Summer 2012

I am not quite sure how to start this post or how to sum up the summer of 2012...it has been extremely HOT, very exciting, very fun, but also very interesting. I found out that I was pregnant at the beginning of June as we were preparing to make the trip to Sewickley, PA to visit Tim's family. Tim and I talked about it for maybe two minutes before we started packing the car and getting Ian and Emma ready for the five hour trip. I had nine wonderful days of pregnancy bliss before I was terribly sick for most of June and July. I don't want to sound dramatic but I am not sure how we made it through. Ian and Emma were such troopers and pretty much dealt with my sickness for most of the summer. Ian even started bringing me toast in bed in the mornings. Tim was incredible and gave me every respite he could. Thank goodness that I am feeling much better and now at week 18, am definitely showing a baby bump. We find out in a few days what we will be having. It is so much fun to share this pregnancy with Ian and Emma. They constantly want to know what the baby is doing and how big the baby is.

 During this "sickness period" Tim and I decided we needed to move out of DC to give us more room and the kids more space to run...and then ended up deciding that we needed to stay in DC on Capitol Hill for the long haul. It was a crazy process of driving around Virginia every weekend, going to open houses, and then realizing that we just aren't ready to move off the Hill. I am so thankful we went through this process though because we are both now committed to Capitol Hill and raising our kids here.

 Ian and Emma have also grown up so much this past summer. Ian turned four and seemed to become a grown man over night. He suddenly will put his shoes on for himself, is ok with us leaving him, is able to talk through situations instead of throwing tantrums, and will brew coffee for us in the morning. Emma turned two this summer and has started talking a lot more. She can't really say "Ian" so she calls him "Boy" which at first was weird but is now very endearing. They still love to play with each other which usually means getting into trouble together although Emma is starting to become the annoying little sister that just won't leave Ian alone.

 We got to take some fun trips this summer to visit the Chapmans in Ohio and Sewickley, the Rotzells in Havertown, and Aunt Becky in Harrisburg. We also just got back from a two and a half week trip to Martha's Vineyard that I will post about later.

 Below are pictures, in no particular order, of Ian and Emma's birthdays with the grands and fun times with family and friends this summer. Some highlights are making swords with our friends Amber and Deacon, playing with cousin Finn, a visit with Aunt Sally and cousins Cate and Will, a trip to the Pittsburgh Science Museum, pre-bedtime walks with Daddy smelling flowers, picking peaches from our peach tree, and the huge bonfire at the family milk house in Ohio.

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