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.