Wherefore art thou, Lightning?

It's been a sad week at the Asch household. Our beloved cat, Lightning, disappeared during one of the many rainy days here this week, and we miss her terribly. She's a pretty savvy little thing who grew up in the Delta countryside, so we can't imagine that she got "lost" but we don't really want to think what else might have happened to her. Miriam misses her crib-mate -- for the first time in more than a year, Daddy had to go into her room to console her in the middle of the night. With messages on the neighborhood listserv and signs all over the place, we can only hope that someone will recognize her and bring her back...

Matzah Take Two

In addition to eating matzah, Miriam is now able to say matzah as well. Okay, it sounds like mama, but she means matzah. Maybe there's some symbolism there, but we'll leave it to our readers to sort out.

Matzah, matzah, matzah

Passover is here and that means just one thing---"special crackers." That is what we call matzah in the Asch family household (although Daddy says Miri will be saying matzah by the end of the holiday). Miri is in love with crackers, so we were a little bit worried about the transition to life with only matzah. So far, she has done great. Her favorites? Licking the peanut butter and cream cheese off of the matzah. She also enjoyed a breakfast of matzah brie this morning (matzah cooked with eggs). Also a big hit was Mrs. Feinberg's kugel. Who wouldn' t like sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, and matzah meal with lots of butter and sugar?

Mrs. Feinberg's was also a hit at our seder where we hosted family and friends. A special shout out to Gabe and Dennis, whose female halves abandoned them to foreign countries. We were so happy to have them at our place and love having family in DC. As always, it was wonderful to see Grandma Margery too!

One last note....some of our fans (okay, our family who care enough to comment) noted Miri's beautiful (and thematic) cherry dress. While we take credit for dressing her in it to view the cherry blossoms, we have to thank "Big Cousins" Gabe and Tamara for the thoughtful birthday gift. It was, indeed, a great pick.

Cherry Blossoms

DC has been abuzz with the blooming of the cherry blossoms. The Asch family didn't feel like braving the crowds of tourists at the "official" festival, so Daddy and Grandma Margery headed to the National Arboretum instead.






There they saw the blossoms and Miri played in front of the original columns from the Capitol Building (don't worry, they were later replaced).After some fun in the sun (thank goodness it finally came out!) Daddy took Miri to the park to play with Grandma Margery, Cousin Pearce, Uncle Rob, Aunt Vida, and Mommy. Miri showed everyone her new trick, hanging on the monkey bars. Her favorite part? Letting go and having Daddy catch her. Mommy's favorite part? Breathing again after Daddy catches her...

Grandparents Visit

It's been a busy week here in the Asch household as Miriam's grandparents came to visit for the week. For Mommy and Daddy this meant lots of free childcare, time to go on a date, and a great time hanging out. For Miriam, this meant lots of attention from two adoring people. What fun!

Grandma proclaimed Miriam even cuter in person than on the blog (so y'all better visit us, hear?). Miriam showed off her eating and talking skills. She has started talking up a storm lately. Yesterday she said "socks" while Daddy was dressing her. When she wanted to eat she said "crackers" to Mommy. But, we digress. One of the things the grandparents found most cute is how Miriam smiles for pictures. Whenever we hold up the camera she closes her eyes (to protect them from the flash) and smiles. Here she shows off these particular skills while taking a bath. It makes for some funny pictures and good future blackmail material.

Thanks for a great visit, Grandma Jean and PopPop!

Talking

Miriam's been babbling away of late and adding more than just the "dada" and "baba." She's starting to say distinct words for particularly beloved things. Her first word was for the most important thing in her life:

Take your daughter to work day

With Mommy overseas, Daddy's been struggling to keep the carpet clean and the clothes matching back home. He and Miri took a field trip downtown to run some errands and see some of Miri's intern friends. First they went to the bank:



Next they stopped at the office:




And then on back home: