We had a busy weekend...filled with traveling, surprise parties, bridal showers, and family. When I have had a chance to look through my pictures (and to beg my aunt Cheryl for a CD of her pictures taken), I plan to post about the weekend.

But for now, let me tell you......I am typically exhausted after a weekend like that...and true to form, we arrived home, I was definitely exhausted, but also rejuvenated.

I tell you who was exhausted. Iliya. And it showed up in the form of a fever, on Monday morning. He has been battling allergies, it seems (coughing, runny nose, sneezing - and what a funny, dramatic sneeze he has developed!), and those, paired with his system being a bit run down from all the excitement over the weekend, caused him to feel under the weather and run a fever. Several times, he told me, "I not feel good. I'm sick. I coughing. I need medicine."

Fortunately, Nathan and I were both off on Monday (obscure state holiday) so we just stayed home and got some things done while taking care of our sickie. I didn't realize how bad he felt until later in the afternoon, he crawled in my lap and just sat there. So I sang to him, for probably a half hour, and then he asked to watch a movie. And Iliya doesn't care much for TV, so when he sat in my lap and watched TV with me for an hour, I knew he wasn't kidding when he said he didn't feel good.

We got his fever down, with a little help from some medicine, and on Tuesday morning, he was back to himself. He woke up and told me, "I feel better. I not sick anymore!" It seems that his little system had just been telling him he needed to slow down a little bit and get some rest. Mine does that, too, sometimes.

Tuesday was also to be a big day for him.

He has been doing fabulously, with his potty training at home. With the exception of some wet diapers/pullups at night, he has been taking care of all his business in the potty. As I've mentioned before, we have not been parents to push him to wear underwear...we knew he would do it when he was ready, and honestly, I'm too tired to change messy underwear all the time, and fight any battles I don't have to fight. So only recently has he even begun wearing underwear all the time at home (except for at night).

He has also been staying mostly dry at school. Last Friday, Nathan and I had our scheduled parent/teacher conference with his teacher and the #1 topic for all of us was Iliya's readiness to"go for it" in terms of potty training. We were all on the same page about him wearing underwear to school - and when we picked Iliya up from school, we told him that the next time he went to school, he would get to wear big boy underwear to school!

So Monday was supposed to be Day One...but since he was sick, Day One was moved to yesterday (Tuesday). And I have to tell you, it was a success! When he & Nathan got home, the first thing he pointed out was that he was still in the same clothes he had worn to school! Of course, we made a big deal about it. And the second thing he said was, "I tee-tee'd in the potty! I'm a big boy! I go to big school, now!!"

And I don't know how subsequent days will go - I'm hoping really well! - but last night, as we were getting ready for bed, Nathan and I discussed the whole day, and how Iliya seemed to transform right before our eyes yesterday. He went from being identified by his need to wear diapers & pullups...to this empowered little boy who could now be identified as "BIG" because he'd had a successful day in his big boy underwear. He went from a child who doesn't care much for change to a child who actually brought up a change...with excitement!

So we're a little torn. Torn between wanting to toss some bricks on Iliya's head to keep him little for just a while longer...and being so excited that our precious little boy is blossoming and growing into a precious big boy, right before our eyes.