4

One unexpected thing about parenting is finding out why cliches are cliches. It's because they are true! That one about kids "growing up too fast"? True. Miriam turned four years old today. Holy cow! How did that happen? Miri was so excited last night that she couldn't sleep, and she spent much of the day with a big grin on her face. We spent the morning with three of her pre-school friends at the Imagination Stage, a wonderful kids' theater where we watched "What Does Red Do on Thursday?" In the afternoon, we had our family party, complete with a chocolate lamb cake (Miri is obsessed with her lamb -- which her mom had adored growing up), pumpkin custard, and hummus (for Robin). The birthday girl was so wound up that we'll be surprised if she actually sleeps tonight...

Um, Robin...it's Miriam's birthday, not yours!

Don't blow the lamb's head off, Miri!

Goofing around in Nana's hat

Judge Costa

We're so proud of our old friend, Gregg Costa. In the old days back in Sunflower, "Mr. Costa" and Daddy lived and worked together, and folks in town used to get them confused. Now he's "Judge Costa" -- President Obama nominated him to be a federal judge in Galveston, and he came to DC for his confirmation hearings. Congratulations, Judge Costa!

Halloween craziness

Our neighborhood is teeming with little kids, and we rounded them up for pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating a day early. Miriam is well versed in the Halloween routine, and she knew that she wanted to be "something purple" this year. What's purple? "A train!" Well, okay, the Purple Line is going to come through our neighborhood in a few years, but we already did the Metro train (and the Metro bus) before, so how about something new? "Grapes!" Grapes? "Grapes! I want to be grapes for Halloween!" Okay...so we got her all fixed up and ready to roll.

Little did we know that she would end up looking like the "Fruit of the Loom" guy...

Lions and pumpkins and grapes, oh my!

Victory!

Chilly camping

We had big plans for our Fall camping trip, but most of them fell through -- cousin Pearce couldn't make it, neighbor Sienna backed out, and then the girls got sick. But we went anyway! We inaugurated our new-to-us minivan by heading to Greenbelt National Park (can't believe it's so close) for a crisp night of stars & s'mores. It was chilly (40 degrees ) but fun. Robin and Miriam hogged the sleeping pads and slept better than their parents. Some highlights:

Miri teaches Robin the ways of fire-blowing

S'mores! S'mores! S'mores!

Oatmeal by the fireside with Lamb...what could be better?

Sukkot tradition

We started a new family tradition for Sukkot: going to the pumpkin patch! Actually, it's more like combining a fall tradition we love (pumpkins!) with one that, well, needs some improving (Sukkot). Somehow, we manage to pick a rainy day each time we go to this particular patch, but that just means that we get the whole place to ourselves.

Miri at the patch two years ago

Miri in 2011

Robin in 2011 -- we couldn't get her to strike the pose!

KIAP! (Yeah, we don't know why she's kicking either...)

Rabbi Mommy

Q: Who are the rabbis at Temple Sinai?

Miriam: Rabbi Roos, Rabbi Oleon, and Rabbi Mommy!

The past couple weeks have been hectic times for Rabbi Mommy -- a grand slam sermon on Rosh Hashanah, all day service on Yom Kippur, bar/bat mitzvah kids, a retreat with teenagers, Sukkot, ...this time of year is exhausting for clergy! But she loves being a rabbi and she's great at it. We love you, Rabbi Mommy!

Books, Books, Books

It's no secret that the Asch girls love to read -- that's pretty much the go-to activity when all else fails. Yesterday, we were lucky enough to have a real-live children's author (and wonderful family friend), Mark Pett, come to Miri's pre-school class as the first stop on his nationwide book tour. Yup, before he hit Politics & Prose and the best bookstores around the country, he came to Temple Sinai Nursery School to read his hilarious and heart-warming new book, The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes. Miri was so proud to have "Millie's daddy" come to class!