Manassas Battlefield

During Thanksgiving weekend, Grandpa Neil, Jed, Asher, and I decided to check out the Manassas Battlefield.  One thing about living so close to Virginia is that you are immersed in the Civil War. Although, we have lived in DC for over 8 years, we have never taken a trip to Manassas.  We felt that it was finally time that we made the long trek out to the Battlefield.  Even though Manassas is only about 90 minutes away from DC, to East Coasters it is considered a "long trek".



This is the view you see from all directions, gorgeous!



We decided to set Asher in the grass.

He was scared of the grass and started kicking his feet in protest.



The park police were on horses. Asher got to touch one, he was very curious.



Does anyone notice Asher's smile? It looks like Grandpa Neil's.



Asher taking a bottle break with Daddy.

My happy little family.

Rub a Dub Dub, Asher Loves the Tub!

Asher has his second cold of the season.  My friends tell me that babies typically get sick about once a month during the colder months.  If that is the case, Asher is right on schedule. With a runny nose and mild cough, I decided that a warm bath was what he needed this morning.  Asher agreed!

Babies Unite!

As I mentioned in the previous post, we traveled this weekend to Cherry Hill, New Jersey which is fairly close to Philadelphia for a baby naming ceremony of our new cousin, Bella! Boy does Bella live up to her name. She is just as cute as can be and we were so happy to finally cuddle our new cousin.  Asher enjoyed meeting Bella so much that he tried his best to communicate with her.  It was so cute to watch him try to interact with her. We can't wait until baby Bella gets to be a bit older and the two can meet for play dates.




Asher says, "Hi, Bella!"

 



The Joel side of the family. Look at baby Bella, she steals the show with her smile.



11 months old

Our little boy is growing up, he is already 11 months old. Currently, Asher is on a hunger strike. Our little chubbikins used to love to eat just about anything you put in front of him. Now, he has regressed to only bottle feedings and an occasional bagel, oy vey! Trying to feed him has consumed most of my time over the last few weeks and Jed and I have become fairly creative in ways that we have approached feeding time with Asher.

With all that we have managed to still travel. We headed to Philadelphia this past weekend for our cousins baby naming. (pictures to follow in the next post).  Our Philadelphia trip coincided with Asher's 11 month birthday and so we took pictures of him with his sign at Jed's law school Alma Mater, Penn, and in the hotel room. These birthday signs are becoming more and more challenging. Luckily, we only have one more month to go until the big ONE, until then here is our 11 month birthday picture.

On Penn's campus next to our good friend Ben.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Asher's first Thanksgiving was a success, his daddy made the entire meal and we shared it with Grandpa Neil who is visiting from Pittsburgh.  We gave Asher mashed potatoes, but he told us in the best way that he knew how that he prefers yogurt. So, we mixed some squash with his yogurt for his first Thanksgiving feast.

Asher's 1st Thanksgiving feast.



We are grateful for Asher, our little Turkey.

 Today, was Black Friday, the day everyone goes out and gets the best buys for the holidays. It was such a gorgeous day that we decided to go to the National Arboretum instead of dealing with the crowds.  Boy, are we glad we did!!!

The happy family the day after Thanksgiving!




Happy baby on top of his Grandpa's shoulders.

 


My little guy taking a break to snuggle.





All of the Silversmith boys.

The last of the Fall colors.

Discovering the Door Stopper

The last few days Asher has been exploring the door hinges and door stoppers in the house.  Life is pretty exciting for a 10 month old.

Happy Birthday, Da-da!

Asher and I are a little late posting our birthday wishes for Da-da, but we do believe that it is better late than never. 

Daddy's birthday was on November 16th, unfortunately, he got Asher's 1st cold.  However, that didn't hamper the day.  Instead, we celebrated with Asher's beautiful masterpiece for his Da-da along with a celebration dinner and an awesome cupcake. What a way for a guy to ring in his 38th year of life!

Asher wasn't so sure about finger painting...



Working on Da-da's art piece is a messy job.




Mommy had to pitch in to help, guess who got a bath afterwards?



Happy Birthday, Da-da!