I don't think this fence is going to hold him...

Downtown

Helping Dad fold his laundry

When your friends slow you down

It's fun to watch Asher crawl from his room, down the hallway and to the living room. Now, Asher loves Gobi, his blanket giraffe (see photo), so recently he's started wanting to bring Gobi as well. Unfortunately, Gobi keeps tripping him so he can't get very far. But if anyone else tries to carry him, he cries, because he wants Gobi. But once he's got Gobi, he cries again because he can't follow the person because he keeps tripping on Gobi. It's a vicious cycle until someone carries them both (or distracts him long enough to throw Gobi back in the crib).

My not so contemplative side...

My contemplative side

The stages after learning to stand

Stage 1: Amazement: Wow! Look at that - he can pull himself to a standing position!
Stage 2: Humor: Ha Ha. Look at that. Silly baby doesn't know how to sit down.
Stage 3: Sympathy: Poor little baby. He gets so upset because he needs help sitting down.
Stage 4: Annoyance: Okay, this is getting a little old. Every time he stands up, we have to help him sit down again.
Stage 5: Back to Amazement: Wow! It's been over a month and he still isn't coordinated enough to sit down on his own.
Stage 6: Relief.

Daddy can't keep up with me!

Nana and I on the metro

Just kidding Nana, I know it's "Nana and Me"

New Friends and Old Friends

Today Asher made a new friend - Max! and Mommy got to see an old friend - Kimmie.

Even trouble needs a nap sometimes.

Nana at the library

Every Thursday Daddy and I go to the library for story/music time. This week, Nana got to go with us!

Daddy won me a medal! (and then I ate it.)

Last weekend, Daddy ran a race and won me a medal! Nana, mommy and I made a great cheering squad.

Favorite Games

1. Ball (he knows how to roll it AND bounce it!)
2. Follow the leader/chase
3. Open and shut the door

First Mother's Day

Asher and I were so excited about mother's day we decided to start early - 4:30 am!

Poor Asher had a very rough morning - between his allergies and teething he was a mess. He fought (and cried) hard trying to resist taking his medication. A few hours later when he was so close to falling asleep (eyes shut, deep breathing) he went to rub his eyes but forgot he was still holding his toothbrush and accidentally stabbed himself in the eyes. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Spinx chose this time to object to Asher's presence once more (that's right a swipe on the head, but more on that problem later).

Fortunately, a good morning nap helped considerably and we were still able to have a great day downtown at the Natural History Museum (my favorite), and between the fish tank downstairs and the swimming insects upstairs, the day was salvaged. And then bonus, noodles at the Burmese restaurant! Asher is apparently a big fan of Asian cuisine. (Mom's favorite part of the Burmese restaurant? Asher sat next to his dad, and mom got to eat in peace!)

New Games

One of the amazing things about Asher is that everyday he learns something new. Sometimes he will even initiate new games. The other day, I didn't realize that I was "chasing" him while he was crawling until he started laughing. He also now plays the game of passing objects back and forth to a person. He also loves opening and shutting the door. The best new game though is one that he invented himself today. He trained his dad very quickly on this one.
Just in case the video doesn't come through, the game is as follows. He grabs his Dad's sleeves and pulls him in and gets a kiss. Then he pushes Dad away and then pulls him back and get another kiss. It is fantastic. What a day for me to choose to wear a sleeveless shirt!

Asher expresses skepticism at the Silver Spring Water Fountain

"Really? This is supposed to be fun?"

Vietnamese Restaurant

Not since cheerios has Asher been this enthusiastic about a new taste. The boy loves Pho.
And ice water out of a straw.

My Diet

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and baninies

and now Pho, Rice Noodles, Rice, Corn, Peas,
and especially Cheerios, I can fit at least 20 in my mouth.

Diet!

Dad, I think I gained weight again.

I'm Phat and all that!

Grandpa will be so proud!

My first real toothbrush!

Angela and Nigel visit from Australia!

It was great to see Ang and Nig again after such a long time, and to introduce them to Deenesh, Asher and Spinx. We had a great time despite the unrelenting rain. Nig and Ang got fancy Smithsonian ponchos, Nig got one with a special face covering hood :)

Strutting his stuff at the Native American Museum

This marked the first time that Asher climbed stairs. It's not that he couldn't do it before, but since we don't have stairs in the apartment, he'd never had the opportunity to try.

Flower Mart at National Cathedral

Don't take this the wrong way. We enjoyed ourselves. We just expected more flowers at the flower mart.

We had a nice time, and even though Asher was too little to go on the mini-ferris wheel or the giant inflated wave slide, he still had fun waving his British flag.

The Perfect Accessory

Don't tell Mommy I'm hiding in here, I'm going to jump out and surprise her when she gets to school.

Double Fisting Phones

Asher couldn't quite figure out how to hold on to both phones AND play with the spinning game at the same time, so at one point he tried to pick up the orange knob with his mouth.