Two BIG things happened this past week, with no help from Tim and me. First, Ian potty trained himself. He decided that he was finally just going to only go on the toilet. This was proceeded by several accidents that were pretty much all my fault. I feel awful. I was so bad at asking if he had to go to the bathroom before we went to the store or before we went out to play. If Ian said he had to go to the bathroom I usually said, "how long can you hold it?" since we were usually in the check out line at the grocery store. So, it seems as though Ian took matters into his own hands and decided that it was worth it to only go to the bathroom on the toilet.

Second, Emma has now decided that she likes to sleep between the hours of midnight and 5am. Previously, she was waking up at 2 or 3 am for a feeding, but has now enjoyed sleeping straight through. Emma sleeps from 7pm-7am with two feedings. Not bad...although for some reason I feel more tired.

Ian received a nerf gun and bell for his bike in reward for his potty training. Emma is now allowed to smoke the nerfs in reward for her new sleeping schedule.

Last weekend, Ian hosted his first ever bird feeder party. I would say it was quite a success. I was very impressed by all of the boy's painting abilities. The party however quickly turned into a wrestling match. Is this a sign of things to come? What happened to our sweet little boys?

The elephants came to town last week for the circus. Ian, Emma and I walked down to the Capitol to see the circus as they marched through the streets on the way to the Verizon Center to perform. There were donkeys and clowns as well, but the best part of the parade were the street cleaners that followed.

Ian, Emma, and I took a trip to Annapolis last week as well with Amy. We walked up and down the cobblestone streets and walked on the pier near the harbor, dreaming of a life out of DC. Nina and Grandpa also came for a visit making this past week a great one!

We returned from our east coast trip last Sunday. We were welcomed home by Tim who was excited to see us after a week away....spent the day as a family...and then the sickness started. Ian got it first: a high fever followed by an awful sore throat followed by a running nose and cough. Ian passed it on to Tim who passed it on to Emma. Today is the first day that everyone seems a little better. We finally slept for four hours straight last night. Today is a good day.

I didn't take many pictures over the last two weeks...no one was really in the mood. What I did document however was Emma eating her first "puffs" and Ian enjoying a little book on cd in his boxer briefs.

Even in sickness Ian and Emma seem to grow older by the day. Ian woke up a few days ago saying, "Mommy, I had a dream last night that I taught you how to do this," and immediately went in to half moon yoga position. It is true, I need help with half moon, but we were shocked that Ian could remember his dreams. We made a HUGE deal out of him remembering his dream and thought it was so cool. The next day he woke up from his nap saying that he had a dream that he ate french fries and so he wanted to go to Star and Shamrock for french fries and an afternoon snack. I am beginning to question these dreams...

Emma turned 8 months over the course of her sickness. She hacked and wheezed her way from seven to eight months. Emma is eating a ton of solid food now. She loves cheerios and puffs that melt in her mouth. Emma is also really taken to the pac and play and doesn't seem to LOVE her crib so we are debating having her sleep in the pac and play all the time. It is just amazing how much better and longer she sleeps when she is in the pac and play.

This weekend Ian and I had two big trips. On Saturday morning we went to a new Wegmans that opened up near our house, about twenty minutes away. It was amazing! I plan on going back again this week. Ian was completely overwhelmed and totally made out...he left with a shovel, his very own rake, two packs of gum, and a powerbar. Then this morning we went to a new local indoor pool that opened. It was awesome...and perfect for toddlers. Ian could walk into the water himself and play as if he was in a bathtub. We had the pool completely to ourselves and had a great time.

We have had some beautiful days here over the last two weeks which have made them more bearable. Daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses have made their way to the surface and are starting to brighten up the Hill!!!

Ian, Emma, and I traveled over 800 miles in the last week and boy what a difference a week makes. Ian is talking SO much. We chatted the entire 3 hours to Philly, 5 hours to Connecticut, and 6 plus hours home. He has so much on his mind including what he is going to be when he grows up which happens to be either "ME" or a "hockey player." He starts his stories with, "So..." or "Sometimes..." followed by a long pause. Ian is still potty training as well but we had no accidents during our car rides. We did have another motion sickness incident however, ten minutes from my sisters house in Connecticut on 84. If you know the road you know there are not many places to pull over. As I was changing Ian's clothes on the side of the road people kept honking at me like, "Are you crazy?"

Emma learned to sit up this past week. She was crawling around a bit before and pulling herself up, but could not sit up on her own. We are now able to put her on the floor without pillows surrounding her as she can sit up and then go into crawling position on her own. Emma loves playing with anything Ian is playing with. Right now her favorite toys are trains and balls, which oddly enough Ian never liked to play with. We are also getting ready to really baby proof the house again. We never got baby gates for Ian, but now with two kids we really need them. Emma has found the stairs and is very eager to climb them!

We had a great time visiting lots of family and friends this past week. Some of the highlights are below:

Celebrating Will's birthday at a local farm in Connecticut

Emma sitting up on her own at the best library ever (West Hartford)

Celebrating Becky's birthday

Visiting with Nana

Sitting in the wooden highchair at my parents house

Happy to be back home and in her own crib