Witnessing history

Last night, almost 64 million Americans went to the polls and elected Barack Obama as this nation’s 44th president. It was a landslide, a mandate of sorts, that Americans wanted change and Obama was the clear choice to bring about that change. Of course, after eight long and horrible years of the Bush administration – which I’m sure will go down in history as the worst presidential administration of all time – it’s crazy to think there were people out there that didn’t want change!

Anyway, as I watched MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann call the election in favor of Obama just seconds after 11 p.m. (when the polls closed on the West Coast), I began to cry. I didn’t think I would but I did and there were SO many reasons for these tears of joy – reasons I hadn’t come to grips with until I saw people celebrating in the streets like it was New Year’s Eve.

I looked at the crowd that gathered in Chicago’s Grant Park and it was in stark contrast to those that had gathered for McCain’s concession speech in Arizona just moments earlier. While McCain’s crowd consisted of mostly white supporters, Obama’s crowd was a true melting pot – white, brown and black and young and old alike. It was amazing to see so many different people together supporting one man to bring about the change that most of us have desired for so long.

While I recognize what Obama means to the black race and all they have endured throughout history and while I am SO happy to be able to see and be a part of this historical election, Obama’s election means so much more. These are 10 things that ran through my head as I listened to him once again speak so eloquently to the American people. I thought about having a president who:

1. Is intelligent, thoughtful, diplomatic, calm and steady.
2. Is willing to work with others and doesn’t live by the rule “it’s my way or the highway.”
3. Will listen and consider the opinions and thoughts of others, even if they differ from his.
4. Will restore our standing in the world.
5. Will value the military and will consider all other options before sending our men and women off to war.
6. Will tell the truth.
7. Will fight for all Americans, not just the wealthy ones.
8. Will fight for our children – especially when it comes to things like education and health care.
9. Will bring us together, not divide us.
10. Will inspire us, not scare us.

I could go on and on but I’ll stop after just two more things.

I can’t wait until Harmon reads his first history book and asks me about this historic election. I will be so excited to tell him all about it. I will tell him how important it was and how – even at almost three years old – he was totally into it yelling “It’s Barack Obama, Mama” every time he saw Obama on TV or saw that wonderful Obama logo on magnets, stickers, billboards and yard signs!

And lastly, from the moment the election was called until much later when I finally went to bed, Simon kicked me like crazy (more than usual, which is saying a lot). It was like he knew what was going on outside and he wanted to get out and be a part of it all. And, honestly, today, I can breathe a little easier about bringing him into this NEW world.

VOTE!

It's time - get out and vote, no matter what!

The Beatles

A few months ago, late on a Wednesday, we were eating dinner with Harmon and he was singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles. It was so cute to hear a two-year-old boy sing the following line:

Oh, please, say to me
You’ll let me be your man

Anyway, I found out that my Mom and Dad bought him the Beatles “1” CD and he had been listening to it earlier that day with my Mom. She always loved the Beatles when she was young and I’m sure she sang some songs on the radio with him while they were out doing their Wednesday thing. However it happened, he took a liking to the “Fab Four” and still can’t get enough. At this point, he sings a bunch of songs on the CD, including “Love Me Do” and “We Can Work It Out!” He LOVES music and is proving to have his parents’ musical range – he easily goes from pop to metal to rock to rap. We’re just hoping he never finds country!

Big fall weekend

Last weekend, it finally felt like fall so we took full advantage and did some typical fall stuff. On Friday night, after a yummy – yet speedy – dinner at Buddy’s Pizza in Dearborn, we once again attended the Halloween in Greenfield Village event. We went last year for the first time and it was a lot of fun so we thought we would take Harmon again this year. He had more fun this time as he was able to walk the whole route and get his own goodies at the many treat stations. He did a great job and was very well behaved. He did get tired a few times, though, so he would stop and rest on the curb! I think the highlight of his night was seeing the horses during the headless horseman routine. He loved the small horse, petting him a bunch of times, but wasn’t too crazy about the big horse. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait a while before taking him to St. Louis to see the Budweiser Clydesdales! While I didn’t go all out with the face paint like I will on Halloween, we did debut Harmon’s 2008 Halloween costume (an adorable hedgehog) and it got rave reviews! We had SO many people stop us and comment on it! Just as we did with his name, we also like to go unique with the costumes, especially while we can. Soon enough, he’ll want to be a vampire every year and we’ll have to just go with it.

After resting up on Saturday – and hearing Harmon say “Coach Rod is MAD” during the Michigan @ Penn State game – we headed to the cider mill on Sunday. Just as we did last year, we went to Three Cedars Farm. We got there early enough to just miss the huge lines for donuts and cider and Harmon had plenty of time to play on the slide and toy tractors before we took a big tractor ride out to the corn maze. He LOVED the corn maze but we had to keep yelling at him to not get too far ahead of us. It’s hard, under normal circumstances, to keep up with him much less when I’m eight months’ pregnant! Since Harmon already got a huge pumpkin from my uncle, we decided to forego the walk through the pumpkin patch. This proved to be a good decision because he crashed HARD as soon as we got in the car and slept all the way home. It was a perfect fall weekend – one of those fall weekends you wait for all year!

Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire (Station)

Harmon LOVES fire trucks and fire stations and lately we’ve fed into that love. In August, we took him to the Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsilanti and he had a great time. This museum was very cool, highlighted by old models of fire trucks from years ago and a fun play area for kids. We went on a Friday afternoon and were the ONLY ones there so we stayed and visited and played for a long time.

And, just recently, we surprised Harmon with a visit to the Ann Arbor Fire Department’s Open House. We went to the fire station on Fifth Avenue and it was a great time! In the past, Harmon has admired the fire trucks from AFAR but, on this day, he was totally cool with showing his love up close and personal. After getting his goodie bag, fire hat and balloon, we got in line to get photos in the fire truck. He was cool with it and we got some cute photos of him in the driver’s seat and in the small cab behind the driver’s seat. The one bummer of the day was when Harmon popped his balloon when climbing up in the cab. The “pop” scared the crap out of him and he cried for a bit – of course we couldn’t stop laughing! I think the best part of the day for him, though, was the small bag of popcorn he inhaled – he was elbow deep in that thing! Overall, he had good fire station experiences this summer so we hope he always remembers them!

Bicycle, bicycle (like Queen)

Well, more like tricycle but I love the song and had to work it in! ANYWAY, back in September, a co-worker gave me a tricycle for Harmon. I brought it home and he loved it but had NO CLUE what to do with it. His legs were long enough so he was able to push himself where he needed to go. As the days have gone by, we’ve worked with him and he seemed to finally be getting the hang of pedaling. Well when I came home from work on Monday, Harmon was in the driveway with his beloved tricycle and he was pedaling it all by himself! I asked Kevin when THIS happened and he said “I think just now!” So, we’re calling it – Monday, Oct. 13 – first day riding the tricycle all by himself. I’m sad – he’s such a big boy!

Obsess much?

Lately, Harmon has been OBSESSED with the Backyardigans. While he’s always liked them, over the last month or so he’s really shunned all other cartoons in favor of the Backyardigans. No more Mickey, Little Einsteins or Handy Manny, it’s the Backyardigans 24/7. He has several books that he carries around and sleeps with (and has us read them ad nauseam). He has a Pablo Beanie Baby that I got for him that he simply can’t get enough of. He knows they are on at 9 a.m. and he reminds us ALL THE TIME. He also knows there are episodes on Comcast’s On Demand and he’ll ever so slyly suggest that we go downstairs and watch these (especially W-I-O-WA - the Corniest Station in the Nation)!

But, the silliest Backyardigans possession has to be his box of fruit snacks. We saw these one night while picking up a few things at Hiller’s Market. We got them thinking he would EAT them but, no, he wanted them just for the box. To date, he has eaten exactly ONE packet of fruit snacks yet he carries this mangled, tattered box around like it’s his “woobie!” We suggested taking the snacks out, cutting out the photo on the front of the box and giving it to him but he HAS to have the full box to clutch or it’s just not the same. The box is practically falling apart and has been taped back together more times than we can count but he loves it. Pre-schoolers are funny birds!

Not really a 35-month update

Harmon, yesterday, you turned 35 months old. Since your grandparents were in town for the weekend, the day got lost in the shuffle and, once again, I am late on your monthly update. While it’s ALWAYS on my mind, I’ve been slacking with these updates lately. Missing this particular update, though, upset me – partly because I didn’t see you much this weekend, but mostly because I suddenly realized I’ve only got a month or so left with you as our only child.

There are only so many weekends left with just you, me and Daddy and there are only so many Fridays – the day you call “Harmon and Mommy Day” – left too and that makes me sad.

While I am elated to welcome your little brother, Simon, into this world, I ask Daddy all the time how I’m EVER going to be able to love another child as much as I love you. I know it happens all the time and I know it will happen for me but, right now, I just can’t seem to get my head around the whole idea of it.

I tell you all the time “you are my whole world” and I never feel it more than when I’m NOT with you. I was out shopping (for stuff for you, of course) on Friday and I just couldn’t stop thinking about you. And, it seemed every Mom I saw had their young son with them! It’s hard when I’m not with you and I can’t imagine feeling that way – TIMES TWO! I know this will get better as you (and your brother) get older and want less and less to do with me. I understand that. But, when you’re so little, every moment is so important because it goes by SO DAMN FAST.

You’re going to be 3 next month and then, just a few weeks after that, your whole world is going to change. Until then, though, I just want as much time with you as possible.

Two months from today ...

... our family will grow from three to four. Kevin and I will be the parents of TWO handsome sons! I think we've both had those "oh crap" moments lately. I know I had one on Friday when Harmon was especially challenging. I thought "am I going to be able to handle TWO of these little guys?" I'm sure we'll be fine but it's the unknown that allows doubt to creep in and freak you out a little bit!

We bought diapers today for Simon so that made SOME of the unknown disappear :-)

Are you guys brothers?

Last night, we took Harmon to his “Becoming Brothers and Sisters” class at U-M Hospital. Since he’s been into the whole “big brother” thing, we thought he would enjoy the class.

Um, yeah, not so much!

He started off shy, which we are used to. I’m on the shy side so I totally understand. But it wasn’t the shyness that was tough to deal with. It was more the fact that he was whining and not listening to a word we (or the teacher) had to say. He was more interested in running around than learning about becoming a big brother. We thought he might become a little more engaged when the teacher busted out the fake babies to play with but he wasn’t at all interested. As a side note, it was funny to see all the little girls holding and cradling their babies while all the little boys were dragging their babies around by the head, arm, leg, etc.! I guess that’s one of the MANY differences between boys and girls!

Anyway, he DID get better (thank God). And the highlight of the night was when the teacher asked what the umbilical cord was. Harmon yelled out “a snake!” Kevin and I died!

By the end, he was brown-nosing the teacher and trying to butter up everyone else too. He’s such a ham! For his hour or so of time, he got a “big brother” button, a certificate for completing the class and a Polaroid of him holding his fake baby (and looking as though there was NO WAY he could be less interested). He did, however, carry that Polaroid around with him the rest of the night!

I just hope he’s a little more engaged once he’s REALLY a big brother – it’s only nine weeks away!

500th game at the Big House one for the ages

Today’s Michigan game against Wisconsin was the 500th game at the Big House and it was a special one. Michigan, all but dead in the first half, came back from a 19-0 deficit to beat the Badgers, 27-25. This was the biggest comeback in the stadium’s history, replacing two games Kevin and I were at: in 1995 – an 18-17 win over Virginia where Michigan came back from a 17-0 deficit; and 2004 – a 45-37 triple-overtime victory over Michigan State.

I really don’t know what today’s win means for the rest of the 2008 season but I’ll take it. I DO know that Wisconsin looked like the Michigan of old. They got a big lead, sat on it, went away from what was working, got tired in the fourth quarter and, eventually, choked away the game. It was nice today to be on the other end, even if we did have to endure that AWFUL first half.

Going into today’s game, Kevin and I were curious how the Michigan players would be in the fourth quarter, especially going up against a traditional Big Ten power team like Wisconsin. Needless to say, we came away impressed, especially with the defense. All that conditioning is paying off and it seems Mike Barwis is worthy of all the hype!

I have NO IDEA what will happen next week against Illinois so I’m going to enjoy this win until then!

My gift ...

... for dealing with almost-constant nausea; for getting kicked in the rib cage 24/7; and for having to get sliced open like a melon to bring Simon into the world.

Thank you, Kevin! I likey!

Coach Rod has made up Miles of ground

Last Saturday, as Michigan was self-destructing in the first five minutes of its game at Notre Dame, Aimee received a text message. It very well could have been a "What are they doing?" or "Can anyone catch the ball?" or even, "I told you about Coach Rod" (the last one from one of our "seasonal" Notre Dame friends). But, it wasn't a sharing of distress and no foul language was present. Nope, in fact, it was a simple message from one of Aimee's sisters: "He is so hot." And that little statement tells a lot about Coach Rod's status in our household.

At the moment that Les Miles finally put to bed the rumors that he would become the next coach at Michigan (displayed at the bottom of ESPN News), Aimee, like many Michigan fans, was devastated. Not only was Miles the heir apprarent to the Michigan head coaching job and Bo's mini-Me, Aimee likes the way he looks in his white trucker hat. Now that the Coach Rod era is well under way here in Ann Arbor, Coach Rod not only has made up distance on Miles in terms of popularity, he also has endeared himself to Aimee. Just ask her about her "ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod" moment.

Delayed 34-month update

Harmon turned 34 months old last Friday, Sept. 12. I completely dropped the ball on his 34-month update as we spent most of last weekend a) dodging monsoon-like rains and b) moving out of our den so it can become Harmon’s NEW bedroom.

He is doing well, despite a bit of a cold this week. We couldn’t remember the last time he even had the sniffles so that’s a good thing. As I said above, he is getting ready for the move to his new-and-improved, big-boy room. Our goal is for him to sleep in it Saturday night so we’ll see how that goes (and I’ll post pictures and an update on this separately). In addition to being excited about his new room, he’s also already excited for Halloween. It’s not so much for the candy (he still isn’t really a fan of sweets), it’s more for the decorations and his costume (to be revealed at a later date). He loves all the pumpkin lights we put up and also loves the costume we chose for him this year. He loves it so much that he cried big time when I had to take it off him after trying it on JUST to make sure it fit. Looks like we have another Halloween lover in the family!

The move to his new classroom at school has gone really well. He is excited to go all the time, especially on Thursdays when it’s show-and-tell day. The first week, he took his baby leopard and, today, he took his sea otter that my sister, Stacey, got him from the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. He has so much more independence in this classroom and that’s been great for him, with the exception of lunch time. He’s barely touched his lunch lately and we’re not sure if it’s because he’s too busy having fun OR there’s no one telling him he has to eat every bite. We’re hoping it improves but we’re pretty sure he’s not going to starve!

In thinking about ideas for his birthday, we’re at a loss because he’s still so in love with his cars. Cars and books are STILL his two favorite things with his stuffed animals running a distant third. He finally LOVES his Dr. Seuss books, which is good because I had to go through his library and remove some of his baby books. He was happy, though, to store them for Simon! One new development has been coloring. He is way into it now and wants to color every day. He’ll draw things and then tell us what they are and we work constantly on identifying, writing and matching letters, numbers, shapes and colors. He has one dot-to-dot book that he really likes so I’m going to have to find more workbooks like these to challenge him.

We’re ALMOST there with the potty training. Accidents are few and far between and, if there are any, they usually are of the pee variety. He’s been wearing underwear a lot at home and we’ve been easing him into them when we leave the house for walks or quick errands. He’s good at telling us when he has to go and is getting a lot better at just getting in the bathroom and getting on the potty himself. We’re SO close!

He says the funniest things lately too, as he develops more and more vocabulary. Lately, he wants to “throw things in the woods and get them all dirty” and, if you ask him about his pull-up or underwear, he’ll tell you, “yeah, I think it’s still pretty dry.” Sometimes he just rattles off paragraphs of stuff and it makes our heads spin. Kevin and I feel like he talks 24/7! Since it’s the season for political talk (VOTE OBAMA), we’ve noticed he might be a future lobbyist as he tends to LOBBY HARD for the things he wants. For example, when we’re out walking, he will badger us to no end and ask us, in every different way imaginable, if he can go to the park. Most of the time, it’s cute, but, sometimes, it’s like ENOUGH!

Since I love the fall and winter, this is an exciting time for me because I can start to build his cold-weather wardrobe AND pick out his outfit for his three-year photos! Although there are more girl clothes to choose from out there, I couldn’t possibly have more fun dressing a girl than I have dressing Harmon. Then again, he’s easy to make look cute!

Are you ready for some football?

On Saturday, we took Harmon to his first Michigan football game. Our plan was to do it for the Minnesota game last year but it rained so we had to postpone the big event until this year. While we have four season tickets in our name, we figured it would be awhile until the four of us (Simon included) could enjoy a game together so we gave away two of them. The problem THIS year, though, is that there are three of us and only two tickets (and, yes, ALL people must be accounted for no matter how young). So, I decided to take Harmon in with me first and then Kevin joined us after kickoff when a nice, older couple gave him a free ticket they weren’t using.

Kevin dropped us off on East Stadium Boulevard, near the entrance to Crisler Arena so we only had a short walk to our section. On that walk, though, Harmon LOVED seeing all the police cars and all the construction. We got inside just in time for the band to take the field and, although he was scared by the noise at first, he quickly joined in and sang “The Victors” with everyone else in the stadium. It was so sweet to seeing him “hailing” with his little right arm – that’s my boy! We are huge fans of Coach Rod so it’s not uncommon for Harmon to see him on TV or on the computer, not to mention the fact that we met him a few weeks ago. So, on Saturday, he was all fired up to see Coach Rod! When he led the team out of the tunnel I tried to point him out but Harmon simply liked seeing all the little maize and blue winged helmets bobbing up and down like bumblebees! At kickoff, people hold up their hats and twirl them around and Harmon decided to join in this tradition too. After watching each team’s opening drive (ours included a TD), we went to the concession stand to get some lunch. Harmon got a hot dog and a bottled water and was a hit with everyone he saw (I’m sure the name and the block M hat helped). We got back to our seats just in time for Kevin to arrive and then we all got to enjoy the rest of the half together.

At halftime, Harmon burned off lots of boy energy running around near the entrance gates and Kevin ate a late lunch. Our goal going in was through AT LEAST the first half of the game with Harmon – and we had achieved that – so we decided to get greedy and try for more. We ended up making it to the fourth quarter but it got a little rough. Harmon got bored and it got warmer and he drank a ton of water and, thus, had to go potty 100,000 times so we finally called it a day. On our way out, we got some cute pictures and, overall, I think it went well – Harmon was pretty well behaved and we all had fun. We might try another game later in the year just so he starts to love Michigan football just as much as Kevin and I do!

It was all good just a week ago

Last Friday night, after another yummy dinner at Pizza House, Kevin, Harmon and I went for a long walk around town. Instead of going south toward the athletic campus, we decided to head north – mostly so Harmon could see the fire trucks at the downtown fire station (located on Fifth, just north of Huron). We took Huron back to the car and passed by the Campus Inn. The football team stays at this hotel the night before home games but we’ve been by it a thousand times without incident so I wasn’t expecting any excitement as we passed by the main entrance. However, as we walked past the secondary entrance, I glanced back and immediately grabbed Kevin’s arm all the while trying not to yell “ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!” Just as I had glanced back, Coach Rod had glanced toward the street! I looked at Kevin and we KNEW we had to stop. What other opportunity would we have to meet U-M’s new football coach, especially with our connections to the athletic department dwindling! So, we turned around and made our way back to the hotel. He was speaking with some media types so we patiently waited our turn. When he was done, he turned around all smiles and Kevin introduced us all. Let me just say that a 2 ½-year-old is a great ice breaker! We chatted a bit – well, except for Harmon who went all shy on us (he’s all about Coach Rod at home) – and it was great! He was very welcoming and friendly and taller than we expected (he also had the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen)! He had a real down-to-earth appeal to him and his accent was downright endearing. I can see how he is a big hit in a recruit’s living room! Since he had team meetings to head too, we didn’t take up too much time (and we decided against a photo) but it still was a pretty awesome experience!

Of course, U-M lost its home opener against Utah the next day and then had some tough luck on the recruiting front this week – I hope we weren’t bad luck!

A butterfly to a lightning bug

Today is Harmon’s first day in his new “Lightning Bug” classroom at school. Since it’s a new school year, most of the kids started today in their new classrooms. While Harmon loved being a “Butterfly,” I think he’s going to love his NEW classroom even more. It has a very cool tree house for the kids to climb and hang out in and, most importantly, his Butterfly teacher – Miss Laura – made the move with him. She now is the lead teacher in the Lightning Bug classroom. Harmon has been lucky in both his moves since starting at Annie’s in 2007. Each time, his previous teacher has made the move with him, totally easing his transition.

The new classroom is considered pre-school so he’ll have a lot more responsibility. He’ll have to pick up after himself after free play; retrieve, layout and put away his nap mat; get his own lunch; maneuver his pants and underwear at potty time; and learn how to dress himself. We’ve been working on all these things at home lately and he’s been doing very well. I know he’ll make strides quickly at school too – he’s such a fast learner! The good news to Mom and Dad is that, with this move, his tuition dropped. So, we’ll have a few months at the decreased rate before we have to add Simon’s tuition to the mix!

So many changes for our little guy: a new classroom and new responsibilities this week; a new big boy bedroom in a few weeks; and a new baby brother in a few months. As is usually the case, he’ll just roll with it! It’s what he does and we’re SO glad he’s our little amoeba!

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

Kevin picked up Harmon from school on Tuesday and, while speaking with this teacher, she commented that Harmon’s cleanliness is rather refreshing.

Evidently, his class had painted earlier in the day – mixing colors to create new colors – and while every other child was BATHING in the paint, Harmon was distraught if the paint got on the wrong finger. We weren’t surprised as that’s how he is at home too. If he gets even a DROP of food or drink on his PINKY FINGER, he absolutely must have it wiped off immediately. Needless to say, our photo albums don’t contain any of those gross pictures of him with crap all over his face!

Harmon is just detailed, meticulous and must have everything just how he wants it. And, coming from me and Kevin, it’s really not a surprise. I actually think his future wife really will appreciate this quality!

Dec. 5

I had a doctor’s appointment today and Kevin and I had ONE goal – get a c-section date scheduled! I alternate appointments between my doctor and her nurse and, when we met with the nurse in July, we asked about scheduling. She explained that my doctor probably would schedule surgery about a week before my due date (Dec. 13) and she only does surgery on Mondays and Fridays. So, that left us with the choice of Friday, Dec. 5 or Monday, Dec. 8. We talked about it over the last month (and with the doctor today) and decided Dec. 5 would be best. It would allow Kevin two free days (Saturday and Sunday) to be with me (and Simon) during our hospital stay and it would be easier for my parents to take care of Harmon on a weekend versus weekdays when they both work.

Just for fun, though, we looked at the two dates from an historical perspective. We found that Dec. 8 was not so cool because it was the day we entered into WWII in 1941 and the day John Lennon was shot in 1980.

Dec. 5, on the other hand, is Walt Disney’s birthday! And, if you’re a kid, is there any better person to share a birthday with?

So, Dec. 5 it will be … unless Simon has other plans!

Working the phone

Most of the time, Harmon is fearless but there are a couple of things that scare him. One, of course, is the black panther. The other is … our phone. Since we rely mostly on our cell phones, we don’t pay for AT&T voicemail and instead have a phone system with a built-in answering machine. We’ve never set our personal message on the machine so we use the default message which is some weird, male, computerized voice. Harmon HATES this voice so much, simply because of the way the voice says “hello!” We can say “hello” in a similarly scary voice around the house or while we are out and it never fails to get his attention. In addition to the scary voice, the phones blink red if there is a message. For some reason, this red blinking also freaks him out. If need be, we’ll remind him – in that scary voice – that THE PHONE IS BLINKING RED and he’ll straighten right up. Whatever works, I guess!