Asher in Virginia - Week 9

These are pictures from our last four days in Virginia. We survived our second round of FPO and are getting everything ready to leave the country. I finished my project and have 60 pictures of Asher, one a day from the time we left Kentucky until we returned.

I'm still trying to decide if I should try to do a picture a day while we are in Vancouver. We will be there for 16 weeks and I can't decide if that might be a bit much. Any ideas?

Sunday was, of course, Asher's first birthday. Our friend Candy Nights* took some great pictures for us during the party, this one is my favorite.

*name changed to protect the secure

Monday Asher had to miss school because he was sick. We stayed in the quad all day long playing and starting to pack. As you can see Asher was ready to get home to Mimi's house.

Tuesday night after Asher's bath we got out the camera to mess around with the new lens and got some wonderful shots of his little toes. He may be getting big, but he still has sweet baby feet.

Wednesday morning we dropped off Asher at school for the last time. I was pretty sad that it was his last day, we have really loved his school. He walked right into his room and went straight to the toys.

Well, that's all of Asher's time in Virginia. We celebrated Asher's birthday for the second time today, this time with our families in Kentucky. I am working on a post with more birthday pictures and we still need to take Asher's last monthly photo. While you are waiting for that go check out Asher's favorite girlfriend, Maddie, and her sweet birthday message to Asher.

Asher in Virginia - Week 8

This is a recap of our last full week in Virginia. This week we will be heading back to Kentucky to spend some time with our families before heading off to our Canadian Winter Time Adventure.

Oops! Sunday I completely forgot to take a picture of Asher, so I went into his room after he went to sleep and snapped a quick photo. He is wearing his Christmas monkey pajamas and holding on tight to his froggy blanket.

Monday we spent the day in Washington, DC with all 400 of our buddies that are here for training. As you can see Asher was not too impressed with all of the historical sights.

Tuesday afternoon we noticed that Asher's one, solitary curl was looking particularly cute, so we took a picture of it.

Oops, again! Wednesday I forgot again to take a picture of Asher, so I had to go into his room again after he was asleep. This time he is sporting his striped car pajamas and I'm not sure where his froggy blanket is.

Thursday Asher got a package in the mail from Mimi. I opened the envelope for him and he pulled out some new clothes. He spent the rest of the night carrying around the envelope trying to give it to everybody that he saw.

Roger got a new lens for his camera and on Friday we tested it out on our favorite subject. I think Asher's eyes look amazing in this shot without any editing.

Saturday afternoon we went to the playground behind Asher's school to let him swing and play with all of the toys. He had fun going down the slide, but soon discovered that it was even more fun to climb up it!

Don't worry, more birthday pictures are coming soon.

Asher in Virginia - Week 7

Another post full of pictures, just what the Mimi and Granny ordered.

Sunday night was Cultural Worship night just like always. This week was Korean worship and we were asked to wear our Sunday best. Since we are attending a House Church these days we don't get to dress Asher up too often (my Momma friend Brittney wrote about the same thing on her blog recently). We took full advantage of the dress up occasion and had Asher dressed to impress. This was also the first night he walked in his new shoes, we thought they would slow him down, but he was still walking like a champ.

Monday night was free sandwich at Chic-fil-a night. All we had to do was wear a team shirt and we could get a free sandwich. Roger was wearing a Louisville Cardinals shirt, I was wearing an Indonesia soccer shirt and Asher borrowed a Notre Dame football shirt. Just in case you were wondering, Asher did get a free sandwich and he did eat most of the chicken.

Tuesday night at bedtime Asher escaped while we were trying to get his pajamas on him and spent a few minutes walking around without his clothes (or diaper) on.

Wednesday night Roger and I went out for a date night and Asher spent some time with the Powell boys. He had a lot of fun playing with them and listening to Jackson play guitar. We heard that Jackson even wrote a song about Asher.

Thursday night Asher and I went out to the football/soccer/frisbee field to watch Roger play Ultimate frisbee. We went after Asher had a bath and was in his pajamas.

Friday was a little chilly and Asher's jacket was dirty so I had him wear his button down shirt to keep him warm. His teachers at school told him he looked like a rock star (we definitely agree).

Saturday afternoon we were walking through campus when we ran into Asher's girlfriend, Eden. We decided it was the perfect time to get some pictures of the little lovebirds. Aren't they cute together?

Asher in Virginia - Week 6

Asher's week in photos is late this week, but definitely worth the wait.

Sunday afternoon Asher was helping us with laundry, he loves to get into the laundry basket (and the drier and the toilet and anything else he can reach).

Monday morning Asher found a handsome boy looking at him in the mirror...and he decided to give that boy a big kiss! Every morning Asher spends a good amount of time checking himself out in the mirror, making sure he looks good before school.

Tuesday we picked Asher up early from school and went to the playground. Usually Asher just hangs out in the swings, but today we let him loose on the big kid playground. He showed off by climbing up to the very top to play with the wheel.

Wednesday afternoon after school Asher was showing off his walking skills in the quad. He got tired of walking, so he went back to crawling and soon ended up under a chair.

Thursday night Asher needed a bath and after we got him all clean we wrapped him up and took some pictures of that super cute baby in the mirror.

Friday evening Roger and I had to go out for a few hours and these wonderful friends watched Asher for us. Although he looks unhappy in the picture they told us he had a good time.

After a long, tiring week at school Asher was ready to get some sleep on Saturday afternoon. He took some good long naps this weekend and got himself ready for another busy week.

Asher in Virginia - Week 5

Another week of training finished, another week closer to moving somewhere else. Here's another week of Asher in pictures.

Sunday night after "Sub-Saharan African Peoples Worship" we went down to the lake to get some photos of Asher. The light was perfect and Asher was full of smiles. By the way, Asher loved the African music and bounced and clapped the whole time we were there.

Monday evening after dinner we skyped Mimi. Asher had taken a few steps before this, but while Mimi was talking to him he stood up and walked all the way across the room. Look closely in the background of the picture and you can see Mimi on the computer screen. Some additional random trivia: this outfit is identical to the one Asher wore the first time he met Mimi at the Surabaya airport.

Tuesday afternoon after school Asher practiced pulling up. He learned to walk before he learned to stand.

Wednesday afternoon after school Asher was checking out what was going on outside of the quad. He is getting better at standing on his own, especially when there is a door to hold on to.

Thursday evening Asher and Daddy had fun while Asher cruised around the bed.

Friday evening we put Asher in a box and tried to mail him back to Kentucky. It cost too much so we decided to keep him here with us for the next 3.5 weeks.

Saturday we went to Washington, D. C. to explore our nation's capital. We visited The Capital Building and The White House. Asher was obviously very impressed by The White House even though we didn't get to go inside and we didn't meet our buddy (and fellow former Indonesian resident) Barack.

Asher in Virginia - Week 4

Sunday morning Asher needed a bath after his day at the beach, luckily he woke up early and we had plenty of time to play in the tub and take some pictures of Asher and his bear towel.

Monday afternoon Asher played practiced pulling up and standing. Playing guitar with Daddy is motivation for his to do almost anything.

I went to a consignment shop Tuesday afternoon and got Asher a great new toy, a walker he can push around the Quad. He loves it and he spent most of Tuesday afternoon/evening showing off how well he can walk.

On this rainy Wednesday afternoon we had to get out the rain cover for Asher's stroller. He stayed nice and dry while Roger and I got pretty wet getting to and from dinner. He loved pushing his feet up against the plastic.

Asher skipped the first part of school on Thursday and stayed home to play with me. We read lots of books and spent a long time walking around the Quad. He is super fast with his walker and loves to go running across the room.

Friday found Asher still playing with his walker, he never lets go of it, even when he falls.

Saturday night we went to visit the Johnson's at their new home in RVA. While the parents enjoyed talking and eating pizza the kids enjoyed playing with toys and wrestling. Asher saw the two girls wrestling on the floor and crawled right over and joined in the fun.

We are now at the half-way mark of our time in Virginia, I can't believe how fast these past 4 weeks have gone by. Asher is changing so much everyday!

Asher in Virginia - Week 3

Sunday afternoon after his nap, Asher wanted to see what was going on outside. He likes to walk over to the door and check out the world, sometimes the glass confuses him and he walks right into it.

After a busy Monday Asher had fun playing in the tub and I had fun playing with his hair. When he gets really excited he beats on the side of the tub, he loves the noise and the splashing that it creates.

Tuesday morning before school Asher was crawling and rolling around on the floor. He loves shoes and was enjoying playing in our big shoe pile. In order to prepare to live in another culture everyone has to remove their shoes when coming into the Quad, the result is, of course, a huge pile of shoes for Asher to play with.

Wednesday night Asher was getting ready to go to bed and he decided he needed to take one last crawl around our bed before heading to his room.

Thursday morning before school Asher was playing in the kitchen floor while we packed his bag for school. His toy of choice these days are the empty water bottles that he finds all over the place.

Friday morning before school there was fog covering our campus. Roger went outside to take some pictures of the lake and Asher and I watched from inside.

Saturday, our day of no school, found us shopping at the outlets in Williamsburg before heading across the Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles, Virginia. Asher has been to the beach before, but his was the first time he was interested in the sand. He played in the sand and walked in the water for a long time before we cleaned up and had crab cakes for dinner.

Asher in Virginia - Week 2

Our second week of orientation (and daycare) is behind us. Usually we keep looking forward to what's to come, but here's to looking back at a week of Asher in photos.

Monday afternoon Daddy had an extra meeting and Asher was playing on our bed waiting for him to get home. Roger knocked on the window and as soon as Asher saw him he broke out in a big grin and started doing his scoot/worm/crawl towards him.

Tuesday night Asher was worn out from a busy day at school, he went to bed early and I had to sneak into his room to get a picture.

Wednesday morning before school Asher and Daddy enjoyed some play time and book reading.

Thursday afternoon after school Asher found his toothbrush and spent the better part of an hour chasing it around the bed chewing on it. He loves to brush his teeth!

Friday evening after the week was finished we spent time in our quad with all of our quad-mates watching Asher crawl. During school Friday Asher mastered the real crawl and is starting to pick up speed and figure out how to go get what he wants.

Saturday afternoon we went to a local park to take pictures and play outside. It's a good thing Asher wore shoes because all he wanted to do is walk around holding our hands. His cute fake baby Crocs finally fit well enough that they will stay on his feet.