Happy 4th Birthday Robin!

Making Sushi

  Yes, we just published about Miriam's birthday, but Robin's has already come and gone as well. For Robin's birthday she wanted to go sledding. The weather cooperated and we got a nice layer of snow on top of the ice (more on the ice storm later). We spent the morning on the outdoor rink at the Davidson's. Robin held her own with the bigger kids and skated for over an hour. After nap, we hit the slopes in our backyard (okay, one slope, it was a little too fast and icy to go all the way from the top of the house). Dinner was Robin requested sushi. Dessert was chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. It was a great day, even if we did have power!

Robin loves doing her "homework." Great present!

Ready to go!

      For her party, Robin did some more sledding with her friends and then had dessert (chocolate cupcakes and ice cream sundaes). All, in all, a good start to her fourth year. Robin is an outgoing kiddo who is friendly to everyone she meets. She is goofy, funny, thoughtful and take initiative. We are looking forward to seeing who she becomes in the years to come!

Happy 6th Birthday Miriam!

     

Ready!

  It's hard to believe that Miriam is six years old already (Cue parental trip down memory lane.) Miri had a great birthday with a chocolate chip pancake breakfast, special birthday wishes over the loudspeaker at Hall-Dale Elementary, and a birthday dinner of pizza, mango and brownies and ice cream. Yum! She also had a patriotic themed birthday party with American treats (pizza, American yogurt treats (with strawberries and blueberries), sweet potatoes and corn bread), American flags, and lots of crazy kids.

Cooking in her new chef's hat.

Miriam is a truly great kiddo. She is adventurous, tough, sensitive, curious and goofy. There is never a dull moment with her around!

Getting ready....

Daddy adds the whipped cream to the ice cream sundae.

Visit with the Cousins

     Despite moving way up North to Maine we have still had some good family time. We had a great visit to Worcester to help celebrate a birthday with Nana. Rob and Vida came up from DC, so all the Myers cousins were together for the first time ever! It was a jam packed weekend with soccer and hockey games, playing in the backyard and all over the house, good food and lots of family time.

     Last weekend Daddy took Aaron to DC for a conference. They had a packed couple of days and Aaron had some great times with Nana. (Thank you to Nana for her never ending patience, delicious food, and the fabulous new shoes!) Despite a packed schedule, Daddy and Aaron were able to fit in a visit with Cousins Gabe and Tamara and their amazing kids, Dan and (relatively) new baby Michael, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dennis, Cousins Pearce and Isla (and their parents) and our neighbors and friends Amy, Craig, Jen and their families.. Whew. No wonder they slept well when they got home. More pictures to come!



 

Hallowell-oween

Okay, we realize it is two weeks after Halloween. Give us a break. We're trying our best! We have dubbed the holiday Hallowelloween in honor of our new town. Hallowell loves this holiday. There are "pre-parties" complete with friends, food and drinks before everyone heads off into the wild for trick or treating. This is a fun tradition. Nothing like watching the kids run around like crazy in anticipation of the candy to come while welcoming people as they come to the door.

 Even some pretty serious rain couldn't dampen our spirits. The girls again came up with some creative costumes. Miriam was the Statue of Liberty (in keeping with her patriotic spirit) and Robin was a globe (in keeping with her "round themed" costumes). Aaron was a moneybag (which went along great with Chris' fat cat costume--that tux comes in really handy). The girls were troopers. They had hard costumes to walk in. Note to self--do  not use waterproof paint if it is going to rain! They had quite a haul at the end of the night and are already planning their Purim costumes.

es.

We're Back

    Where did fall and the Asch family go? We've been busy! Mommy led her first High Holiday services at Temple Beth El to rave reviews :^) and is very glad it is over. The holidays continued throughout the month of September and we built our own Sukkah and had our neighbors over. Daddy started teaching at UMA in addition to working on his book, editing the Washington History Journal, joining the Board of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center and taking care of the kids.

   The kids have been busy too. Miriam started school and just moved to first grade a couple of weeks ago. She has been a champ with the transition. Still a little bit shy with her new teacher, but making friends and learning a lot. She also got glasses--we said it has been a big couple months! We are so glad the school caught her vision problem before it got worse. She also has been playing soccer, reading up a storm, and making up lots of fun games for her siblings. She recently built a White House and drew pictures of her six favorite presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Obama.

     Robin started preschool with Miss Kilene. She is having a great time, making a lot of friends (she has her groupies here like she did in DC), and showing up the kindergarten kids with her sight word knowledge. She enjoys her two days a week at home where she loves to play Mastermind, read and cook. Robin has recently taken over the family calendar, and loves figuring out what day it is. She is really looking forward to starting gymnastics, which she does at home in all her spare time. She is still her smiley, happy self.

     Aaron is fourteen months...what can we really say about him? He is not much of a sleeper, and doesn't like schedules very much. He does love being on the move and has recently learned how to scoot chairs across the floor and climb onto them...no nowhere is off limits! He is also very good at grunting and pointing which is a surprisingly good method of communication. He is babbling more and is still a persistent little kiddo. He knows what he wants and when he wants it and he lets you know about it!

AA is ONE!!

Happy birthday to Aaron. We can't believe that he is one already! We had a great day with our big kid. Breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, Skype with Grandma Jean and PopPop, trip to the Children's Discover Museum, swimming and dinner with our neighbors and ice cream to top it all off!  A great day with a great kiddo. Aaron is tenacious and opinionated--he lets you know what he wants and when! He loves to play with his sisters and Thunder and is constantly on the move. He is finally sleeping and is generally a smiley and happy kid. We are so happy to have him as a part of our family!

Ice cream

Going places.

 Loving his breakfast.

Hanging in the ball pit...one of AA's favorite places.

August Days

It's hard to believe that we are heading into the last couple weeks of the summer. Here's what we have been up to the last couple of weeks.

 Heading off to farm camp

 Baseball!

 Snack time on the porch. Miri put out snacks for everyone including writing down everyone's name.

 Yardwork! (Start them young!)

 Taking in a Portland Sea Dogs game.

 Frog. Our neighbor found it in the pool and brought it over to play.

 Hanging out in Vaughn Woods.

Soccer cleats and dresses. What is better?

Old Hallowell Day

Our new town of Hallowell has a great tradition, Old Hallowell Day. It is basically a huge town party. Last week, we were lucky enough to enjoy our first one. Miriam declared it better then the Fourth of July. (Did we mention there was a parade with lots of candy involved?) There was also a great field day for kids put on by Hearts for Ezra, a ride in a hot air balloon and fireworks. It was a great day!

 

Ready for candy

 Yes, there is a zambonie in the parade!

Who doesn't like a fire hat?

Walking!

World, we have a walker! Aaron is now cruising around the house, up the stairs and generally getting into everything. He is so proud of himself, and very happy with his new found ability. Life in the Asch household will never be the same!

AA shows off his walking skills....wait for it, it is at the end of the video.

Eleven Months old!

 At the park

 Tough kid

 

Goats!