Asher's Growing Up

My little boy is now a big boy!

Asher was three weeks old in the first picture and now he is almost 2! Time flies!

Urban's Quilt

My mother in law made this quilt for Urban and we just got it in the mail today. It turned out so great! She had made a similar one for Asher when he was born, so I had to pull that out and get a picture of both of them together.

The boys and their quilts from Nana!

Thanks, Nana! The quilts are a beautiful keepsake!

"Big Truck"

Asher loves trucks right now. He is fascinated by a "big truck" that is doing some construction work in front of our apartment. The last few days after his afternoon nap he has wanted to eat his snack in front of the window so he can watch the "big truck" work.

Brothers

What tricks can you do?

This is Asher's favorite trick he likes to show off. Reed calls it the "tripod". It actually is quite difficult for an adult to put the majority of their weight on their head without the support of their hands. But I guess at Asher's size this feat is a lot easier! Our friend Dan showed Asher his tricks as well.

Spaghetti

Like Father like Son: Asher loves spaghetti as much as his dad does, but is a bit messier.


Supper had long since been over and Asher kept asking for more. How much messier can he get?

Sights of our City

Here are a few pictures of around our city. These pictures were taken by my mom when she was here. Sometimes I don't always feel comfortable taking a ton of pictures around town, because I don't want to stick out like a tourist, but my mom had no inhibitions to take a few, because she was a tourist! She even got some people to pose for the camera.

A picture near our downtown area:

A picture at a local bakery. A ton of bread is eaten in this country, so they make lots of these loaves each day:

Our city is full of little shops and small markets similar to this:

A fruit and vegetable market:

A small shop: (looks like their specialty is brooms!)

These men are selling onions and potatoes:

These bicycle carts are a common sight here. In this picture the man is riding through our apartment complex selling onions from his cart. He yells very loud so that it can be heard in our apartment, "The onions have come!". I've yet to run down and buy any.


Another man riding his bicycle cart. They are often used for selling produce and hauling large items around town. You can also pay these men to haul something for you.

These men are working on the sidewalk in front of this shop.

A Famous Breakfast

Our city is known for their breakfasts. We took my parents out for a famous breakfast here. The breakfast usually consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, various cheeses, lots of bread, honey, an egg/meat mixture, and tea.

My Buddy and Me

The Castle

There are ruins of an old castle here in our city. This was another tourist spot to take my parents. I think I might have been a bit ambitious thinking I could hike this with Urban 9 days after giving birth! Needless to say, I was quite tired after this trip, but it was fun to take my parents.

Akdamar Island

We took my parents to one of the few tourist attractions in our city. There is an old Armenian Monastery on an island in the middle of the lake here. It is a beautiful area. Here are a few pictures from our excursion:


Urban peacefully slept through most of the trip.


Asher with Grandpa and Grandma on the boat.



A view of the monastery on the island.



Inside the monastery:


A beautiful view




Asher is loving all this outdoors time.


Our new family of four!


Another great time with my parents and good memories were had!

Good Times with Grandpa and Grandma

Grandpa and Grandma came to visit for a week. Asher received a lot of attention that week and had a blast with them!


"I got new books to read!"


"Grandpa and Grandma read lots of books to me too!"

"They even played in my room with me."

And enjoyed endless games of "peekaboo!"

"I even got away with jumping on my bed!"

"I went out on the balcony with Grandpa a lot."

"And he threw rocks with me outside."

"Grandma got me this frog in Greece. I've had lots of fun with it."

"Grandpa and Grandma played with all my toys."

"And I got to be outside a lot!"

"We miss them already!"

Pool Fun

Asher enjoyed playing in his pool again, but this time Grandpa and Grandma got to join in on all the fun.

Ice Cream

Asher loves ice cream. Last week we enjoyed our fair share of ice cream with my parents in town.