Night game

Harmon usually sees Comerica Park only in the daylight and typically for Kids Days on Sundays. But, now that he’s getting a little older, I told him I would take him to a night game and we did just that last Friday.

He was very excited and was dressed in his Tigers gear and ready to go early Friday evening. We parked in our favorite spot and got into the stadium with no trouble at all. We got his usual staples – hot dog, soft pretzel and bottle of water – and headed for our seats. Once again, Kevin did an amazing job with the tickets. This time, Harmon got spoiled with seats in the first row overlooking the bullpen.

After the first inning, Jose Valverde and Joaquin Benoit made their way to the bullpen and I told Harmon to wave and yell but he went all shy. The family next to us said their son waved and yelled during warm-ups and his efforts were rewarded with a ball. This was ALL Harmon needed to hear! For the next eight innings, Harmon was on his feet relentlessly waving and yelling at anyone who was in or around the bullpen – including Quintin Berry who was playing left field that night. Sadly, and he was really bummed at the time, he did not get a ball.

When Harmon wasn’t harassing the bullpen, he was downing his food. He ate part of his pretzel, then his hot dog, then watched a while and then wanted the rest of his (now cold) soft pretzel. I told him to at least sit down while he was EATING so as he turned to sit he bumped his arm and – I’m not even kidding – he dropped the rest of his soft pretzel into the bullpen. At first, I was mortified but, after a few innings, I was laughing uncontrollably about it. It WAS hilarious and now we have a great story to tell about his first night game!

And speaking of the actual game, he was a champ! We stayed in our seats the ENTIRE time and he watched – alternating between the new huge scoreboard and the actual field – the Tigers beat the Indians, 10-2, with the highlight being a Prince Fielder home run.

Although I wasn’t sure he would make it, he was excited about and stayed awake for the Friday night fireworks. We had a great seat for them and they were beautiful!

As we left out section, I snapped a quick picture of him with the field in the background and he looked so happy. An usher stopped me when I was taking this picture and asked if I would like one of the BOTH of us which, of course, I did! He took one and although it wasn’t the best picture ever, he said something to me when he handed my phone back to me that was even better than a picture.

He told me his father took him to his very first game – game two of the 1945 World Series – when he was 6 years old. He said it was one of his greatest memories and he remembers it like it was yesterday. He then said “that’s what you just gave your son!” I wanted to cry at that point – so very sweet!

We headed to the car for a very traffic-y drive back to Ann Arbor and, all the way home, as Harmon slept, I kept thinking that THESE were the nights I was waiting for when he was born, when I first learned I had a son.  

Back to it ....

I have pages of blog notes but, with work and two kids, getting these notes actually posted on the blog has been a challenge. Quite frankly, it's felt very overwhelming. I feel like I'm letting the boys' experiences just pass by without documentation. Thank God we take lots of pictures.

I was talking to a co-worker about this feeling the other day and she had some great advice. She said that, in scrapbooking, you will never catch up so you just do the most recent thing and work backwards. So, that's what we're going to do here ... I hope it works!

Meet Me in St. Louis

Our family vacation of 2012 took us to the Gateway to the West: St. Louis. And, while we will remember the trip for its scorching weather, fire alarms and the best van ever, it also will be remembered as the time we took the boys on a road trip back to Daddy’s old stomping grounds. 

Normally, we would fly such a long distance, but we decided to drive. After picking up our rental car, we quickly noticed the lingering cigarette smell. We returned it promptly and, lo and behold, about all they had left was a Town and Country van with leather captain seats and – BOOM! – a DVD player for the boys.

We knew it would be hard on the boys to drive straight through to St. Louis, so we decided to split the trip both ways. On the way down, we stayed in Bloomington, Indiana, home of our Big Ten brethren Hoosiers. We like to visit college towns during our travels, and often joke that we are taking the boys on their college visits about 12-15 years early. After settling into our hotel we took a brief tour of campus and even walked straight into Memorial Stadium. Quite beautiful, actually, but the real highlight came the next day.

On our way out of town, we decided to stop by fabled Assembly Hall to see if we could sneak in for a look around. Most of the doors were predictably bolted, but Aimee found an open door. She and Harmon crept down to the court and took a few photos before one of the facilities staff walked in. Busted? No way. He said, “I am going to make your day and turn the lights on.” For a good 20 minutes, we had the whole court to ourselves. The boys ran around and screamed, oblivious to the history below their feet.

Pulling our heads out of the clouds, we hit I-70 for a trip across Illinois to our destination. Upon checking into our hotel, I wanted to make sure we had the Arch view we had been promised. Our room was on the 14th floor and, upon flinging the drapes open, found the Arch staring us down. We could not have asked for a better room. There was still a lot of day left, so we took a trip to get some Pointer’s chicken pizza (try it!) and spend some time in Forest Park. As it got dark we headed down to the Arch to take one of the last trips of the night up the famous landmark. The boys loved it, especially seeing Busch Stadium lit up in the distance. Aimee had wobbly legs, so we headed back down and settled in for the night.

On Tuesday, we headed out to the St. Louis Zoo, still free after all these years. It was oppressively hot, and the boys eventually succumbed, but they were good sports. We decided to keep the boys cool, and what better way to do that than to embark on another college tour. The University of Missouri was a mere 100 miles down the road, so we grabbed some cold pops, decided we had time for that, cranked the AC and headed further west. In Columbia, we had dinner, tried in vain to get into the football stadium (not as accommodating as some of our other stops), and saw some of the campus landmarks. We drove back to St. Louis and got back into town just as the Cardinals’ game ended and traffic picked up.

We spent the Fourth of July entirely downtown. There was a parade and airshow outside of our hotel window, so we stayed indoors as long as we could before venturing out. On our way to Busch Stadium for the Cardinals game, we stopped by City Gardens, where the boys got an unexpected swimming experience. We then made our way to the house that Willie McGee built and this was, by far, the hottest point of our trip. Not sure if he passed out because of the heat, or simply fell asleep, as he had not taken a nap, but Simon just tanked it. After he awoke, we settled into the bleachers for, oh, about two innings. The scoreboard said 102 degrees and all four of us were like, NO WAY! We took the Metrolink back to the hotel and watched the fireworks from our hotel room.

On our final full day in the STL, we headed to City Museum. We were on the second or third floor when the fire alarm went off. Sure enough, we all evacuated, but only for about 45 minutes. After we piled back in, the boys had fun exploring every nook and cranny, inside and outside. We decided to take a short ride over to the Magic House, and the boys explored there for another two hours or so before we headed for The Hill, and Zia’s, for dinner. The boys actually ate better than we did, and we were stuffed for the night. We took one final campus trip, to nearby Washington University in St. Louis, where Daddy spent his final days in sports information. Back at the hotel, the boys swam, as they did most days.

On our way out of town on Friday, we dropped by Anheuser-Bush for a brewery tour; well, at least part of it. After we saw the Clydesdales, we got our free drinks and snacks and headed out of town. We saw the Arch in the rearview mirror and were glad the boys got to see where Daddy lived for four years and where we added another layer of family memories.

Like we did on the way down, we decided to split up our trip. We stopped for an overnight stay at my brother’s home in Washington, Illinois. The boys loved Uncle Steve’s new pool, we had Avanti’s for dinner, and we visited with Aunt Kim, Aunt Angela, cousins Kourtney and Katelyn, a rare summer visit, as we usually only see them during the Christmas holidays and Easter. The boys wanted my brother’s dog, Cheyenne, to sleep in their sleeping bags and she was ready to oblige, but had to sleep upstairs. After a good breakfast the next morning, we hit the road for Ann Arbor. It was a great trip home with great weather.

We got home Saturday night and used our buffer day of Sunday to get groceries, run errands, and settle back into our routine. It was great family vacation, and the boys loved every minute of it. And while I have been gone from St. Louis for 12 years, it was a reminder that this little Midwestern river town has always been a special part of our lives.

Simon at swim

Simon always has to attend Harmon’s sporting events so naturally he began asking when HE could start playing. Since there are not a lot of options for three-year-olds – at least options that work with our schedule – Kevin agreed to take him to the parent/child swim class. He was very excited but had one small concern – he needed to know if there were any frogs there!

Much like his Nana, Simon has a love-hate relationship with frogs. If they are stuffed or in figurine form, that’s cool. If they are real, well, that’s not so cool. Anyway, we assured him there were no frogs at the pool so he went on to have a great time!

We knew he was having a great time simply by the amount of happy screams that came out of his mouth. Side note: Kevin may have permanent hearing damage because Simon is just SO loud.

Besides having fun, he also did a great job. Kevin said that, at times, it seemed like he just wanted to go swim on his own. We’re guessing he’ll soon be ready for the next class when he IS on his own.

Christmas Vacation 2011

Each year, we all get so excited for Christmas vacation and, each year, we try to do it up right! This year, we were off for a LONG time together:

Harmon – 19 days

Aimee – 18 days

Kevin – 17 days

Simon – 16 days

And, we did lots! We saw Chip-Wrecked and took a trip to the North Pole. We had Harmon’s first-ever Christmas program at school and his end-of-season basketball banquet, complete with a U-M game. We hit up the Chelsea Tree House, saw The Polar Express in 3D at the Henry Ford, made way too many cookies and finished up our Christmas shopping. 

On Christmas Eve, we made our usual trip to Nana and Papa’s house so the boys could collect their loot. Actually, Harmon played Santa so he was the last one to open his gifts. He showed way more restraint than I did at 6! Harmon’s big gift from my family was a telescope and Simon got the Mini Cooper that he had been visiting at Toys R’ Us with my Mom. Of course, they got many OTHER things but those were the highlights.

Back at home, Santa set the bar high with scooters and far too many books for both boys. After we spent HOURS opening gifts and having breakfast, we headed back to my parents’ house for Christmas dinner with my extended family. As always, the turkey dinner was AMAZING and the boys got in some quality time with their cousins.

The day after Christmas, we headed to Peoria and spent a few days with Kevin’s family. The boys always love spending time in Peoria with their grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and other family members! We came back to Ann Arbor on Dec. 30 and our last family event was our annual New Year’s Eve dinner at Pizza House! It was a great almost three weeks together and we can’t wait to do it again in 2012!

Harmon hooping again!

Harmon played basketball again this fall and he was INTO IT! It helped that he had a classmate on his team and others in the league but, more than anything, he really seemed to get – and enjoy – the whole concept. He took A LOT of shots and scored on more than a few of them. I’m hoping the rest of his teammates didn’t find him to be too much of a ball hog! At the end of his season, he had a banquet and attended the Bradley @ U-M basketball game. It was this game that really jumpstarted his new-found love of Michigan basketball.

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 ...