and, at that time, we headed out. We had some errands to run first so we did that and then ended up … at the bowling alley. I can’t tell you how excited the boys were!

Kevin had gone recently for a work outing and thought the boys would have fun and he was right! Sure, we put up the bumpers and Simon used a ramp and Harmon basically dented our lane with his bowling ball but it was so much fun! Kevin beat me by just a couple of points - something I wasn’t real happy about - and Harmon came in dead last (he didn’t have the help of the ramp) - something he wasn’t happy about. I wonder where he gets his competitiveness?!?!

After bowling, we grabbed lunch at home and then headed to the Franklin Cider Mill - the cider mill I grew up going to (and my favorite). The boys got their donuts on and I drank way too much cider. We then hit up a few parks on the way home too, just to complete the day. It was a good day, a fun day, and it made me think that maybe, just maybe, Kevin should plan things more often!

Papparazzi

My friend Alec says he’s never seen children photographed quite as much as ours. And, to drive home his point, we have more than 3,800 photos on our Flickr page. So, when the time comes to get “official” photos of the boys, you would think it would be no big deal. But, it is! Harmon is actually easy. You tell him to smile, he does, click, great pic. And, together, they’re usually pretty good. Sometimes, though, Harmon will get Simon going and then we’ll have to intervene and start all over. So, the wild card here is Simon. He’s either “all in” or “all out.”

Well, my sister, Stacey, kindly agreed to chase them around again this year for their official 6YO and 3YO photos, with an assist from Nana. We chose Island Park in Ann Arbor as the backdrop simply because of THIS PICTURE. I know it was October, not January but still … ANYWAY, I think they turned out great and here’s a sampling:

All this picture taking got Harmon ready for this first official school photo just a few days later. I hope those turned out just as well!

Elusive monkey bars

When I was in grade school, I fell - back first - from the very top of the spiderweb monkey bars. Although there are some memories that are fuzzy after my car accident years ago, THAT memory is not one of them. I still can remember the fall as well as how much it hurt AND how I could not breath.

Well, Harmon decided to follow in my footsteps today. He attempted to swing across the monkey bars … and didn’t quite make it. The teachers relayed to Kevin that, aside from not being breath for a short time, he was just fine. No scratches, marks, bumps or bruises. I’m guessing he might steer clear of those monkey bars for a while, though. I’m also guessing he’ll remember THAT fall when he’s in his 30s!

Big boy bed for Simon!

Simon never liked his pack and play. We tried to keep him in our room in that thing for the first few weeks and he was miserable. He simply hated it. So, around 8 weeks or so, we moved him into his crib and he SLEPT LIKE A BABY (haha)!

We converted that crib to a toddler bed when he turned 2 and he slept just fine in that as well, until recently. We started noticing around Labor Day that he was VERY restless and he kept waking up early almost every day. He is a big kid so we thought maybe he just didn’t have enough room in his bed anymore.

We originally planned to move him to his full bed around his birthday but, as always, he had other plans. We had ordered his mattress and box spring back in August (to be delivered Oct. 14) so we decided to try to get everything done before then. We sent the boys to spend the night with Nana and Papa and while they were gone we cleaned, painted and rearranged Simon’s room. We had it all prepped and ready to go and just a few minutes after the delivery guys left, we unveiled it to him and got this reaction:

So far, he loves it! He is sleeping great again and using every square inch of that bed while doing so. He’s such a big boy now!

PBJ v. PBH

I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The more peanut butter, the better and, if it's CRUNCHY peanut butter, wow! I also like me some strawberry (grape is my second choice) jelly to go with it. When Harmon was just a little over 2, we gave him PBJ for the first time and, now, almost 4 years later, he is perfectly happy to have a PBJ every single day.

Now, Simon, not so much. We tried it a few times when he was a little over 2 and he was not into it at all. But, one day, Kevin, being a peanut butter and HONEY kind of guy, decided to make Simon one of THOSE sandwiches instead. And, now, a few months later, HE would gladly eat one of those every single day. It's kind of funny that they each took after one of us with the whole peanut butter accoutrement!

Simon's first trip to the Big House

Unlike his brother’s FIRST trip or his game just a week ago, Simon’s first game was COLD and against Minnesota - not a good combo! Just plain cold. He was bundled in three layers and then added his fleece and Michigan hat. Just like he did with me and Harmon a week earlier, Kevin dropped us at the corner of Main and Stadium and we entered at that gate.

Simon was shocked by all the people but was focused on his mission - food. Just like big brother, he wanted a hot dog so that’s what we got (and also a soft - I use that word loosely - pretzel). He ate and watched and was mesmerized by the scoreboards. He listened to the band and cheered a very lazy “The Victors!” While I think he had fun, he didn’t seem to have as much fun as Harmon did at the same age. I assume he’ll get more into it as he gets older. Towards the end of the half, he got really antsy so we decided to leave. Because it was so cold, we decided to meet Kevin on one of the side streets near the stadium instead of walking around and taking pictures. It was an OK debut for Simon - Michigan got the win - and, if nothing else, I hope he’ll want to go again next year.

More L and SW combinations

It's well documented that Ls are hard for Simon and, while Ss and Ws are fine alone, the combo really throws him. For documentation purposes, here are a few more words to add to his list:

Fweatshirt - Sweatshirt
Fwings - Swings
Wiberty - Liberty (our Jeep Liberty, specifically)
Wowwipop - Lollipop

I'm sure he'll love hearing about this when he gets older ...

Simon @ 34 months

Almost 3 going on almost 6. Simon, no doubt, thinks he's Harmon's age. At times, we feel like he was never really a baby. Since he's been mobile, he's only wanted to do what his brother does. We've tried to slow things down but it just doesn't work.

This past month, though, has been faster than usual. We've been using the high chair less and less over the summer and, finally, we decided to boot it out of the kitchen. He's been just fine at the table at home and, most of the time, he's fine at the table when we're out. In those cases, though, the mere MENTION of getting a high chair usually shapes him up pretty quick.

At school, he moved to a new room - the Lightning Bug room. This is a room where they learn A LOT of independence and they actually start leaving the building to go on field trips. They are learning the fine art of "holding the rope" in preparation for these big outings.

And, speaking of school, Simon now gets a lot of one-on-one time with Mom and Dad while Harmon is at kindergarten. Tuesdays and Fridays have a whole new look and we're finally starting to get used to spending time with just him. One thing we've noticed, he's perfectly well behaved and there's almost no screaming when he's alone. And while we thought he would really miss his "Babo," he's only really mentioned him a couple of times. I think he's digging the attention.

He no longer lets me rock him so, right after we read 3-4 books, he climbs in his bed and we tuck him in. We had to stay with Harmon (mostly to ensure he didn't get up and start playing), but we don't have to do that with Simon. He usually settles himself down and gets off to dreamland within a few minutes. He doesn't sleep late much anymore, though, and I think it's because his toddler bed is getting much too small. If he moves down at night, even a bit, he bumps his feet on the railings so we don't think he's sleeping all that well. To deal with this, October will be the month when we move him into his full-size bed. We got a bed that converts from a crib to a full and we're going to make the move. He has been napping in Harmon's bed to get used to it and he is VERY excited about the whole deal. He just can't stop talking about it!

The biggest news, though, is the stellar potty skills he has. He's been in underwear during the day (pull-up at night) and has been accident-free for almost two weeks now. Over the long Labor Day weekend, I told him I would give him two M&Ms if he told me when he had to go potty (and then went potty) and I feel like this was the turning point for him. Part of the time, though, he forgets to get his M&Ms! He's excited about this, excited about the underwear and, at school yesterday, he decided he wanted to pee standing up! This has been the last step in the process in OUR training so, quite frankly, we were stunned by this news. I know there will be setbacks but he is doing awesome and, if you allow me to compare, he's ahead of Harmon's pace.

He's doing wonderfully and we just wish he would slow down and let US enjoy it ... at least a LITTLE bit.

Harmon's 2011 trip to the Big House

While I had planned to take Harmon to the Eastern Michigan game, I was not about to take him up in the club seats. 5 years old and ALREADY up in the club - no way. So, Kevin and I did the club thing and, a week later, Harmon scored the San Diego State game.

It was a perfect day and Harmon was excited to get inside and see the new scoreboards. Kevin dropped us off at the corner of Main and Stadium and we headed in. On the way to our seats in Section 19 (which is awesome, for many reasons, including NEVER having a line to get in), we stopped to get him his food. He LOVES getting food and, this time, rocked a hot dog, popcorn and a bottle of water. He was really into the game and was cheering and yelling on his own most of the time. The people in the seats next to us never showed up so he had a nice seat cushion to sit on and a lot of room to move around.

With a few minutes to go in the half, though, he started asking me when the team was going to take their break and go into the tunnel. Then he started counting down the minutes. I could tell he was getting a little bored so we decided to leave at the half. I would rather have a half game of a good experience for him than a whole game of a bad experience.

On our way out, we visited our brick and got some pictures. Kevin and Simon met us outside the stadium and then we got even more pictures. Overall, a good day (and a win) and another fun trip to the Big House for Harmon.

Your hair looks like a rat's nest!

Both boys have hair that grows fast and so they need haircuts every 5-6 weeks. We have a woman who has been cutting Harmon's hair since he was one and we've followed her to four different salons in the metro area but, sometimes, it gets to be too much. So, while we aren't leaving her forever, we were hoping to find a place in Ann Arbor where we can take the boys. After doing some research, I found Arcade Barbers, which is located on the U-M campus in Nickels Arcade.

The boys love walking through the Arcade so we thought the haircuts would be an easy sell and they were. Kevin took them this past Wednesday and everything went very well. There are a few women stylists there (Tiffany and Jessica, to be specific) that do a lot of kid haircuts so they were in good hands and their hair looked good. I know cutting boys' hair isn't rocket science but, since we don't buzz them, it does take some skill. All involved were happy with the first visit so I think we'll return in 5-6 weeks. At long last, we finally may have found a local place for the boys' haircuts!

We be clubbin'

When the suites went up at the Big House, our only hope was that they held the noise in better. We never thought we would actually get to see a GAME from them but that’s just what we did this past weekend.

It wasn’t the greatest of games but maybe that was just as well because it afforded us the opportunity to wander the 3rd and 4th levels with mouths agape. As U-M Athletic Media Relations alums, we had seen the press box but our friends Nayla and Mike gave us the opportunity to check out the east side structure as well. It was great to just walk up to the club and get in - no lines to deal with. And, because it was a little chilly outside in the first half, we spent that time at the high-top seats just inside the club seat area. I ate some very yummy soft pretzels and cheese (not the kind down in the bowl) and Kevin got some equally yummy chicken strips and fries. At the half, we wandered and were in awe at the awesome views from up there - Ann Arbor is so beautiful in the fall. We spent the second half outside in the actual club seats and that was awesome too. Although you’re a little disconnected, you at least have open air and can “hear” the game.

Overall, it was awesome being up there and we thanked Nayla and Mike profusely for the tickets! I told Kevin, maybe one day, when we’re too old and crochety to deal with the bowl, we’ll investigate those kinds of seats. But, that’s many years and lots of dollars from now!

One week in

So, Harmon just finished his first week of kindergarten. We look at him and wonder if it's possible for him to have grown up already. He sounds different, he looks different. He seems so much more mature. We look at him and then look at each other and note how happy we are that we waited to send him to kindergarten. He comes home with stories of all the things he's done each day. He's been excited about gym, Spanish, the library. He told me that his favorite part of kindergarten, so far, is “all the work!” I hope it’s always like that! He is happy at St. Francis and that happiness totally validates our decision to send him there. He’s so comfortable and so calm, it’s almost like he’s been there for years. We were nervous about the transition and, although we know it’s only one week in, it’s going as well as we could have expected.

Zombies

As a family, we kind of like zombies. I remember lots of zombie movies from when I was a kid and it seems zombies have made a bit of a comeback, especially with the awesome Walking Dead series. Harmon even has an great game he plays on Kevin’s iPad called Plants vs. Zombies. So, it should come as no surprise that, when we came home one Wednesday a few weeks ago, the boys told us they were playing zombies with Nana and Papa.

Here’s how it worked. Nana and Papa took turns putting marshmallows in their mouths and doing the zombie shuffle (complete with arms outstretched) in pursuit of the boys. If they boys screamed, the zombies HAD to stop. Since then, we've done a lot of playing zombie around here. Simon insists that we play zombies before bedtime most nights and Harmon will ask for zombies quite often as well. One day, when they are MUCH older, they can check out the real zombie stuff out there. Unfortunately, THOSE types of zombies don't stop when they hear a scream. They NEED brains ...

The meaning of Harmon

Being a lifelong Michigan fan, I had always heard of Tom Harmon but it wasn't until I got to college that I thought it would make a really cool name for a son. So, while Harmon isn't necessarily NAMED after Tom Harmon, he is the genesis of the name. Living in Michigan, most people recognize Harmon's name and associate it with Tom Harmon. However, when we were in Minnesota in July and I called out Harmon's name in the airport, it struck me that it has a bit of a different meaning THERE. I'm sure when people heard the name, they assumed I was a huge Twins fan (hell to the no) and obviously named my son after Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. This was really the first time I had considered Harmon's name had a different meaning and, honestly, it was a little weird!

Butterfly to Lightning Bug

Lost in all the talk of kindergarten is the fact that SIMON also moved into a new room at school. He is staying back at Annie's and he left the Butterfly room for the greener pastures of the Lightning Bug room. We loved when Harmon was in the Lightning Bug room because there is a huge treehouse in that room that the kids get to play in all the time. I'm sure Simon will love the treehouse as much, if not more, than big brother did. There is also a lot more independence in this room. They are responsible for things like getting and unpacking their own lunch, cleaning up after themselves, putting their toys away, etc. I think Simon will do great and I'm hoping his new teacher, Ms. Angie, will appreciate his fire! It's hard to believe this is our second boy in this classroom at Annie's. How time flies!

KINDERGARTEN!

In our house, kindergarten has been the hot topic for almost two years now. Harmon has a November birthday and the cutoff date for kindergarten in the state of Michigan is December 1 so we had a decision to make. We decided to wait ... and we're so glad we did. While waiting has helped Harmon, it didn't do us much good. Once Wednesday, Sept. 7 came, he was so excited and so ready! He talked about it for weeks and was basically counting down the days. We, however, were pretty sad. I cried on and off for days leading up to a BIG cry the night before his first day. Kevin took the boys to the park and, while they were gone, I just kind of lost it. I assume all my tears were gone by the time the next morning rolled around because I actually managed to hold it together. There were also a lot of other parents, parents we knew, at drop-off and I didn't want to be the only blubbering idiot of the bunch. So, I sucked it up. I got teary, especially as I saw him leave my sight and enter the building, but I did OK, a lot better than I thought I would.

He starts at 7:55 a.m. and goes until 3 p.m. and, let me tell you, 3 p.m. took FOREVER to arrive. We were so excited to go get him and he was excited to see us and even more excited to tell us all about his day. I know there will be tough days but I hope, during those days, he'll remember the excitement of his first day. You only get to do it once, which is especially good for sad Moms and Dads!

We're here

The other night, when I was getting Simon down to sleep (no more rocking - I haz a sad), I heard "Barely Breathing" by Duncan Sheik. This song was a hit (I use that word loosely) when Kevin lived in St. Louis and ALWAYS reminds me of our time there.

It seems like just yesterday I was booking flights to St. Louis for every break I had during graduate school. And, now, we've been married for almost 10 years, we own a home in Ann Arbor (where we've always dreamed of living), we have a son who is just days away from starting kindergarten and another son who is just days away, it seems, from being potty trained. HOW did this happen? HOW did we get here? HOW are we so blessed to be living out our dreams every day? However it happened, we're so glad we're here.

Last day at Annie's!

In the beginning, we chose a different daycare for Harmon - a place called KidZone - and it was a place we really liked. But, it ended up closing unexpectedly and then, there we were, scrambling to find another place to take care of our precious boy. We landed at Annie's Children's Center in downtown Ann Arbor with Harmon's first day there being March 1, 2007. Now, 4 1/2 years later to the day - September 1, 2011 - he attended Annie's for the last time.

Back then, I remember being worried about him adjusting to a new place. But, if we had known then what we know now, we wouldn't have been worried at all. Annie's has been great and Harmon - even though he attends just two days each week - has grown and thrived and learned so much. He's had wonderful teachers along the way - Ms. Connie (at left), Ms. Laura and Ms. Sandy (at right), to name a few - and he's had a great time with his classmates.

I told myself I wouldn't cry today but that was just wishful thinking. After just a few minutes of talking to Ms. Connie, the waterworks started and then continued on and off for most of the day. Harmon is a great kid - very smart, considerate, polite and cooperative. The entire time he was at Annie's, we never once received a bad report. I would like to thank his teachers for helping mold him into the awesome little dude he is today. He is ready for kindergarten and excited for the next step. But, he's told me he WILL miss Annie's and so will we. And, although Simon will continue at Annie's, we'll miss BOTH boys being there, in the care of such great people!

Wednesdays at Nana and Papa's house

This past year, mostly in anticipation of kindergarten on the horizon, Kevin has been meeting my parents halfway and letting them take the boys to their house. It's maybe once a month but it's a nice break for everyone.

When it was still cold, they would sometimes go see a movie or go to an indoor play area. Once it got warm, though, they were all about the kiddie pool. Unlike our backyard, which is small and, um, slanted (understatement), my parents have a huge backyard with plush green grass. In short, a yard that is awesome for a kiddie pool and the boys will play out there for hours. Before they come in, though, my Mom will give them yard showers. These are showers outside in the yard with the hose. Soap is involved, as are cushy wash clothes and towels. The boys love these, even though the water from the hose is cold.

After a nice yard shower, they usually come in for dinner and, if they're good, they'll stop by Dairy Queen on the way to meet me and Kevin. I hope, as they get older, they'll remember the fun Wednesdays they spent at Nana and Papa's house.