The North Pole

The last few years, I had heard about a train in Owosso that is called the North Pole Express. It’s actually the train that The Polar Express was based on and it offers rides to the North Pole each winter. It’s pretty pricey so we hadn’t done it yet but, this year, Harmon’s best friend Jackson invited us to go so we decided to just do it. Jackson’s Mom simply said “we want to do it while he still believes” and that sold me!

So, on Saturday, Dec. 17, we made our way to Owosso. They boys were dressed in their pajamas and all was going well until we got near Brighton … and Simon puked. At this point, we figured it was just car sickness so we stopped at the closest Kohl’s and fortunately found him some cute "Cars" pajamas on sale.

We had planned to stop somewhere nice for lunch but with the puke threat looming, we just stopped at McDonald’s. After downing about half of his Happy Meal, Simon threw up again. Luckily, I hadn’t put the new pajamas on him yet.

The rest of the way to Owosso was, thankfully, without incident and we met up with Jackson and his family at the train station. The ride to the North Pole was fun and all the boys were wide-eyed and excited. When we got there, they saw Santa and were able to play, ride some carnival rides, eat dinner, etc. Although Simon did well on the train, the carnival rides shook him up and, yep, he puked again … before AND after his dinner.

By this time, Simon was miserable and just wanted to leave. We felt so bad for him. He made it back to the train station OK and then slept the entire way home.

Although Harmon had a great time with Jackson (thank GOD for Jackson’s parents), Simon declared that he never wanted to go to the North Pole again!

Cold Stone

My parents still come to Ann Arbor on Wednesdays to watch the boys. They get to spend a lot of quality time with Simon (finally) most of the day and then, at 3 p.m., they head to St. Francis to pick up Harmon.

And, more often than not, on the way back home, they stop off at Cold Stone to get Harmon ice cream. He loves ice cream and he’s usually starving (that’s what happens when you skip most of your lunch so you can a) talk or b) be the first in line to go to gym) so it’s a real treat for him. And, after 3+ months of doing this, it’s more than a treat, it’s practically a tradition. He’s probably rocking some chocolate ice cream as I type this!

Butt Rogers

Along the way, Simon has picked up a few choice words from TV, big brother, Daddy, etc. Some of the most popular have been damn it (Daddy), butt crack (Harmon) and now … introducing … Butt Rogers.

In Toy Story 3, Ken Doll tells Buzz Lightyear “Zip it, Buck Rogers!” But, of course, that’s not how a two-year-old boy hears it, no way.

To his preschool boy ears, it came out “Zip it, BUTT Rogers!” And he takes every opportunity to say this. His favorite time to say it is at the end of the phone call. It goes something like this:

“OK, love you, bye bye, Butt Rogers!”

What can you say ...

All he wants for Christmas …

So, I’m guessing that all Harmon wants for Christmas is his two front teeth! These teeth have been loose for a while. He had his dentist appointment in mid-September and they were loose then! I think he finally just got tired of TRYING to eat with them in there. He was eating apples, carrots, anything hard to get them out and it wasn’t working so he turned to his Papa.

The first one (front right), which came out when the boys were at my parents’ house (while we were at the Nebraska @ U-M game) took some work. I was stunned when my Mom texted me and told me that Harmon let my Dad have three attempts at removing it. And I guess the third time was a charm because here he was:

He continued to work the other one and passed on my offer to help. I think he was just waiting to see his Papa again. So, again, back at my parents’ house (this time so we could go to the OSU @ U-M game) and, again, another text and another tooth gone (front left). This time, though, just one attempt, and now he looks like this:

Typically, the tooth fairy leaves $1 in his tooth pillow but, for the two front teeth, she paid a little more. He got $5 per tooth! He was very excited to get it and very excited to spend what he calls his “money dollar!” Actually, both he and Simon say “money dollar” - so cute!

THREE

Simon is three today. He was so excited to be three and he talked about it for weeks. He actually thought he was three back when we had the boys’ joint birthday party (understandable). That’s Simon, though, always rushing things, always wanting to be older and bigger.

He was due on Dec. 13 and my c-section was scheduled for Dec. 5. Simon had his own schedule, though, so he kicked his way out almost three weeks early on Nov. 25. When I was pregnant with Simon, the mere thought of Starbucks made me sick to my stomach. But, near the end, it started to sound a LITTLE better so, after my appointment on Nov. 25, Kevin stopped and got me a small frappuccino. I’ll always wonder if that shot of coffee powered him to kick his way out.

And, three years later, the kicking hasn’t stopped. He’ll lay in bed with you and ALWAYS kick and push off on you. And, just as he was in utero, he is always moving. Flipping, running, jumping. The jumping is actually the most hilarious thing. If you look at his legs, he has actual muscle definition in his calves and quads. I would put my money on him in the long jump in the preschool Olympics!

When I think about Simon, so many adjectives come to mind. While there’s nothing simple about him, he, quite simply, just has this spirit about him. We were at the dentist back in September and he was being a little crazy. The lady in the waiting room said to us on the way out “He is so sweet and full of life. He’s going to be the kind of person that EVERYONE wants to be around.” That made us feel so good! It also made is ease up on him a bit - we don’t want to kill that spirit.

When I look at Simon, I wonder how I ever doubted my ability to love another child. I remember being worried about that when I was pregnant with him. But, he’s IMPOSSIBLE not to love and IMPOSSIBLE to stay mad at. He’s so disarming. When he knows he’s in trouble, he’ll walk up to you, give you and hug and tell you how much he loves you. I know it’s borderline manipulation too but still! He’s smart and funny and random and kind and caring and appreciative and extreme … I could go on for days with the adjectives and they all would apply.

I think, though, that my favorite things about Simon are his spirit, the way he looks at his older brother and the way that, when he wants you, he’ll come up to you and give your leg the biggest hug.

I know there’s no such thing as the perfect SECOND child but, if there was, he or she would be like Simon. I can’t imagine one second of my life without that blue-eyed boy!

Joint well-child exams

Well, we learned this year that having the boys’ well-child exams at the same time was … well … a bad idea. Too much going on, they got each other all jacked up and we were lucky to even get their stats much less talk about any REAL issues. Simon is doing just fine but our doctor would like Harmon to see an otolaryngologist as he’s a huge snorer/mouth breather and has one insanely large tonsil that just doesn’t want to shrink. It’s also time for an eye exam. So we’ll take care of those appointments AFTER the holidays.

And, here are those stats:

Harmon weighs in at 53.35 pounds and measures 48.43 inches tall. Aw, he’s just over four feet tall already!

And, Simon, good Lord. He weighs 38.14 pounds and measures 40.35 inches tall - both in the 95th percentile. Good to know he’s growing into his massive feet.

In short, some pretty healthy boys and we’ll take it.

Mario Party

The boys can’t get enough Mario so their birthday party theme was too easy this year. I found lots of Mario stuff on amazon.com and BOOM we were all set.

Kevin’s parents came to town and my whole family made it over for their party. We got food from Camelia’s Mexican Grill and it was AWESOME! We couldn’t get enough and there were tons of leftovers and I had Spanish rice for DAYS!

After everyone stuffed themselves with Mexican food, we went to the basement to open way too many presents. It was like Christmas! Everyone overdid it, as usual. The boys are SO spoiled! They got so many nice things and I can’t mention one or two without mentioning them all!

After opening presents for what seemed like AGES, we headed back upstairs for cupcakes and ice cream. Once again, the Cupcake Station in Ann Arbor did a bang-up job on the cupcakes in the form on Mario, Luigi, Toad, Donkey Kong and Yoshi! The boys were excited to blow out their candles and tear into them. And, in general, I think they were excited to once again celebrate their birthdays together. I know we all were so happy to see them sitting there on the bar stools together. It’s so hard to believe they are 6 and 3!

SIX

There’s something about the age six. Five was fine, we dealt with that OK, but six?!?! Maybe it’s because it’s closer to 10 than 1. That’s all I got, right now anyway.

Harmon is six. He is in kindergarten after a redshirt year and I’m so glad we waited. NOW, we don’t have to wonder if we made the right decision - we know. We know because he loves his school and he loves his friends and he has adjusted to everything so wonderfully.

At six, Harmon still loves to read but has discovered … video games, specifically those played on his Daddy’s iPad and Wii. He would play with both of these devices for HOURS if we let him so we set lots of limits. And, we’re going to try to hold off on the handheld games for as long as possible.

At six, Harmon is learning a lot about Mom and Dad’s favorite sports. He’s pretty versed in baseball and football and, sadly, is learning about basketball from the NBA Jam app for the iPad. God, I hope he doesn’t want to go to an NBA game - those things are awful.

At six, he’s still very snuggly and loving, especially when he wakes up or is ready for bed at night. He’s always one to give you a hug at any odd time and it’s awesome!

At six, he’s starting to look like a hockey player. The tooth fairy has visited twice and I see two more visits in the very near future. I sure hope his adult teeth grow in like Daddy’s instead of Mommy’s.

At six, he is his brother’s hero. Simon wants to be all that Harmon is and Harmon has a hard time understanding it. While he indeed loves his little brother, they have this SERIOUS competitive thing going on lately. Kevin tells me it’s my fault and it probably is. With them together, everything is about who can be first. I wish they understood that being first is going to get one (or both) of them hurt but, hey, why listen to us.

At six, he continues to test limits, continues to see just how much he can get away with. On some days, he can be so good (like when he’s with just one of us) and then, on others, oh boy. At least we know ALL of it goes back to simply listening and doing what we ask of him.

At six, he always has a story to tell and he draws us a picture in school each and every day. We try to let him tell his story and we keep all those pictures because we want to enjoy six ... before it turns to seven.

Parent/teacher conference

Harmon loves kindergarten! He is excited every day and he can’t wait to see his friends. And, most importantly, he tells me his favorite part is “all the hard work.” I hope that’s true and I hope that is the case in grade school, middle school, high school, undergrad and grad school!

Even though he loves it, I was still a little nervous for his first parent/teacher conference yesterday. I knew I was getting good feedback from him and I was crossing my fingers that I would get similar feedback from his teacher.

Full disclosure, I’m kind of a freak about education. To me, it’s THE most important thing and I have very high expectations. I am borderline unreasonable and it’s hard to check myself sometimes (that’s what Kevin and my Mom are for). So, when we got Harmon’s report card ahead of his conference, my FIRST question was “why aren’t ALL these Es (excellents) and 1s (as opposed to 2s and 3s)?” To be honest, MOST of them were but … yeah … I have a problem.

Anyway, when I went to the conference, the teacher started by asking me if I had any questions and I blurted out that same thing (in a very self-deprecating way). She laughed and said, well, if it makes you feel any better, out of 34 kids in kindergarten, Harmon is easily in the top three. Yes, that DOES make me feel better, thank you! Furthermore, she said, if Harmon would just SLOW DOWN and LISTEN, that report card probably would be all Es and 1s. Ah, listening. Good to know it’s not just a problem at home, I think. It’s not that he’s not paying attention. It’s that he’s just SO excited about the projects that he can’t wait to get started. He’s also excited about being with his friends everyday, mostly because he only went to preschool two days each week. She assured me he’s doing very well and she loves having him in her class and, most importantly, that his lack of all Es and 1s on his very first report card won’t keep him from getting into Harvard one day!

First official school picture

Harmon is all official in the annals of St. Francis now and he's rocking the flannel. Ah, yes!

Halloween 2011

Mario Kart is kind of a big deal in this house. It’s the ONE thing they both love to do together and the ONE thing they both get so excited about. So, it was no surprise that they wanted to go as Mario and Luigi for Halloween.

On Halloween weekend, we surprised them with a trip to the Detroit Zoo Boo so they could give their costumes a dry run (minus the mustaches). They were so excited and had a great time! And, it really got them ready for Halloween!

On Halloween night, they inhaled their dinner so they could get right out there. And, as agreed, the sported the mustaches.

They were a hit at every house and brought home quite a haul! We had some candy, watched the Great Pumpkin and stayed up a little later than usual.

Once they were in bed, we talked about yet ANOTHER Halloween that came and went. Having November birthdays, Halloween was their last first holiday so, once it’s over, another year us upon us. I wish those Halloweens would quit coming quite so fast!

He got more into it later ...

From the SECOND Harmon was born, all I could think about was sports. I longed for him to love sports as much as Kevin and I do. We’ve involved him in lots so far - soccer, swimming, t-ball, football and basketball - and, this summer, it really started to pay off. He loved t-ball and thanked me for signing him up as we drove back home from each of his games. And, he was FIRED up to try flag football and basketball again. More importantly, though, he started to GET IT. He watched Tigers’ games with me and would ask about the players, read their names and numbers, and watch where they hit the ball and where they played in the field. He got so excited for home runs and great plays! Although he can read the names of MOST Tigers players on the roster, the EASIEST name for him was Don Kelly so he quickly became his favorite player. He would ask me if Don Kelly was playing and when he was batting. When the Tigers lost in the ALCS (I’m still sad), he seemed sad when I told him they wouldn’t play in the World Series. He did, however, say “well, Mommy, they can try again next year,” which is how I wish I could think of it!

It’s just like, all of a sudden, something clicked. He DID end up watching some of that World Series (since Kevin is a Cardinals “fan”) and he was NOT cheering for Texas, after they beat the Tigers. He’s also picking up more Michigan football too. We’re not big NFL people so most of his exposure is to college football. Sadly, he plays a lot of NBA Jam on Kevin’s iPad so he’s learning a lot more about basketball. We’ll try to steer him to college hoops instead of the NBA, which probably won’t be hard since they’re locked out (does anyone even notice). He’ll be 6 in just a few days and he’s finally into it! While I hate to rush things, I’m so happy this time is here.

Another year of flag football

Harmon played flag football again this year and, with a season under his belt, it went much better. He had more fun (last year, there were a couple of meltdowns), enjoyed his teammates and really started to pick up some football concepts. The highlight of the season was a great catch and run ALMOST to the end zone. He was taken down just short - like Roy Roundtree! I should mention, however, that he ran the WRONG WAY! Ah, what can you do! On the last day of his season, the YMCA staff had cider and donuts for them and each player got a medal and a team photo! He was very proud and held onto his team photo the rest of the night. All in all, a good season and now on to basketball!

Simon @ 35 months

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

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

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

Bowling

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

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

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

Papparazzi

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

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

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

Elusive monkey bars

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

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

Big boy bed for Simon!

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

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

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

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

PBJ v. PBH

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

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

Simon's first trip to the Big House

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

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