A whole new Asch

Miriam has a new little sister: Robin Arielle Asch. Her initials are RAA, pronounced "RAAAAWR" like a lion (which is what "Arielle" means in Hebrew), as in "I am woman, hear me RAAAWR!" She weighed in at 8lbs, 8oz, just like her big sis.

Robin was named for her Grandpa Bob, who died four years ago on this very day. She waited an extra eight days (and 19 hours of labor -- her mama is one tough cookie!) to be able to have her birthday right on Grandpa Bob's Yahrzeit. When Grandpa Bob was a kid, he was often called "Robin," and now we will have another li'l Robin fluttering around. Welcome to the world, kid!

SNOW DAY

DC is snowed in! We are currently in the middle of our biggest snow in at least 7 years, and the biggest December storm since 1932. Right now we have at least a foot outside and it is still falling steadily. Here are some pictures from our recent outing into the winter wonderland. Thank you so much to Rachel for sending the snowsuit from Philly just in time.

Little Jewish Girl

Daddy makes fun of how happy Mommy is about Miri's recent Jewish indoctrination. Yesterday Miriam was "calling" Grandma Jean and PopPop (she says HopHop) on the phone and wishing them a Happy Hanukkah. Then, she put her baby in the stroller and announced that it was wearing a "kippah." She also has recently taken to singing the "Shema" at the top of her lungs, especially in the grocery store. It sounds a little garbled, but it is clear enough to embarrass Mommy occasionally (though she really kind of likes it). With eight days of Hanukkah, Miri has become a candle-lighting fiend and she has developed a craving for sweet potato latkes. What to do now that Hanukkah is over? Oy!

Happy Hanukkah!

Miriam has been loving Hanukkah. What could be better than candles every night? She got this awesome animal menorah from Nana (via her dear friend Aimee) and runs downstairs every morning just to hold it and look at the "graf," "edefan," and the other animals (and then, of course, she gets to light them on fire each night). In the background are people from the "Little People Hanukkah Set" from Cousin Chase. So cute! We had a Hanukkah gathering at our place on Saturday afternoon with some neighbors and Cousin Pearce and his parents. The kids really liked the doughnuts and the Sammy the Spider Hanukkah story, though Miriam was a bit possessive of her mommy and the book. The adults liked having grown-up conversations and eating homemade latkes while the little ones trashed the house. Fun!!

Now we love Winter!

We just got our first snow here in DC. The whole family went out last night to play as it was coming down. Miri's favorite part was eating the snow, which was "cold" and "yummy." We went for a walk again today and played at the ice-covered playground. When not outside we found this a perfect time for cuddling up with the comics and cooking some brownies. Yum!! Happy winter everyone.

We love Fall!

Fall in DC is absolutely gorgeous, and Miri has been getting out in the leaves. She is lucky enough to live just up the hill from Sligo Creek Park, and our house has been awash in red, yellow, orange, and brown. Daddy doesn't really believe in raking leaves, but he loves a good pile for jumping. The other day, he, Mama & Miri enjoyed a romp in an ocean of leaves. Miri loved burying Daddy in the leaves and almost disappeared herself!

Birthday Girl

We have a two year old!
Miri celebrated her birthday with a trip to the doctor and a visit from Grandma Margery (hereafter known as Nana). Check our her new birthday pjays to the right. Miri also had a Skype date with Grandma Jean and PopPop, who were able to watch her open her presents. She also enjoyed eating challah and drinking juice for Shabbat...an added bonus. We had a birthday celebration on Sunday with DC family (Nana, Uncle Rob, Aunt Vida and Cousin Pearce, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dennis, Cousins Gabe and Tamara) and friends from the neighborhood.
Miri got very excited about other people wearing party hats, her birthday balloon, and of course presents. Oh, how old is Miriam? Check out her answer below.

Right there

Miri gets a kick out of telling us exactly where things are:

Ovie, the Penguin

Daddy's good friend from Duke, Michael Saul, came for a visit last week and, as usual, he brought a fantastic present for Miriam: a Miri-sized penguin. Daddy, however, was a bit perturbed to have a penguin in the house during hockey season. The compromise? Miri named the penguin "Ovie," in honor of Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals' goal-scoring machine. Miri loves having Ovie around, as the video shows:

Pumpkin Fever

So, we are a little bit backed up. Miri had a great time as a pumpkin on Halloween (thanks for the costume, cousins Matthew and Damon!). She was very cute, even if her parents mangled all the good pictures. We went around the Top, our community, with a group of kids from the neighborhood. Miri was one of the littlest ones, but she managed to keep up and even learned how to say something approximating "trick or treat" by the end of the evening. Once home, she lined up all her candy on the table and got to eat two pieces. Mommy and Daddy have been enjoying the rest. We're worried that next year she will remember that the candy is there!!

The Patience of No-der

Big T again proved that he is the best cat ever (except, of course, for still-missing Lightning who used to sleep in the crib with Miri). Miriam has been potty training for the last couple of weeks, which means that she has been introduced to un-nu-near. She really loves her underwear, especially the fact that it fits so well on Thunder's head. Check out the slide show below to see the patience of our beloved cat.

Happy Fall!

In honor of the turning of the season, the Asch family went to a pumpkin patch last weekend. (We notice that cute pictures of kids with pumpkins seems to be a must when doing blog postings). We had a great time picking out pumpkins and visiting the animals, including goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits and chickens! After some pumpkin picking we warmed up with some hot cider and pumpkin butter.
Miri also helped to bake some pumpkin cookies (thanks for the recipe Grandma Jean!) Miri's favorite parts were helping with beaters and licking the batter. Yum!

Daddy's new job

Miri's pretty excited about her daddy's new job at the only public college in our nation's capital: the University of the District of Columbia. UDC has a new president and a new vision, and Daddy was hired to help launch a brand-new Center for Urban Education. He still will do his Public Service Academy on the side, but UDC is where he goes on his bike each morning. Not only will Daddy not have to raise his own salary anymore (and the family actually gets health care!), he also gets a chance to build something new and enduring in his hometown. Miri's proud to wear the red & gold of UDC around town.

This is how we roll

Hapkido may be in her future...

Just swinging...

Miriam doesn't really fit into this swing, but she loves bouncing around in it anyway. Check her out:

Might as well JUMP!

In the spirit of the old Van Halen song, Miriam and her cousin Damon take advantage of a squishy couch:

Worcester Time

We had a great visit with Mike, Ann, Matthew and Damon over the weekend. The boys were wonderful with Miri...Damon showed her how to play with play-doh and shared his dolls and trucks with her. Matthew showed her how to play the drums and read bedtime stories to her. Some of the best moments? Watching #49 Matthew score 5 goals, get 2 assists, and play some good D in two games with the mighty Sharks; watching Damon show Miri how to make play-doh sharks; walking Maggie in full Sharks regalia while Miri and the boys played street hockey; watching Miri play with fire trucks while sporting her Sharks gear. Did we mention that Uncle Mike works for the Worcester Sharks? Thanks for a great visit, Myers clan!!

Partying with Grandma

Well, folks, as of tomorrow it's official: Grandma Margery is retiring from a long career in medicine. To celebrate her amazing work, the Myers boys (Daddy, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Rob) threw a retirement party last weekend. Family traveled from near and far. Miri was delighted to see Mimi (Bob's sister, Michelle) and her Massachusetts family. Cousin Matthew and Cousin Dado (Damon) were big hits in Miri's book. She had a hard time keeping up with them, but liked to try. Cousin Pearce joined the party as well, making it a total family reunion. Grandma had a great time, and deserved all the praise she got for being such a wonderful doctor! Oh, did we mention there were balloons at the party? What could be more fun?

5 Things Miri Learned in Israel

We just got back from a great family trip to Israel to celebrate Cousin Gabe's wedding to Tamara. (They live in DC and we are lucky enough to see them often!) Here are five things Miri learned from her ten days in perhaps the most historically, religiously, and politically significant region in the world:

1. Israel is full of rocks.
Miri loves to pick up rocks, carry rocks, throw rocks...and Israel did not disappoint. Boring historic archaeological site? No...it's simply a great place to find more rocks. Here she sits in Jerusalem's Old City practicing her rock throwing form. What fun!


2. Israel has great (and dangerous) playgrounds.
There are monster slides and lots of kids playing on stuff that would be outlawed in the States.


3. "Ice" is gooooooooood.
That stands for ice cream, one of the many new words Miri learned on the trip. Below, Miri and Daddy tangle over a chocolate ice cream cone at Gabe and Tamara's wedding.


4. Natural swimming pools rock!
We visited several rivers, streams, pools, and the beach and Miri loved them all. Below, she swims with Uncle Ben, Aunt Megan and Cousin Chase at the Ein Gedi Nature Preserve.


5. Water bottles are lots of fun.
Miri was obsessed with the large water bottles that we carried around Israel. She'd carry them, squeeze them, and chug from them -- often with disastrously wet results.


We should mention that this girl is a super great traveler. No jet lag, no naps, and still a (mostly) sunny disposition. What a trouper!

Summer Fun at the Pool

We have had a hot week here in DC, and that has meant only one thing: pool, pool, pool. Miri has been enjoying a chance to cool off and has become a great swimmer lately. Okay, so she still sinks like a rock if Mommy lets go of her, but she is great at kicking her way across the water. She also loves to jump in, usually to go after the plastic fish that she tosses in there. Summer fun has included hanging with cousin Pearce and eating yummy peaches fresh from the farmer's market. Summer is here.

Happy BIrthday, America!

We had a great time celebrating the 4th here in (or very, very close to) our nation's capital. Miri and Daddy went to the 1st Annual Top of the Park 4th of July Kids' Parade -- basically, a bunch of us parents decided to get a boom box and walk around the neighborhood playing patriotic songs. This was followed by a neighborhood potluck. Daddy brought the sweet potatoes and Miri chowed on the blueberries. She has become quite a fruit eater lately! We spent the afternoon at the pool. Margery came over for dinner along with our Cincinnati neighbors, Yann and Ezgi. We didn't get to see the fireworks in person, but they looked pretty good on TV. Happy 4th everyone!