ASHA LOVES THE PARK...ESPECIALLY CLIMBING UP THE SLIDE!!!

MCDONALDS...

Baba (which is Grandma in Ukrainian) sent Asha $50 cash and gave us, Dada and Mama strict instructions on what to do with it.

She said:

"Listen guys, I want you to take Asha to McDonalds".

So that is exactly what we did. Being that it was her first time there, we had to get Asha her very first happy meal of course! But she was so busy looking around, climbing up the slide and playing with all the kids, that she only got in a few bites here and there.

Overall it was a good trip, except for the fact that a little boy accidentially ran into Asha, she fell, knocked her face on the edge of the slide and started to bleed from her teeth. But other than that, it was fun! :)

ASHA IS NOW 13 MONTHS OLD...WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Yep, you read right. Our little peanut is now 13 months old! Crazy. It doesn't feel like we only met her when she was 9 months old; I feel like I have known her my entire life.

Asha is growing into quite the little lady. She is still so friendly and will go up to anyone regardless of who they are. And she hasn't quite mastered the meaning of personal space yet - she loves to go up to complete strangers to kiss their legs.

We have now moved her almost completely from formula to homogenized milk. Sometimes if she hasn't eaten a lot through out the day though, we will still put a few scoops of formula into the homo milk for her.

Asha is saying a lot of words now too. She will try to copy almost any word you say EXCEPT for MAMA!!!! Do you believe this? I cannot get her to say Mama for the life of me. She will say, mmmmm if something is yummy but when I point to myself and say Mama, she gets angry and says, "Dada" - like I am the one getting it all wrong. She says, Dada, danger, burn, gentle, moon, balloon, banana, dirty, hi, water, bath, Asha, Nana, Grandpa and Grandma.

And boy is Asha ever the entertainer and loves to be the center of attention. She will do just about anything to make you laugh. And if you say Asha laugh, she will laugh out loud with her phony laugh. She will go up to you and tickle you but hasn't aced the fact that a tickle is soft, not like a scratch! And if you ask for a hug or kiss she is sure to give you one.

She is so smart too! When I am cleaning the house, she gets her little broom and will help me clean. She knows where all of her body parts are and is happy to show you, but the cutest one of all is her nose. When you ask her to show you her nose, she scrunches up her lips and blows air out of her nose. And she talks like crazy! We never really know what she is saying but she sure loves to talk.

We have spent alot of the summer staying around home and visiting family and friends. Asha got to hang out with her cousins at the lake and got to play with her new friends who are her age and are twins. Asha loves Gramps and Nana's big dog Chase and knows how to say his name too. If you talk about Chase, she will pant and pant and pant. And she gets so excited to see him that she will run up to him to give him a big hug and kiss. It doesn't bother her that he is like 10 times her size. We have spent many afternoons in Grandma's backyard swimming in the pool, golfing with Gramps and Nana on their putting green and playing with different kids at the water park by the river. It has been a perfect summer because Asha is with us. We are really enjoying every second with her and we feel so blessed to have her be a part of our family.