Weekend variety

Since Kevin worked late last Monday and was out of town Wednesday and Thursday, he decided to take Friday off and spend the day with us. Harmon slept in until 10 a.m. (I am not even kidding) so we got a late start but ended up having a great day anyway. We drove up to Kensington Metropark, which was a place Kevin and I used to go when we lived in New Hudson, and visited the Farm Learning Center and the Playfield. It was a great time to stop by the Farm Learning Center as it was feeding time and ALL the animals were talking. There was a cow that was mooing like crazy and two sheep that were yelling back and forth at each other. And, there were a ton of baby animals that were just born including the cutest baby goats and baby pigs that I’ve ever seen. Although Harmon knows the noises most common animals make, it was great for him to hear them live! After our time at the farm, we went to the Playfield for a while. Harmon played on the swings and the slide and spent a lot of time running on the infield and outfield of the baseball field. I think he probably walked a half mile or so and ended up getting really tired on the way back to the car so we gave him a ride! He was worn out on the way home – he was asleep in the car in no time.

On Saturday, Harmon AGAIN slept until 10 a.m. (this kid is the best sleeper ever) but we didn’t have big plans that day so it was OK. We actually had planned on going out to a nice dinner to celebrate Kevin finishing his master’s degree and he decided he wanted to do it yesterday. So, we got ready and trekked up to Brighton to go to Stillwater Grill (Kevin’s dinner locale of choice). We hadn’t been there in a while so it was REALLY good. They give you SO MUCH food, it’s ridiculous. The only strike against this place is that it has Pepsi instead of Coke. After dinner, we walked around the new lifestyle center in Brighton, Green Oak Village Place. We looked a bit for some new shoes for Kevin but he decided to spare me the torture and do this on his own, possibly on Monday afternoon when he's home with Harmon. Once we got home, we took Harmon for a long wagon ride and then put him to bed.

On Sunday, we went to Comerica Park to see my Tigers take on Kevin’s Cardinals. Just like last year, the Tigers swept the Cardinals but Kevin’s still got scoreboard on me since his team decided to field and throw the ball without incident and win the 2006 World Series. We had surprisingly good seats and it was a fun game. And, Harmon was a good boy sitting through all that baseball. I think he’s starting to realize that if he is good, he just might get a present (like a new Tigers’ bat and ball). After another long wagon ride, we gave him his bath and put him to bed thus ending another fantastic weekend with him. What a great kid we have!

Raining in Baltimore

As Kevin reported earlier this evening, it’s raining in Baltimore (like the Counting Crows). He’s there on business with his boss for a couple of days (today and Thursday) and I’m alone with Harmon overnight for the first time. I guess we’re really lucky that he doesn’t have to do this sort of thing too often. Actually, this is the first business trip either one of us has had to take since Harmon was born. He gets Mommy and Daddy all the time!

Kevin just called to say good night and asked me to put the phone near Harmon so he could hear him snoring – so cute. He misses him so much.

Above is a picture Kevin and I took at Oriole Park at Camden Yards when we visited back in 2004. What a great trip that was! I’m a little jealous that’s he there right now, for more reasons than just Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory!

Boys morning out

There were many things to be excited about when we moved into our first home in Ann Arbor in 2005. Being closer to work; finally living in the town in which we met and were married; having a front and back yard and a garage, and basically just owning a house and being able to do what we want with it (just wait until the basement is done!). But, there was more cause for excitement. Yes, there is a Denny's less than a half-mile away. And ever since the day Harmon was born, I dreamed about taking him in his stroller and having a boy's breakfast at Denny's.

Well, Saturday morning he woke up early and it was a nice, sunny day. So, we packed up the stroller and a blanket (it was still a little cool) and headed out at 8 a.m. for the oasis of pancakes. Harmon really likes pancakes and ate a whole one, in addition to a link sausage. He washed it down with milk, and was a very good boy the whole time. We were pretty much alone at the beginning of our breakfast, but there were others around us just before we left. Of course, Harmon has to talk with everyone and show them his Elmo. He is such a social baby.

Our tummies full, we still had some work to do. We stopped by Whole Foods and Harmon picked out some Mother's Day flowers for Nana. Then we continued on to Panera to pick up Mommy some bagels for breakfast. We completed that breakfast run with a final stop, at Starbucks, for Mommy's favorite drink. We ran into a little rain, which caused us to duck into Barnes & Nobles (yes, I know it is Noble). There, Harmon scored a new Elmo book.

It was a fun morning, Harmon was well-behaved, as always, and Daddy fulfilled his dream.

Mother’s Day 2007

Even though this is my second Mother’s Day, the whole thing still seems so surreal to me. I’M A MOM! Weird but so amazing!

Anyway, we had a nice quiet Mother’s Day. Kevin made me my favorite chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast to start the day and then offered up the gifts. Since he bought me my beautiful mother’s necklace back in January, he only was supposed to do small things but Kevin doesn’t do small very well. In addition to a dozen gorgeous yellow roses, I got the new Burberry Summer perfume, a hug-in-a-box (stuffed animal with book) and an awesome orange iPod shuffle.

After opening up all those great gifts, we went to campus and walked around a while. We stopped by for a few innings of the Penn State at Michigan baseball game (which we lost, cut it out baseball) and then took Harmon to the track to let him run around on the grassy infield. On the way home, we picked up our favorite pizza and spent some fun time together at dinner. Harmon ended my Mother’s Day by actually letting me rock him to sleep – a very special treat these days.

Thanks and all my love to Kevin, Harmon and Isabel for making my Mother's Day so special. I hope all the mothers out there had a great day too!

Oh, before I go, some pictures of my flowers and cards and Harmon’s Mother’s Day presents from day care.

18 months old

Harmon is 1½ now and he’s so fun! Kevin and I keep saying we want to freeze him and keep him this age forever! He had his 18-month check-up yesterday and all is well. He weighs 30 pounds and 1.6 ounces (92nd percentile) and measures 35 inches long (98th percentile). He’s damn near three feet tall! The doctor saw him on the way to the exam room and said, “he’s huge!” He was very good during his exam, even during his blood draw. The doctor wants to check his blood after being on the iron drops since November. If there’s enough of an improvement, he won’t have to take them anymore and the thalassemia that I passed on to him will be in check (for now).

After the boys spent some quality time together this morning (which Kevin will write about later), we met my parents and my sisters at Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Novi to celebrate Mother’s Day for my Mom. The food was surprisingly good and we had a fun time. After a big breakfast and lunch, Harmon was not too hungry for dinner and didn’t want me to eat either. Every time I tried to take a bite, he would grab my right arm and pull it close to him to snuggle. He was being very sweet. And, when we got home, the sweetness continued. Even though Kevin got him out of the car and was walking inside with him, he came back to the car to grab my hand so he could walk inside with me. Before bed, when I was putting his pajamas on, he also was very snuggly. He kept leaning into me and letting me hug him. I’m sure all this was because he was tired but, with it being Mother’s Day weekend and all, I want to believe that’s why he was being extra sweet! Whatever the reason, I was loving it!

Hang 10

After taking his bath, Harmon helps Mommy count to 10.

Night, night!

Over the last few weeks, Harmon has settled into a new bedtime routine. Since he gave up his bottle back in December, we've spent every night reading to him and then rocking him until he falls asleep. This is awesome time with him, mostly because the whole falling-asleep-on-us thing reminds us of the days when he was REALLY little and would nap on us for HOURS.

Anyway, these days, we will read a book or two, sing a few verses of Old MacDonald and then he wants to go to bed with Elmo and kitty (shown above). We lay him down and cover him up and then tuck Elmo in on one side and kitty on the other. He then tells us "night, night" as we close his bedroom door. It's all very sweet and hassle-free but yet another reminder of what a big boy he is becoming.

Harmon finishes strong

Old MacDonald had a farm ... EIEIO.

I know our next child will be a girl

WHEN Kevin and I are ready for child #2 (it won't be until Harmon is AT LEAST 3 so don't even get any ideas), I already know it will be a girl. You may ask how I know this – well, here's a little tale!

We were at the mall on Saturday to get Harmon's hair cut (again). It was a gorgeous day outside so I couldn't understand why the mall was overrun with teenage girls. But, whatever. Anyway, as we passed by a group of particularly skanky and very scantily clad girls, I blurted out the following:

"When I see girls like that, I want to go straight to the doctor to have my tubes tied so there's no chance we'll ever have a daughter."

Yep, this pretty much sealed the deal!

But, maybe, just maybe, there is SOME hope. My Mom managed to raise three girls who turned out to be the anti-mall skanks so maybe some of that parenting will surface in me when baby girl Bergquist is born!

"Kitty," "kitty"

These are Harmon's favorite words when he goes to bed at night and often when he wakes up in the morning. He loves to hold his baby "kitty" (actually a small stuffed tiger) when he goes to sleep and then gives it back to us to put in its place in the a.m. In fact, Harmon loves his kitty so much, he thinks other people should have one, or two, or three, or four. When we went to the Twins-Tigers game on Sunday, we visited the gift shop. Harmon instantly became enamored with a bin full of fluffy orange stuffed tigers. This no doubt reminded him of his kitty at home, so he decided to walk up and grab one. Well, Harmon has proven a generous baby in his first 18 months of life, so he decided he would share his new kitty with one of the staff working in the shop. He took his new kitty and gave it to the woman, then went back and got another one. When I told him he already had one picked out, he put the second kitty down and returned to the woman to claim his first kitty. He put that kitty back in the bin, then took another one back to the woman. In the span of about 10 minutes, he must have exchanged 10 different "kittys" with this woman. She loved it and Harmon was able to come home with his new friend. The kitty, I mean, not the woman. The way he flirts, however, he probably could have had her come with him, too. For now, he has a new "kitty" and spends most of his time at home walking around with it holding it by one front paw.

Weekend Happenings

Our weekend was pretty fun and, as usual, over way too quickly!

On Friday, Harmon and I went to the mall to continue building his summer wardrobe. Kevin's Mom gave us some money to buy him some clothes so I wanted to make sure I had a few things in his closet before their upcoming visit (they'll be here Memorial Day weekend). We found some things and I think Harmon was bored by it all as he slept the entire time. After the mall, we met up with Kevin and made our way to Home Depot. We needed to make some decisions on trim, doors, ceiling tiles, faceplates, etc. for the basement (which Kevin and his Dad will work on during their visit). Earlier in the week, we finally purchased the paint so, with that decision out of the way, it was a little easier to decide on every thing else. As for the paint, Kevin let me have my way and we are painting our new basement family room Caramelized Orange (since Behr paint doesn't have any on-line paint swatches, the best way I can describe it is a burnt orange or Texas Longhorn orange). I can't wait for the room to be done!

On Saturday, our entire focus was getting Harmon's hair cut. His hair grows like crazy! So, we once again paid Laurie at Carnival Cuts $14 to cut the hair of a screaming, writhing 17-month old. It must be like trying to cut the hair of an thrashing octopus! He actually did much better than the last time, but only after she put Elmo on the TV and I sang the ABCs to him a billion times. Going through this every five or six weeks is exhausting for everyone involved but we don't want to buzz cut him just yet (although his cut is just one step away from that). We figure if we can get to his second birthday with him not looking like Mr. Buzzcut, we'll be OK. And, it's not that we're attached to his HAIR, it's just that he looks like a LITTLE BOY instead of a BABY when he gets his hair cut and that, quite frankly, makes us sad! As a reward for sitting through yet another haircut, he got an extra long wagon right Saturday evening. He just loves that wagon!

Yesterday, we finally got out to Comerica Park for our first Tigers' game of 2007 and the Cardiac Cats did not disappoint with a 4-3 win over the Twins! They won on a walk-off homerun from an unlikely source, Brandon Inge, and they needed the win to avoid getting swept for the first time this season. It was a fun game and Harmon, once again, was a very good boy. We stayed in our seats for the first three innings and then took Harmon on the carousel, which he loved. We then watched the last three innings as we strolled through the Comerica Park concourse and into the line for the Kids Run the Bases event. Since Harmon was getting tired, Kevin and I took turns walking around with him (while the other person held our place in line). In the line, you could see the game but, walking around, you really couldn't. Of course, Inge hit his homer when it was my turn to walk with Harmon so I didn't get to see it leave the bat. But the place was electric and we won and that was enough for me. As for the Kids Run the Bases, I think maybe we'll pass next time. There were so many kids and they were running so fast that I was afraid they would knock Harmon down so I picked him up and ran with him (which is allowed). He still had a great time – he screamed with joy the entire way because he thought all the kids were chasing him! I think maybe we'll try it again later this summer or next season when I KNOW he won't get steamrolled!

I love the picture with this post. After we ran the bases, everyone was able to take pictures on the field. As you can see, Harmon is peeking into the Tigers' dugout. God, I hope he loves baseball!

Wednesdays

According to the Hebrew Bible, Wednesday is the day the Sun and the Moon were created. Well, maybe it's because we're Catholic but we rarely see the Sun and the Moon around here on Wednesdays, as my Mom can attest to.

I've been back to work for 15 months and, during this time, my Mom comes to our house each and every Wednesday to watch Harmon. Unfortunately, most of the Wednesdays – no matter the season – have been very crappy when it comes to weather. At this point, it's a running joke in the family. We check the forecast all the time and it seems like every Wednesday is rainy and cold and thus, my Mom is banished indoors with a very energetic Harmon.

Last week, since she couldn't take him anywhere OUTDOORS, they were forced indoors and decided to go to Fantasy Forest. Of course, he loved it but she nearly ripped her arm off taking him down the slide! The week before, her hopes were to go kite flying but, you guessed it, it rained. They went to the hobby shop anyway to get his kite (also pictured above) and, one day soon, they'll actually get to fly it.

Every Wednesday morning, when my Mom is getting ready to make the drive to Ann Arbor, my Dad drops hints about taking the day off from work and coming with her. She keeps telling him to wait until it's nice outside so they all really can enjoy it. Hmmm, I wonder when that will be!

OK, the forecast for Wednesday, April 25 – showers and 60 degrees. Looks like Harmon won't be seeing his Papa tomorrow!

My education has gone to the birds

They say birds of a feather flock together, and that will happen on the wall of our den this summer when I finally hang my master's degree. Yes, it has been a long haul, but I am officially done being a college student with my pending graduation from Eastern Michigan University with a Master of Arts in Communication. With that, my two degrees have a fowl taste -- from the Redbirds of Illinois State University (where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism) to the Eagles of EMU. Now for the Academy Awards section of this entry. Much thanks go to my parents for supporting my educational pursuits, both monetarily and emotionally. But I honestly would not be writing this today without Aimee. She helped me get the ball rolling at EMU in 2003 after I had been out out of school for almost a decade, and has been a very supportive and loving wife. I know it has not been easy, especially during the week of my graduate exams. I know how hard she worked to get her MBA, and how she kept everything going while I was at class at night, especially during a whirlwind 2005 when we bought our first home and Harmon was born. And how can I forget my little buddy? There were nights when I came home from class and only saw him for five minutes before he had to go to bed. And his constantly wanting to "read, read, read" makes me realize every day how important education is. He is getting a good start! Now, where is that Ph.D. application at?

Random stuff

On Sunday and Monday, Harmon slept until 10 a.m. On Sunday he stirred a bit around 7 a.m. and we thought for sure he was going to wake up but it didn't happen - it was cool! On Monday, I woke up at 9 a.m. and was stunned he wasn't awake yet. He even slept through Kevin getting ready for work at 6 a.m. I was very happy to have time to eat breakfast, take a shower and work on some laundry before he came to. Again, cool!

All of the sleeping could be the result of the magic carpet rides my Mom gave him on Saturday night. Here and here are some videos of said rides (and we do apologize for the TOTAL DARKNESS - we took these with our digital camera instead of our real video camera).

OK, more random things. Below is a baseball that Kevin got me. His intention was to have Harmon give it to me on Opening Day but he was too excited and he caved and he gave it to me early. Regardless, I LOVE it and am sorry it's taken me three weeks to post a photo of it. He ordered the ball through the Walgreens photo website and used this photo.


And, here is a Easter egg that Harmon made at day care. It's the first art project he's brought home from his new day care (he used to bring things home all the time at the old place). I'm hoping the art will increase because I love it!


This is a sad, sad photo. As you all know, my Mom watches Harmon on Wednesdays and, when he's napping, she does things around the house like clean and cut up our fruit, wash and fold laundry, clean pans and sinks, do yard work, etc. Of course, we don't ASK her to do this stuff - she just can't help herself. And, after all this work, she can't even finish her Jimmy John's cookie. You would think she could eat 10 of them - I could. In fact, I think my thighs are made solely of chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, it was sad to see this when we got home so I took care of it for her. And, when I say "took care of it," I don't mean I threw it away, I mean I devoured it like a boll weevil.

17 months old

Harmon is 17 months old today, almost a year and a half old – GOD! He is just so fun!

We spent the Easter weekend with Kevin's family in Illinois and they were floored at how he has grown and all he has learned. Although Kevin's Dad saw him in February (when he was up here tirelessly working on our basement), Kevin's Mom hadn't seen him since Christmas. So, needless to say, she had a good time with him. They got him a ton of stuff, including lots of balls and books, which are his favorite things in the world. And, more importantly, they got to spend a lot of time with him. We were able to get out a bit too on Saturday as we went to see Blades of Glory – hilarious! I know, we're Will Ferrell junkies – what can we say. On Sunday, after Mass, we went to Kevin's aunt's house for his family's Easter celebration. There were a million people there (like his cousins Kourtney and Katelyn, above) but that didn't seem to matter much to Harmon. He walked and played wherever he wanted, no matter who was in his way. He played so hard, though, that he tired himself out and completely slept through the annual Easter egg hunt that Kevin's family does for all the kids. It was really cold out and he's probably still pretty clueless about Easter so I don't think he missed too much!

One of Harmon's Easter presents from his Grandpa and Grandma Bergquist was the book, "Where's Spot?" And boy does he love this book! Since getting it last Friday night, I swear that we've all read it AT LEAST five million times each! When he gets it and comes walking toward you with it in his hand saying "read, read," get ready to read it a few (thousand) times.

Although it probably didn't sound like it just now, we are THRILLED that he loves to read!

School loans, be gone

I am SO happy right now! I just wrote the LAST CHECK to pay off my student loans. I finished my MBA in May 1997 and started paying on my loans right after graduation. So, it’s been 10 YEARS that I’ve paying for my graduate education. Some years have been better than others (2002, for example, sucked as it was hard to write loan checks when I didn’t have a JOB) but it’s finally done and over with. And, I do feel fortunate that I had loans ONLY from graduate school (my parents and I somehow managed to make it through my time at U-M without any – whew). Just to make myself feel better (or feel worse, actually), I looked at the amount I originally borrowed ($17,000) and the amount I paid in the end ($21,649.88) and saw that I paid $4,649.88 in interest – that’s always a good time. Gotta’ love interest!

OK, OK, I’m focusing on the wrong part of the story. The most important thing is that I no longer have to pay for school of any kind for myself. It never seemed like this day would come. Now I can use my money to buy Harmon more things (like he needs more things, can you say SPOILED?). Or, maybe I should buy myself a little present in celebration. This looks nice (in Vine Green).

This is funny, just as I licked the envelope holding my last payment, Craig Monroe hit a grand slam for the Tigers in the top of the 12th inning. It was like he was celebrating with me!

There is more Bergquist education news to share so be on the lookout for some blog news from Kevin!

Socks and slippers

Last night, as it was nearing bath time, I stripped Harmon down to his onesie and let him play around for a bit. After I stripped him, I folded up his dirty clothes and put them in a little pile as he crawled all over Kevin like he was a jungle gym. Once he got bored, which took about two seconds (he definitely got Daddy's attention span – damn it), he went over to his pile of clothes and grabbed his socks and slippers. He then crawled into his little chair and attempted, for about five minutes, to put his socks and slippers on his chubby little feet. It was the cutest thing even though we had to watch him out of the corner of our eyes in an effort not to interrupt. I wished we would have had the video camera but I knew getting up to get it would have disrupted him. So, we just had to sit, watch and enjoy. We just love little moments like this!

'Nater behavior

20 quick Harmon quirks:

1. His tongue quivers when he cries.

2. When he sits on his chair, he sits on his leg (just like his Mama).

3. When you hold him, he grips tight onto your closest finger.

4. When he sits on the floor, he sits in reverse Indian style (just like his Nana).

5. He scissor kicks you when you try to change his diaper.

6. He talks in his sleep, with his favorite words being bippy, ball, wawee (water) and dada.

7. He LOVES to read and, when he goes to his bedroom door and says “read,” you know it is nap time.

8. He has gender confusion, sometimes calling Kevin “mama” and me “dada!” And, sometimes, no matter what, EVERYTHING and EVERYONE is Isabel (or IS-BA, as he says)!

9. When he doesn’t want to eat what you’re feeding him, he starts rubbing his eyes and acting like he’s SO tired (even if he just got up from a nap). Also, to avoid bites of food, he will whip his head to one side or act like he’s REALLY drinking a ton from his sippy cup.

10. He is afraid of his baby monitor. One day, Kevin was in his room and I was playing with Harmon on our bed. Kevin slowly whispered Harmon’s name through the monitor and it freaked him out. Now, each time he sees the monitor, he stares intently at it. And, if you do the whisper voice, he will get all afraid and start to fret.

11. If you say HAR-MON SPEN-CER (in four slow syllables), he will respond with an enthusiastic “uh, uh, uh.”

12. When you call his name, he responds with a hearty “huh?”

13. When it’s time for his bath, he sits at the bathroom door and says “bubbles.”

14. If he gets full while eating, he starts hiding food in the sides of his highchair. When you take him out, you find a buffet of food items.

15. When Harmon blows kisses or gives kisses, he makes a loud "mwah" sound.

16. When we ask him if he wants a diaper change, he'll walk to our room, get his own diaper and hand it to us.

17. When he wants to read, he brings the book to you and demands that you get on the floor with him. He then does his best to burrow into your lap.

18. He has eagle eye vision. When he finds things on the ground, even the smallest of things, he picks them up and brings them to you.

19. No matter what delicacy he has in front of him, he is always WAY more interested in what you're preparing next for him OR what you're eating.

20. When he gives hugs, he puts his head down on you and lightly taps your arm or back three or four times.

Editor's note: For those of you who do not read our blog regularly, you might be wondering why we call Harmon, "'Nater." Back in his first few weeks of life, we started to come up with the requisite nicknames you give a baby. Don't know how, but for some reason we started calling him "Harmonator." That eventually gave way to "Nater." But, it really caught on when I started calling him "Nater" and his face would sour and he would stick out his big lower lip. Of course, we thought this was great fun and did it often. He is over it now, but the nickname has stuck. Our latest variation is to call him, "'Nater potater."

Easter wagons, not Easter bonnets

When I was pregnant, Kevin called me the "baby wagon." Now that Harmon is almost 17 months old, he's finally got a NEW baby wagon.


My Mom and Dad wanted to get him something special for Easter so they bought him this new awesome wagon (in addition to a ton of clothes – they can't stop spoiling him)! When I showed it to some people at work, they commented that it sure was different than the old, red metal Radio Flyer wagons!

We went for a walk with him in it for the first time Monday afternoon and he loved it! I think he likes being able to sit up and see everything. One thing we will have to do is bungee or tether any toys he takes along with him. On more than one occasion, I was chasing balls up and down the street after he fired them out. Of course, he thought this was hilarious!

Since we won't really get to celebrate Easter together at home, we've been getting Harmon a few things here and there. We got him his new chair and a lot of clothes for the spring and summer. We also need to get him some more books (all the kid wants to do is READ – I hope this isn't just a phase) and we thought about getting him this little push-along lawn mower so he can imitate Kevin when he's out mowing the lawn. There's also a fancier one with bubbles. I guess we'll see what Toys "R" Us has in stock.

One last Easter-related note – my Mom has been singing the Peter Cottontail song to him and she switched up the words a little:

Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hopping down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Easter's on its way

Bringing lots of toys for him
Toys for baby Harmon
Hippity hoppity,
Easter's on its way

It's really cute as he gets all excited about it and, when he tries to say "hippity hoppity," it's very funny. It comes out like "hop-pippy."

Hope ewe (ha, ha) all have a Happy Easter!

Frankenstein

Although Harmon technically started walking when he was 14 months old, the last two or three weeks, he's really been putting it all together. There was a span of five or six days when he was with either me, Kevin or my Mom the whole time and he really took advantage of this. Although our house is not that big, he's explored all of it on foot!

Our favorite part of this whole thing is the way he walks – like a little Frankenstein. He's still perfecting his balance and learning to go AROUND things (instead of over them) but he's not quite all the way there yet. He sometimes looks like a miniature Godzilla, destroying the village below – the village that consists of all his toys and books, TV remotes, blankets … and the rabbit!

It's so fun to see him at this stage – at such a milestone. We just can't get enough and neither can he as evidenced by the sweat on his little head (after all that hard work) and the fact that he's been wearing himself out SO much that he'll even sleep in until 9 a.m. sometimes! I hope all his milestones will be this much fun!

Missed again

Today was Opening Day for my beloved Tigers. I was a little melancholy over the last few days as I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to go AGAIN. Before last year, when we just couldn’t find a way to solve Ticketbastard (I mean Ticketmaster), I had been to about 10 in a row. And, unlike many people there today, I’m sure, I was in the stands when the Tigers unfortunately lost 119 a few years ago.

This year, since everyone loves a winner, the Tigers sold a TON of season ticket packages and were only left with about 1,000 tickets for the public sale. Because of the intense demand, they Tigers’ ticket office decided that, instead of a public sale, they would do a lottery. Evidently, over 158,000 people entered the lottery for these 1,000 tickets so my odds were never very good (plus, I’m just not lucky). And, to make matters worse, Opening Day tickets were going for some CRAZY ASS prices from ticket brokers. I think the cost of one Opening Day ticket equaled the cost of my ALDS, ALCS and World Series tickets from last year – combined! So, with no luck and no money tree growing in the backyard, I just had to suck it up and deal with watching it on TV (at least I took the day off, which was something I forgot to do last year and it sucked). It was a good game – it went to extra innings – but my Tigers ended up losing 5-3 in 10 to the Toronto Blue Jays. Here’s hoping the opener isn’t a sign of things to come, especially for Fernando Rodney!

The good news is that we’ll probably be able to go to more games since I didn’t want to spend a million dollars on the home opener. I’m hoping we can go to one per month and, hopefully, go on Sundays since those are designated kids days and I am DYING to see Harmon run the bases

SPECIAL NOTE: In addition to today being Opening Day, it also is my Dad's 61st birthday. Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you!

Bubbles

As Harmon neared the 15-month mark, we slowly moved him from his baby bathtub into the regular bathtub. He wasn’t at all happy about it so I spent an afternoon at Target buying a bunch of stuff to make his bathing experience more pleasant. I bought some balls, of course, which really helped and I bought some bubbles. I didn’t think the bubbles would make a damn bit of difference but they have become his favorite part of bath time. When it nears time for his bath, he sits near the bathroom door and says “bubbles” many, many times – it’s very cute!

Bubbles also have permeated other parts of his daily goings on. I have a set of large plastic jelly beans that I bought to hang from our Japanese Maple tree, if it ever warms up around here, and he is obsessed with these things. They are bright and colorful so naturally he wants to play with them. I’ve had to hide them in the linen closet because he's nearly impaled himself on our baker’s rack a dozen times trying to get to them. Every time I open the closet to get a towel or washcloth, he sees them and makes a beeline for the door. If I manage to get the door closed before he gets there, he’ll just sit there and cry “bubbles, bubbles” for a few minutes. I shouldn’t laugh but it’s hilarious!

BREAKING NEWS: It was damn near 80 degrees today so we finally hung the jelly beans (or bubbles, as Harmon calls them) from the tree. Glad we got it done before Easter or that would have defeated the whole purpose!

Cry for you

Today when we dropped Harmon off at day care, he cried when we tried to leave. He’s been going to day care for well over a year now and this is the first time it’s happened. I’ve always dreaded this and it was just as bad as I imagined.

At our new day care, all of the kids start in one room and then break into their respective age groups at 9 a.m. The teacher has told us, after only a few weeks there, that Harmon is none too happy with this arrangement. We’re not sure if it’s too much commotion with all the coming and going of parents, kids and teachers or if it’s just that he’s still adjusting to the new place. It also could be the simple fact that there just aren’t any balls available in this room!

Anyway, this morning, we put him down and we thought all was well as he made his way to Mr. Potato Head. But, as we started to leave, he started crying and reaching for me. I hugged him and calmed him down and we tried again to leave but, this time, he started crying and reaching for Kevin. At this point, one of the teachers stepped in, picked him up and tried to distract him but it didn’t work. Once again, he started crying and practically jumping out of her arms to get to us. Since I’ve always read that you just have to leave, that’s what we did … and it was awful. I barely got to the door before I was in tears. It was the first time in his short life that he’s cried and reached out to me and I wasn’t able to console him and make things all better. It felt terrible. Of course, Kevin was the strong one and he kept telling me it was going to be OK – I’m so glad he was there when this happened.

I thought about his sad little face (like above) all day long and all the feelings of guilt I have for being a working Mom came rushing back along with all the doubts I have about being a good enough Mom for him. I’m sure he was fine five minutes after we left while I spent all day worrying about him but I guess that’s part of being a Mom.

I was able to pick him up early today and seeing him so excited to see me made me feel so much better. I know days like today are going to happen – I just hope ANOTHER year goes by before we have one again!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

If this and this keep up (we’re only in freakin' SPRING PRACTICE – what the hell is going to happen in the fall), we truly will be just like Ohio State! Well … minus the big-time wins, Big 10 championships, national championships, Heismans, etc.

So much for the "at least we run a good program with good kids" bit (what an OLD bit, by the way). We have thugs just like everyone else and, therefore, shouldn't claim to be some "paragon of integrity."

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

And, happy 48th birthday to Danny Ainge (I love you)!


ANYWAY, there was some luck of the Irish in Ann Arbor today as Tommy Amaker was fired as the U-M basketball coach. Although he did take the job under some really bad circumstances, cleaned up the program and brought it to some level of respectability, he wasn’t able to take it to the next level. And, thankfully, Bill Martin finally realized that and is making a change. Coaching searches at U-M are rare so the next few weeks should be interesting.

The last few days really have been fun as we’ve watched WAY TOO MUCH basketball. Even though U-M was not involved (AGAIN) in the NCAA tourney, it’s still such a fun time of year! Since Harmon didn’t even know he was alive for the 2006 tournament, he has gotten his first real taste of it this year. I used a vacation day on Thursday and I’m usually off on Fridays so I was able to watch a ton of games. Kevin was off too both days but that was because he was sick. But, being sick didn’t keep him from watching some hoops! One day, when Harmon is old enough to ask to skip school to stay home and watch the tournament, let me just say right now that the answer will be “yes!”

Don't mess with 'H'

Now on the other side of 16 months, there are a few things Harmon does not care much for. He used to hate when I called him 'Nator, he doesn't like waiting for his food, and you take your life, and your eardrums, in your hands when you pick him up to get him ready for bed. Even early on, he showed his dislike for losing to Ohio State (get used to it, kid). But, now that he is mostly walking and can get to us easier, he is taking a more hands-on approach to his most recent dislike. He does not like it much when Aimee and I hug. I am not sure if he is being protective of his Mama, because he thinks I might be hurting her, or that he just wants to be the one to say when it is time to dole out hugs. Whatever it is, he will physically try and pry us apart when we hug. Someday he will understand if it wasn't for hugs, he may not be here.

16 months old

Harmon is 16 months old today and is just rolling right along. He's walking, although not on a full-time basis. I assume one day he's just going to start running all over the place.

One of our favorite new things is when he stands at his bedroom door and says "read, read." He loves for us to sit with him and read, so much that we have to keep adding to his library. We read with him before bed and before naps and at other random times throughout the day and he loves it. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come.

Over the weekend, we made the trek to Pottery Barn Kids at the fancypants Somerset Mall. We saw the toddler chairs on-line and wanted to see how Harmon reacted to one of them before we made the purchase. So, we took him out of his stroller and put him in the chair and he loved it! He also loved several other very expensive Pottery Barn Kids' items (yikes) but we decided on just the chair. After we got home and had dinner, we put the chair together and he crawled right into it. We had it in the living room on our area rug with the back to the hardwood floor – which was a bad decision. While sitting in the chair, he kept throwing his head back until the whole thing flipped backward. Of course, he bumped his little head on the floor and was crying so we had to collect him and console him. I know you're not supposed to laugh at your kids but, once we realized he was OK, Kevin and I looked at each and TOTALLY DIED! I don't know if it was the look on his face as the chair was falling backward or that all you could see from our angle was two feet in the air or the fact that he still was in a perfect sitting position when I picked him up to hug him but it was hilarious!

We thought maybe he might be a little averse to the chair after the incident but it doesn't seem to have registered with him. Today, before I came to work, he sat in it and I sat alongside him and we watch Blue Clues together. Kevin then called me in the afternoon and said he was sitting in it watching the Wonder Pets too. So, he must like it and I'm glad because it's part of his Easter present!

Here and there

Well, it looks like we made a good decision in switching Harmon's day care. We got a call last night from one of the teachers from KidZone saying they officially are closing. Kevin and I both breathed a sigh of relief from our end but also felt really bad for the great teachers who now are looking for new jobs. Sad!

Our last few days have been pretty uneventful. Kevin's Dad left to go back to Peoria Friday morning. He was here working hard on our basement for a week. The transformation is amazing! On Friday night, we went to Pizza House for dinner (for the first time since New Year's Eve). Harmon was perfectly behaved but completely uninterested in dining with me and Kevin. He was WAY more interested in the waitress, the hostess, the people at all the tables around us, etc. Good times!

On Saturday, I had a 9 a.m. dentist appointment (no cavities, woo hoo), followed by a 10:30 a.m. hair appointment for Kevin and finally a hair appointment for me at noon – all in Waterford near my parents' house. It was a very busy morning. After all the appointments, we dropped Harmon off with my parents – where he proudly displayed his new walking skeels – and went to see Zodiac, which was a great movie. Speaking of Zodiac, I thought about reading the book so I looked up some reviews on on amazon.com and many reviewers were saying it was the scariest book they've ever read … so I don't think I'll be reading it. Kevin thinks I'm annoying NOW about being left alone; imagine life after reading that book!

ANYWAY, while we were at the movies, Harmon developed a bit of a fever. He had a bit of a cold, which we're more than used to with day care as a part of his life, but had some new things going on too. He had really goopy eyes and a slowly-disappearing hives/rash thingy. I had called about the hives/rash the previous Friday and spoke with the nurse who assured me he wasn't going to die of scarlet fever but then he developed the eye thing and I felt bad for not taking him in. SO, the rest of the weekend was spent making sure he was happy and comfortable.

Of course, directly following Harmon's cold is some kind of ailment for Mommy. Again, it started with a sore throat last Thursday and then, on Saturday, I began losing my voice. Saturday night and Sunday night were awful as every time I would TRY to lie down, I would start coughing violently so I got almost no sleep – so damn frustrating. Because I was a zombie, I called in sick on Monday and Kevin and I took Harmon to the doctor's office Monday afternoon. Turns out he had a bit of an eye infection so she prescribed him some drops and, after taking a look in his ears, she saw some fluid. She said there was no ear infection YET but it probably was on the way (thus the fever) so she prescribed us some more antibiotics. As for the hives/rash issue, apparently Harmon is allergic to fish, as this was the only thing he ate recently that was out of the ordinary. So, no eggs or fish for him for a while. I'm actually glad about the fish – I hate fish!

Not much else is new. Harmon continues to walk just enough to tease us and then goes back to crawling. I'm sure he's just going to take off and run one day and then we'll be in for it!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

This morning, Kevin and I dropped Harmon off at his new day care center, Annie's Children's Center in Ann Arbor's Kerrytown District. It was hard but not quite as hard as it was his very first day in February 2006. We took him into the room where the toddlers were, put him down and he crawled over and got all involved in what the other kids were doing. We waved and told him goodbye and he was fine. I wasn't though as I cried when we left. It just feels weird getting used to new people taking care of the most important person in your life. I'm sure I'll get used to it quickly but the first couple of weeks will be hard. To console me, Kevin drove to Starbucks. When all else fails, a Venti Lite Mocha Frappuccino makes you feel a little better! I called Annie's at lunch and spoke with Harmon's new teacher, Abby, and she said he was having a great first day. He ate well during snack time and at lunch and he was playing well with the other toddlers. The only glitch in the day was some fussiness at nap time, probably because he was overtired. Abby did tell me that they have one toddler who is very touchy-feely and likes to hug everyone. Evidently, he was trying to hug Harmon, who was not having any of it. She said he was getting a little frustrated by this, which doesn't surprise me. He hugs when he wants to and, if he doesn't want to, he squirms and contorts his body until he can get away from the hugger! Anyway, I pick him up around 5:45 p.m. so we'll see how the afternoon went.

As for our old day care, when Kevin was there Tuesday for Harmon's last day, there still was no clear plan for them. It's a shame because it was a great place with great teachers. But, they've known about getting kicked out of the church since last April so it never should have come down to the wire like this. Hopefully, for the sake of the teachers and the kids who are left, they'll be able to pull something together.

A little Betsie has arrived!

Early this morning, my best friend in the whole world, Betsie (Simon) Feldman, gave birth to her first child, a tiny little daughter named Julia Charlotte Feldman. She was born at 1:16 a.m., weighing in at 6 pounds and 10 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. She’s a little one and she was a week late. Imagine how small she would have been if she was on time!

I met Betsie our freshman year at the University of Michigan. We were paired together as roommates in the desolate North Campus dorm of Bursley Hall but we managed to have a good time. And, for the next two of three years, I would live with her again – first in our house on State Street and then in our apartment on Hill Street – and continue to have a good time. There’s not much we haven’t been through together in over 15 years of friendship and I’m so excited to see how she’ll handle this next step in her life. Ever since I’ve known Betsie, she’s always taken care of everyone so I know little Julia is in great hands!

Congratulations to Betsie and Paul and I can’t wait to meet Julia!

OK, some photos of us over the years!

Here we are at graduation in the "Big House" in April 1995:

And together again at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1998. This is when Michigan won the national championship and probably the last time we won a big game, let alone a Rose Bowl! Good times!

Home Improvement!

When we moved into our first house during the summer of 2005, one of the things that was attractive to us was the mostly unfinished basement. It does have a full bedroom down there, but the rest is pretty wide open. Right away, we imagined a carpeted family room with lots of room for a nice, fluffy couch and big TV for watching football ... I mean educational programs with Harmon. Well, work is now underway on this space. My Dad came up from Illinois for the week and has been working almost non-stop (with me for four of those days) to make our dream a reality. He makes Bob Villa look slow. The walls are up (this is a view from the bottom of the stairs into the back of the room), the wiring is in place and the insulation is placed. The room is so huge and will be great space for our family. Aimee jokes that it is my "man-cave," that one room all men have in their homes where they can go and drink beer and watch sports. Well, I don't drink beer and Aimee likes sports, too, so everyone is invited.

Let's Go Krogering

Almost every Monday afternoon, Kevin volunteers to do some of the grocery shopping so he packs up Harmon and they head to the local Kroger. In addition to these Monday trips, Kevin usually has to go at least one other time during the week to replenish Isabel's food. Although he doesn't mind doing it, he claims he sometimes feels like he lives at Kroger.

When I got home this past Monday and was talking with Harmon about his day, I asked him all about his trip to Kroger with Daddy. Since he's so good at repeating, I asked him to say "Kroger" and he did - just as plain as could be. Kevin heard it and came running in and he repeated it for him too.

I guess he likes going Krogering with his Daddy!

Also, another new trick, as reported by my Mom today. Apparently, he likes to push up the center couch cushion and then crawl up underneath it. He's been crawling up into the blanket basket for a few days but now he's taking it to a whole new levo!

Check-ups, baby steps, hair cuts, etc.

Harmon had his 15-month check-up Friday morning and it was uneventful. Usually, Kevin and I are full of questions but Harmon has been to the doctor’s office a bit more than usual lately with the bronchiolitis followed by the ear infection so most of our questions have been answered. Harmon checked in at 28.4 pounds (91st percentile) and 34 inches long (99th percentile). Needless to say, he’s still a big boy. He did have to get two shots but the good news is that he is done now until school starts. We didn’t do the blood test this time to see how the iron supplement is working so we’ll do it at his 18-month appointment on May 11. We talked a lot with the doctor about the whole walking thing and, thankfully, there was some progress to report. Last Sunday night (Feb. 11), Harmon took a few steps between me and Kevin and then, on Wednesday night (Feb. 14) when my Mom was watching him, he took four or five steps from her to me. He’s also finally taken a liking to his push toy, which is helping a lot. He’s all over the house with it now. So, overall, things are going well and we’re so thankful.

After Harmon’s doctor’s appointment, we ran some errands. He’s been wet a few mornings recently so I finally figured out that he needed the next size up in diapers. So, we bought some size five Pampers Cruisers. We also had to get him a lunchbox and some shoes for his new day care. I still need to get him a couple of back-up outfits so it’s on my list to stop by Once Upon A Child.

Because Harmon’s hair grows like weeds, we drove up to the Carnival Cuts at Twelve Oaks Mall again on Saturday. This is his third haircut but I think the best one yet. The stylist really sheared him in the back but it looks SO cute. Unfortunately, it makes him look like such a big boy.

Not sure what today holds. We were hoping to get Harmon out in the snow for the first time this winter but the forecasted high is only 20 so I’m not sure that will happen. It looks like 30s the rest of the week so maybe we can get to it sometime in the next few days.

A minor miracle happened today – Michigan beat Indiana in basketball for the first time in the Tommy Amatuer, I mean Amaker (or should I say, Coach Radio) era. To be more specific, we ended an 11-game losing streak against the Hoosiers. At this point in the season, I was just hoping we would continue to lose instead of winning a game here and there and getting our hopes up. Because, down the stretch, we’ll blow it like we always do and miss the NCAA tournament AGAIN. You know, it’s not even worth me blogging about.

On a much better sports note, Spring Training for Tigers’ pitchers and catchers started on Friday. The first day featured A LOT of pitchers fielding practice, which is no surprise! The rest of the team will be ready to go in Lakeland on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The first true exhibition game is Wednesday, Feb. 28 (against the Mets) and Opening Day (against the Blue Jays) in Detroit is Monday, April 2. Gotta’ love baseball! Go Tigers!

OK, one last thing. Here’s our Valentine from Harmon for Valentine’s Day 2007. Love those little handprints!

He loves his blanky

My Mom called me at work yesterday to tell me a cute Harmon story.

While she was watching him, he starting playing with this basket of blankets we keep in the living room. He often puts his little Roll-a-Around balls in there but he appeared to be doing something different so she went over to check it out.

He pulled off the top blanket, which was a U-M blanket, and then pulled off the next blanket, which is a Cardinals-Tigers combo blanket. Each time, my Mom thought he was reaching for that particular blanket. But, he really was trying to get to one of his baby blankets, this one with one yellow side and one green side. He used to sleep on this blanket on the floor for HOURS when he was just a few months old.

So, she pulled the blanket out for him and placed in on the floor. He promptly crawled right over to it, sprawled out and went to sleep. Is it possible he actually "remembers" this blanket? He never naps on the living room floor anymore but couldn't resist when she put the blanket down so it must have some meaning to him! I wish I could have seen this whole scene. It probably looked like this, only in a larger version (and minus the hat).

He is SO cute!

Will you be my valentine?

To all those who love me so much, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

As a small “thank you” for all you do for me, I got you all a little something sweet. It’s not chocolate. In fact, you can’t even eat it. You COULD drink it but you might just want to save it for a keepsake. If you DO want to drink it, go ahead because you still could save it for a keepsake.




Mommy and Daddy helped me choose this gift (using this photo) and do tags and bows for all my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I hope you all like it.

If any of you would like to make a gift like this, you can visit the Jones Soda web site. It’s fun!

Love, Harmon

Zoned out

Harmon attends KidZone Child Care Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He’s been there for a year now (with his first day being Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006). We visited five places before choosing KidZone in what was not a very fun process. It’s no surprise that it was hard for us first-time parents to find a place to leave Harmon (at only three months old) AND feel good about it but we quickly found that in KidZone.

When we chose KidZone, however, we didn’t know they would have to move at the end of February 2007. Currently, it is housed in Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor but the church is going through renovations and re-claiming the space KidZone currently holds. For some time, the KidZone director has been trying to find a new location and, last week, after several other deals fell through, we all thought KidZone finally had a new home. We even received a letter on Tuesday giving the new address and asking parents for help with the move! Although the new location isn’t as convenient for us, we decided to make it work because Harmon really likes his friends and teachers and has done really well there. On Friday, however, Kevin received word from a friend of ours (whose daughter also attends KidZone) that the deal, once again, fell through. Evidently, KidZone made an offer on a property and the LOCAL sellers’ office approved it but the NATIONAL sellers’ office said “not so fast, my friend!”

This news was very unexpected and everyone now is in panic mode. KidZone is working up another offer and has received a 10-day extension from the church but no one knows what will happen. Several parents already have moved their kids because of all the uncertainty but there also are other parents, like us, who keep hoping things will work out. Friday’s news, however, lit a fire under us and we finally had to act on some casual calls we had been making to other day care centers over the past couple of weeks. Late Friday, we visited Annie’s Children’s Center, which was the first place we visited back when we first started this whole crappy process. In 2006, Annie’s part-time program required a minimum of three days of care and Harmon only needed two so it never worked out. The location was great – almost exactly between my office and Kevin’s office – the “tuition” was reasonable and we liked it a lot but, as I said, it just didn’t work out. This time around, though, you CAN schedule two days a week and there IS room for Harmon. So, Kevin and I have a big decision to make.

We could wait it out and, worst-case scenario, have KidZone close AND lose our spot at Annie’s. Best-case scenario, we could wait it out, have it work out and let Harmon stay with those he knows and loves. The other scenario is to pull Harmon out of KidZone and enroll him in Annie’s and hope and pray he adjusts OK. As an aside, if he cries when I leave him with perfect strangers – he knows now, he had no clue when he was three months’ old – I don’t know what I’ll do. ANYWAY, another thing to think about is pulling Harmon out of KidZone and then having the whole thing work out. We’ll feel terrible.

Whatever happens, we need to do what's best for Harmon and make sure he has good people to care for him two days a week so we're going to Annie's today to finalize everything. It sucks to go through this all over again but it is what it is and no amount of whining about it (on my part) is going to change the situation. Hopefully, we'll all adjust just fine - AGAIN!

Shredding

Kevin and I are a LITTLE behind with our shredding of receipts, documents, etc., so we need to have a midnight shredding session like Eddie Barzoon in The Devil's Advocate!

15 freakin’ month’s old

Harmon is 15 month’s old today. It gets old saying this OVER and OVER, but I still can’t believe it. He goes for his 15-month check-up on Friday so we’ll have all the official stats after that, along with any word from the doctor on when to start panicking about the whole walking thing. I told myself I wasn’t going to grip since the whole crawling thing worked out just fine after he waited forever to do it. But, as each day goes by, I find myself thinking about it a lot and hoping that everything is OK. He cruises a ton and will stand on his own so I know he can support himself. I think he’s just afraid – he HATES to fall down. I’m sure it will happen and then I’ll wonder just WHY I wanted it to happen but, until it does, I’ll worry – it’s what I do best.

The talking won’t stop, though, which is a very good thing. It’s time, however, for me and Kevin to start being REALLY careful about what we say around him. He repeats a lot, which is a little scary!

For his 15-month birthday and Valentine’s Day, we picked him up a few things over the weekend. He needed a new pair of gym shoes so we got these from Stride Rite. Damn, toddler shoes are expensive! We also are getting him ready for spring with his first denim jacket and his Easter outfit – shirt (in cactus) and, of course, sweater vest (in pudding).

BREAKING NEWS: As Kevin and I were getting Harmon ready for bed tonight, we spotted both of his upper, first molars poking through for teeth #15 and #16. The only teeth left to make an appearance are all four of his second molars. After that, he'll have his allotment of 20 baby teeth!

A not-so-good first

Over the last couple of weeks, Harmon’s favorite pastime has been playing with his ears. Since a fever never accompanied this playing, Kevin, the doctor and I all assumed it was just those upper molars coming in. Last Wednesday, however, while he was with my Mom, he developed a nasty little fever so we took him in to see the doctor. After taking a quick look, the doctor diagnosed him with his very first ear infection (in his left ear). I was bummed because he had made it almost 15 months without having one or having to take antibiotics but the doctor actually said that ear infections are common side effects of the bronchiolitis he recently had. Whatever the cause, he’s been on antibiotics since Wednesday night and has been alternating between Motrin and Tylenol and he seems to feel just fine. Other than a few hours in the early afternoon of last Wednesday, when my Mom said he was just not himself, he has been perfectly fine. We’re so thankful he’s still so good natured, laid back and well behaved even when he’s not feeling well at all.

OK, some funny things that happened while Harmon was “under the influence” of a mixture of Amoxicillin, Motrin and Tylenol:

1. In the waiting room, which was filled with only sick little BOYS (GD, where were all the girls? Wait, I know. Probably shopping since babyGap and Children’s Place contain 90 percent girl clothes), Harmon took a quick liking to a wall-mounted abacus that is in the waiting room (the beads look like balls – hence the attraction). Of course, as soon as Harmon started playing with it, another little boy – who was maybe four or five years old – had to come check it out. He (I think his name was Tyler) came over and started hogging it thinking Harmon would just move out of the way but he was sadly mistaken. Harmon stood strong, not giving up any ground, and continued to play until Tyler grew bored. All the while this is going on, Harmon was jabbering more than any of the other little boys in the waiting room even though he was much, much younger than they were. I looked at my Mom (who was nice enough to meet us at the doctor’s office so we didn’t have to leave work any earlier than was absolutely necessary) and said “why is my 14 ½ month old son the loudest of the bunch in the waiting room?” You would not have known he wasn’t feeling well if you would have seen him at that point – he would not shut up!

2. Once we got home, Harmon was being really silly, saying weird things and doing weird stuff. He also was tripping all over everything and falling down like a drunken sailor. I think maybe he was hopped up on some Motrin since the nurse gave him a dose more suitable for Andre the Giant than a 14 ½ month old!

3. Lastly, along the lines of doing silly things, Harmon finally discovered his football. He usually plays with every other ball BUT the football but, for some reason, he found it and could not get enough of throwing it. We thought it was ironic because Wednesday, Feb. 7 was National Signing Day. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come!

Bits and pieces

One year ago today, I returned to work after 12 weeks of maternity leave with baby Harmon. Those first few weeks were SO hard but I think, a year later, we've all adjusted well. When I came back to work, I came back 80 percent time. I still am doing that and it seems to be working for everyone so I hope to continue with this schedule indefinitely. I always thought it was ironic that I returned to work after the birth of my first child on my Mom's birthday. Maybe it provided a good reminder that I am a Mom first and an employee second – just like my Mom always was for me and my sisters. So, happy one-year-back-at-work-part-time to me and, more importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Mom!

Speaking of my Mom's birthday, we all took her and my Dad out to dinner to P.F. Chang's on Saturday night. We tried to make it a surprise but that's damn near impossible with my Mom. It was fun anyway and my parents LOVED P.F. Chang's (my sisters and I were a little nervous). My Mom commented that she's never had that much shrimp in an entrée before so I can see return trips to P.F. Chang's in the future – YUM! We all had a great time and had some very chocolaty birthday cake (and I had 1,000 Diet Cokes). Harmon was a little angel, eating all HIS food and lots of ours and being a good sport as he was passed around the table to be played with and tickled. We were there for almost three hours and he was perfect the entire time.

On Sunday, we stayed home to watch the Super Bowl. Since we were home all day, I thought I would give Harmon a special treat and let him play with ALL his Roll-A-Round balls (usually, we give him four or five at a time – and they ALL end up under the couch)! He was confused at first but had a good time.

He seems to say a new word almost every day and here are some of the latest: Harmon, Isabel, Erin, happy, bippy (my Mom and sisters call his pacifier a "bippy" and we call it a "binky"). He'll pretty much repeat anything you say to him and it sounds pretty close.

Valentine's Day is fast approaching so Harmon needs to get to work on his gifts for everyone. Kevin and I aren't sure what we're getting each other (if anything) but we know one of these will be involved.

Kevin's Dad will be here soon to help get our little basement project going. Kevin spoke to him last night to try to get an idea on time and it looks like that visit might occur in the next week or two. Yeah, a basement room soon!

OK, did you see this? Is that even a "real" number? Of course, the next president will spend a large part of his (or her) administration cleaning this mess up (budget should be balanced by 2012 – yeah right – conveniently AFTER "W" is gone) before getting to his (or her) own agenda and then it will appear he (or she) got nothing done. UGH!

On a lighter note, one of my guilty-pleasure shows is "My Super Sweet 16" on MTV. If you like that show, you have to see this! Funny!

Is this one yours?

My Mom watched Harmon today on her usual Wednesday and called us at 5:30 p.m. to see if we wanted to meet her at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Of course we did, so we went there right from work. We all had a great time eating pizza and watching Harmon take his turn on all the rides. He even scored yet another ball at the end of the night! As we were waiting to purchase said ball, there were three little kids in line in front of us. One of the little boys starting groping the little girl and her Mom looked at us and said, “Is this one yours?” We looked at her like, yeah, sure, he’s ours and we thought we would just let him stand there, in plain view, and rough up your daughter! Finally, “this one’s” Mom came over to retrieve him and the little girl and her brother (who did nothing, by the way – nice brother) left. As we walked back to our table to pack up, Mom called the other Mom a “dingbat” and, of course, Harmon repeated it! I guess we REALLY need to start watching what we say and evidently controlling our out-of-control children in Chuck E. Cheese’s.

By the way, make the world a better place, punch Nick in the face!

Pancakes and proposals

Over the weekend, we gave Harmon pancakes. On Saturday, we woke up and thought pancakes sounded good so Kevin dusted off the griddle. He mixed some batter for himself and Harmon and did a separate mixture for me that contained chocolate chips (Kevin makes THE BEST chocolate chip pancakes). Anyway, as Kevin and I were eating, we thought we would give it another go with Harmon. He tried them back during the Christmas break and wasn't at all a fan. This time, though, he loved them! After eating some of his usual breakfast, he devoured four silver dollar pancakes. It was very cute.

Turns out Kevin really needed those pancakes as he spent most of Saturday moving a huge shelving unit from one wall of our basement to another. After taking care of our little water problem (it was a clogged ground water drainage pipe, by the way, and thanks to Mom and Uncle Dave for helping us out with it), it's again full-speed ahead on our basement project. Kevin's Dad is planning on visiting sometime next month to work on it with him. And, I've already completed the most important part of the project – I've picked out paint swatches!

On Sunday, we took another trip to our local IKEA store. This time, we were on the lookout for some table lamps for our bedroom. Kevin has asked about these 1,000,000 times but I've been holding off thinking we might actually get a bedroom set one day. But, seeing as how that's not going to happen for a long, long time (mostly because the basement takes priority right now), I gave in. We found some cool lamps that look nice and they didn't cost too much. Amazing how much thought we put into a set of $14.99 lamps!

Over the weekend, we also finished Harmon's week-long breathing treatments. It's a good thing too because it was getting old for all three of us. He pretty much is back to normal (and back to day care) but, then again, you never really can tell when he's sick anyway. Even though he was feeling better, I think we did detect a food allergy or food intolerance to eggs. On four different occasions, we've given him eggs (straight versus mixed in something else) and he's either rubbed his eyes raw or thrown up or both. So, we'll have to take a look at it with the doctor at his next appointment, which is Feb. 16.

No walking yet but he is cruising everywhere and all he wants to do is walk with you. Sometimes, he even does a spider monkey (see photo above) kind of walk up and down the hall and along the gate that surrounds Isabel's cage. Any day now! The doctor and I both think that he's concentrating more on talking than walking right now and that would explain the almost-one-new-word-a-day pace. He now says "car," "cookie," "cracker," "water," "caca," "poo poo," "pee, pee" and is working hard on "love you." Also, much to my delight, "mama" finally has returned to his vocabulary on a regular basis. I just love hearing it!

OK, now on to the BIG news of the weekend. My little, tiny, baby sister is getting married! Her boyfriend proposed on Friday and she called me (and the rest of the family) and thoroughly stunned us all. Although they've been together for a long time AND have talked about rings and weddings and what not, it still was a surprise. Maybe it's because she just turned 23 in October! But, they are thinking about a late fall wedding in 2008 so she'll be 25 by then. So, congrats to them! And, I can't wait to help with the wedding!

State of the Union

Since I can't stomach a State of the Union Address from someone who still hasn't mastered the English language, I tend to boycott the TV on nights like last night. However, Kevin was watching MSNBC's Keith Olbermann (see, old SportsCenter fans have followed Keith into the mainstream) tear apart, word for word, every other Bush State of the Union Address and forgot to change the channel when the lies, I mean the address, started. So, on my way to the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of the TV screen and saw the following:


While the Pinocchio in the foreground made me want to put my head under a tire, the sight to the audience's right was rather refreshing. It was so awesome to see Nancy Pelosi – a woman and a Democrat – sitting in the Speaker of the House spot. Maybe there is hope!

By the way, do we really need a State of the Union address at this point in the Bush Administration? I think it's pretty well known that we're all screwed (well, unless you're rich)!

OK, one last thing - these cartoons are good!

Talking in your sleep

We know Harmon is a crazy sleeper, if only from where he ends up in relation to where he went to sleep. But, he also talks and crawls in his sleep. On numerous occasions, he’s blurted out his favorite words in the wee hours. At 3 a.m., for example, we’ll hear “ball” or “dada” and think, damn, he’s awake, what the hell is going on. But, he ALWAYS goes back to sleep. I guess he must be dreaming about his Daddy or his beloved balls! This morning, I witnessed this first hand (as opposed to just hearing it through the monitor). I stayed home with him today as he's still not 100 percent and we slept in a bit together. I woke up before he did and watched him sleep and say "dadadadada" in the softest, quietest, little baby boy voice. It couldn't have been cuter! Well, I guess it could have if he would have said "mama!"

In addition to the sleep talking, we’ve also noticed some sleep crawling. Sometimes, like when he might be having a nightmare, we’ll check on him and he’ll crawl from where he is back to his original sleep location. He also does this when we’re napping with him in our bed. He’ll get up on all fours and crawl back to where he started the nap. This sleep talking and sleep crawling usually takes place when his eyes are completely closed so he’s not awake. Who knows what goes on in the minds of babies!