My New Game

I want to thank everyone for the fan mail yesterday. There was an overwhelming response to yesterday's post! I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much! Here is a quote from one of my fan letters: "Just had to let you guys know that I just read the last two posts on Asher's blog and it caused me to disturb the whole library with my laughing.  So, now the blog is no longer allowed to be my study distraction.  But I enjoyed it.  The play by play of the day should become a regular feature."

So, after much thought, I have decided that I will do a day off note at least once a week. The fans have spoken! Also, I love hearing from you! I would love for all of you to become followers of this blog--just go to the right side of the page, scroll down, and click the follow button!  Thank you!

I have a new game to share with you today. No, not Bite the Nip. That was yesterday's game, and that would be weird if anyone but me played it. This is a game that just about everyone can play. In fact, if you can crawl, you can play. It's called Catch That Broom!

We have wood floors in most of our house. We also have a three-year-old and an almost five-year-old. They like to eat snacks. Therefore, there is a lot of sweeping going on in our house. I really like the broom. I really like the piles of stuff the broom makes. I love putting stuff from those piles in my mouth.

The game is very simple. No matter what you're doing when you see someone pick up the broom (in my case, Mom), stop what you're doing and...Catch That Broom! Mom's pretty good at moving the piles away from me, but that makes the game even more fun. This morning I chased her all around the house and I did manage to snag a few tasty morsels. I even caught the broom! So, next time you see someone pick up a broom, I highly suggest you try it.

To go along with that, I also tried playing Catch That Mop this morning--not as much fun.

Thanks to everyone for reading!

This one's for Gila--a day off note for your birthday

Happy birthday to Gila! Gila is one of my mom's and dad's best and oldest friends. Mom and Dad were talking this morning about how it's her birthday and I learned about something called "day off notes." Back in the day when Mom and Gila were counselors at camp, when they didn't have their weekly day off together,whoever stayed in camp wrote a play-by-play of what was happening at camp. They were often inappropriate, always hilarious, and it sounds like they were all around awesome. So, even though I haven't gotten to meet Gila yet, I know how important she is to my family, and decided to try one of my own.

6:50 am: Wake up to Gillian in my face. Terrified. Also realize I'm in a puddle of pee big enough to cover me and Mom. Silly diaper. Good thing it's laundry day. Despite the pee, stay in bed snuggling with Mom for a few more minutes while Liana and Gillian watch "Curious George." Overhear Mom and Dad discussing the wonders of the day off note.

7:05 am: Diaper and pajamas are off. Sweet freedom!

7:10 am: Crawl around Mom and Dad's room while everyone starts getting ready for school.

7:20 am: Mom goes into Liana's room to get her a different shirt because Liana didn't like the first one she had.

7:21 am: Poop on the floor. (I'm pretty impressed that I did this. I don't poop every day, so to be able to time it to do it in the small window of time that I don't have a diaper on and Mom is not right next to me was pretty awesome.) Gillian yells, "Poop!" Mom runs in the room. Mom yells, "He's eating it!" (Because I am, in fact, eating it--both fists and my mouth are full and my binky is shoved into the pile on the floor.)

7:22 am: Bath in the sink.

7:30 am: Clothes on. Boo. Striped onesie and jean overalls. I am cute.

7:31 am: Continue to crawl around on the floor in Mom and Dad's room while everyone is getting ready for school. Avoid Gillian when I can. Get smooshed when I can't.

8:00 am: Breakfast. Blueberry puffs and banana. Definitely more delicious than the poop. Just about as messy. I have banana in my hair now.

8:10 am: Gillian pours her Raisin Bran on the floor. Why? "Because I'm done."

8:25 am: Liana and Gillian play doctor while Mom makes lunches and gets snacks ready. I continue to smear banana on myself.

8:32 am: Clean-up time. There is still banana on my overalls.

8:45 am: Off to school! It takes forever to get out of the house though, because Liana and Gillian have to bring their army of ponies.

8:50 am: Buckle, buckle, buckle everyone into the car. Plus, put on Gillian's shoes because she always takes her shoes off in the car and Mom doesn't have enough hands to carry them inside.

9:02 am: Long line at carpool. Everyone seems to be running late.

9:06 am: My favorite moment of the day. The teachers come in the car, flirt with me, and then take Liana and Gillian away!

9:15 am: Back home and time for a nap. Check back later for more updates!

Also, today I call myself Meat Loaf!

9:15 am-11:00 am: Nap time. That was a long one for me. I guess I was tired from waking up so early. And I wanted to give Mom a  break after dealing with the poop.

11:05 am: Diaper wrestling. I don't like getting my diaper changed, so I do everything I can to avoid it. I wiggle around and I like trying to grab the lid off the Vaseline jar that's on the changing table. It's blue and rectangular, good for chewing.

11:15 am: Mom puts laundry away in the girls' room. I love being in the girls' room when they're not around--so many good things to chew!

11:20 am: Time to move along the laundry. Another great opportunity for me. Mom puts me on the floor in the hallway which gives me the chance to go get the rocket ship night light. I love this night light. It's shaped like a rocket ship and it's green and sparkly. Any time I'm on the floor I go for it and they're usually fast enough to stop me. But, when Mom is doing laundry she's just distracted enough that I can get my hands on it. It's awesome! I don't know why they don't like me pulling it out of the wall and sucking on it.

11:45 am: Time to go sit in the car pool line again.

12:03 pm: Gillian gets in the car. Sadness. Normally she finds something to throw at me once she's in her seat. Today I am spared. We go to Nana and Gaga's house for lunch (their house is closer to school and we have less than an hour before we have to pick up Liana).

12:15 pm: Lunch. Butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips--in other words, vegetable soup without the broth. Also, banana puffs. All I really want is the butternut squash though. It's the best. And milk from Mom. But, then I start playing Bite the Nip and she won't let me have anymore milk. I scream, only because I want to keep playing the game.

12:52 pm: Back in the car pool line. Liana's class goes until 1 pm because she's in pre-K, and Gillian's class only goes until noon, but Mom and Dad don't want to pay $40 extra a week for Gillian to stay and eat lunch at school. So, it's annoying, but cost effective.

1:04 pm: Liana's in the car and we're off to the library.

1:20 pm: I love the library. There are lots of pillows for me to climb on, and lots of books for me to take off the shelves.

2:30 pm: Home from the library and I'm worn out. Time for another nap--check back later for another update!

2:30-3:30 pm: Just a short nap this afternoon to make up for the long one this morning.

3:30 pm: Another game of Bite the Nip.

3:45 pm: Mom makes popcorn for everyone but me! I spend the rest of snack time crawling around trying to eat whatever Gillian drops on the floor.

4:30 pm: Help Mom put in the 5th (yes, 5th!) load of laundry...and we still have one more load plus diapers in the pipeline. Victory is mine! I capture the rocket ship! It is quickly taken away from me.

4:45 pm: Bathtime for the girls. Gillian climbs in and before sitting down she pees all over the place.

4:47 pm: New water in the bath.  I keep trying to climb in, so Mom puts me in with them. I don't know whether to be happy or fearful. I like the water. It is warm. There are toys. So many foam letters for me to chew on! Yet, there is Gillian. I get a few cupfuls of water poured on my head, but don't go under at all, so I consider this bath a success.

5:30 pm: Dinner. Just about the same as lunch, with a few bites of the girls' mac and cheese.

6:30 pm: Time for bed. New stories from the library. Making up songs to sing to the girls. Snuggles all around.

I hope you've enjoyed this special Gila's birthday edition of Asher a Day. Back to your regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow. Good night!

Family Photos

Now that my parents have the good camera, and three super cute children, they've been trying to take nice pictures of us. You'd think with three kids as good-looking as us and an awesome camera it would be easy to get a good picture. Not so much. The camera is not the problem. Usually the problem is Gillian. Here's a sampling from a recent photo shoot:

So let us examine the three pictures for deeper meaning.  Liana barely changes in this series.  She poses and waits for the photos.  This is her age and experience.  Now take a look at Gillian.  Look at her eyes, her planning, her cunning.  She saw an opportunity and took it.  Did she care that it was going to be documented for posterity?  No, she does not operate that way.  Now look at me.  Sitting there sporting my Hawaiian shirt (I am bringing them back single-handedly) and holding my leaf.  I know trouble is going to happen but my baby body is powerless to protect myself from the middle monster.  Now I love my sister, but Gillian gets joy out of hurting me.  That makes me sad.  Eventually, I will be bigger with full control of my body and I will write Gillian an angry e-mail using bold red Helvetica.  Yes, I will use Helvetica.  Now you know I am serious.  I only use Helvetica when I am serious. 

Whirlwind Windy City Weekend of Wild Wonder, Part 2

Now that I'm back on the good computer with all the photos (no, I did not learn to fly yet, just managed to grab the computer before Dad could get to his Frontier and Mafia), I can share a little more about our trip to Chicago.

We started the trip on Thursday afternoon. Dad left school early so we could get there before it was too much past bedtime. We were making good time, with only one short stop, and were on schedule to arrive by 8 pm. Then, a little bit south of Joliet, traffic suddenly stopped. Liana and Gillian started whining, "Oh no, it's a traffic jam!" which they always do when they see more than about 10 cars on the road. The GPS didn't say anything about traffic, so we figured it wouldn't last very long. GPS was wrong. It ended up taking up about an hour and a half to go 5 miles. We were all very crabby. I was so crabby that Mom crawled out of her seat over to mine and figured out how to give me my milk while I was still in my carseat. No bottles necessary!

Friday we spent the day with Grandma Lynn and Captain Grandpa Howie. We had lunch with Uncle Jack and Aunt Lisa and then played at a kids' art studio where I made my first friend my age. Of course, this was a friend I will never see again, but it was the first 9-month-old I've ever encountered. We had quite the conversation and enjoyed poking each other's faces. Had I not left my Blackberry at home, I might have been able to gather his contact information. Alas, my small (but cute) pockets.

For dinner Friday night we met my mom's friend Kyle and his family. He has a baby who is only 3 months old, so he can't do all the cool things I can do, such as play polo. Despite the fact that he can't sit up and is just figuring out how to use his hands, he still seems pretty cool. I think we'll be friends one day.

Saturday Mom and Dad went to a wedding and I got to play more with Uncle Jack and Aunt Lisa. We also went to a Halloween Festival with Grandma Lynn and Captain Grandpa Howie. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was allowed to eat candy.

Here are pictures from our weekend:

That's the biggest hot dog I've ever seen. (Also, note my sleep sack made by Mom.)

Twin brides

My dad's 8-point cross star filter. They love that camera.

Just barely visible in the corner--my dad's nemesis Commander.

Whirlwind Windy City Weekend of Wild Wonder

I must say that with my 9 month old vocabulary, that is some extraordinary alliteration.  I guess that is what happens when you are eating from an MFA multiple times a day.  So this weekend, my loyal fans, was a wedding far north of Chicago.  Not camp north, but far up in Illinois.  My dad's roommate in college who happened to be one of his groom's men got married in a beautiful ceremony followed by a very nice reception.  I have only heard about how nice the wedding was second hand as I had to look after my grandparents and sisters back at the homestead.  In my next post I will write about what I did over the weekend and I will post some pictures from the wedding that my parents took with their cool new 8 point cross star filter.  I would post the pictures tonight, but I am in my crib with Uncle Jack's old computer and even though I asked very nicely through a series of loud yells and cries to be released to grab my other computer loaded with photos, my parents have turned a deaf ear to my needs.  Ah, when I can fly, life will be so much easier.  Why walk when you can move in style?  Think about it. 

Now that  is deep.

So tired

Everyone in my house is tired. We had our whirlwind Chicago trip, Halloween, open house at school, Gaga coming home from China.  Too many late nights. So tonight we'll try to make it an earlier night, and therefore, a short post. Here's me sleeping:

Here I was too tired to lay down.

Happy Halloween!

Sorry I've been gone a few days. We were visiting the fam in Chicago and were super busy (more about that another day). Tonight, here's just a quick post to show off our Halloween pictures. And to showcase how dorky my sister is.

I had a video of Liana telling her joke, but couldn't get it to upload. Here is the joke:

Where did the ice cream cone put the melting ice cream?
In the oven because it wanted to eat it like soup.

In case you couldn't tell, my sister created that joke herself. Quite the up and coming comedian.

That was the trick, now here is the treat.  I was the cutest dragon ever. I have a cold, so I was a sad dragon, and then a sleeping dragon in my mom's pouch, but mostly I was a cute dragon. Liana was a rainbow (again, made up by her) and Gillian was Princess Ariel Getting Married (the costume was actually Ariel's wedding dress, found on craigslist by mom, perfectly combining almost all of Gillian's obsessions--princesses, mermaids, and weddings--no ponies though).

Don't you know that all princesses ride giant geese?

That's a pot of gold on Liana's head.

This is Liana's rainbow pose.

And a happy birthday shout out to my nap buddy Sarah C.!