The Cheezy Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas!
What an eventful year for our little family! One year ago today we were living with our good friend, rushing around frantically each weekend looking for a house to buy, and going through all the joys, (and pains) of my pregnancy with our little Aiden. Today we are knee-deep in piles of cloth diaper laundry, have a living room full of baby toys, and are trying to have Aiden help create some homemade wooden Christmas ornaments.
Just as we were about to give up on the house hunt- (about 2 months before Aiden was due) we found the perfect place! I had called up Tim and told him that I loved this house that had just gone on the market earlier that day. He then told me he found the perfect house that morning as well. It turned out to be the same house! It was meant to be!
Two weeks before Aiden arrived we moved into our new house. Thankfully we had a lot of help from our families because it’s pretty impossible to get down and scrub a kitchen floor with a huge, pregnant belly! Believe me I tried but ended up with a beet red face as I was gasping for air! ☺
On April 3, 2009 our precious baby Aiden decided to make his grand entrance into this world. I went into labor around 3 am and after what seemed to me like several days of a drug-free labor and delivery, Aiden finally arrived at 10:55 that night. He has really been an amazingly easy baby so far. We like to think it’s due to our expert parenting skills but really he takes after his easygoing Daddy. Unless he’s hungry than watch out! ☺ Having Aiden in our lives now is such a blessing. We’ve never imagined that having this little person would make us smile and laugh so much. We love how he crawls around and making motorboat noises when he’s content. We love the way his chubby cheeks bounce when going over a bump in the stroller. We get a kick out of his big grin and the way he laughs when I sit him on my lap to nurse. Or when he looks over at us and says, “Ga!” as if It’s the most profound thing anyone has ever said! ☺ He has made life so much more exciting every day! We are so very thankful for him!
Some fun trips we’ve taken this year include Portland, Oregon to visit family, our annual Tahoe vacation, and trips up to our family’s cabin near Pinecrest Lake in the Sierra.
With everyday life there is work for Tim to go to, playgroups and baby gym for Aiden and I, the usual endless housework and cooking, my newfound blogging addiction: http://blissedoutbaby.blogspot.com/, trying to find a good church family, the final stages of unpacking from the move, and so on. We are so fortunate that I am able to stay at home with Aiden for the time being- We are truly cherishing this season of our life.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and many blessings in the New Year! Love, Tim, Laura and Aiden

You are 6 months Old!

On Oct.3, you turned 6 months old! Your Daddy and I can't believe that it's already been so long and you are such a big boy now! You have been doing the army crawl to get around and explore our house! You love to get into Mommy's magazines underneath the coffee table and pull out everything thats under there so we finally got smarter than you and put all your toys under there :)
You also have a newfound fascination with wires! Maybe it's because you see how we use wires so much in our life but if they are left out for you to find, you will pull and play with them for hours! It's amazing what can entertain a baby! :)
We taught you the baby sign for "milk" and now you do it to Mommy when you are hungry. It's the cutest thing ever! You'll scoot up near me, look up at me with your beautiful hazel eyes, and sign "milk."
You smile on command too. All we have to do is look at you, smile, say your name and you get the most happy, joyful smile and your little eyes get all squishy like a china doll. :)
You also are the best little laugher I've ever known. Your smiles and laughs make me the happiest mama in the world. I will stop anything I'm doing, anyone I'm talking to just to hear your sweet little baby laugh. You love mommy's funny faces and tickles and you laugh so hard when we play peekaboo! ;)
You are our sweet little angel. You are so perfect right now, so innocent, so joyful and happy. Your Daddy and I are constantly in awe by your sweet, most beautiful baby face. We cannot stop saying how cute you are and that there cannot possibly be any other baby on the face of the earth that is cuter. We simply do not believe it is possible. We cannot even believe that we, (And God) made you! I mean, we believe it of course, but it's so so surreal, still.
You are our little sunshine and you make our lives so much more exciting, fun and filled with more love than we could have ever imagined. Our whole purpose has drastically shifted from focusing on ourselves, to now focusing on what we can do to make YOU happy. We love you little Aiden. Thank you for being our baby boy!

More pics from the Marin Headlands on the Coast

Tourists In Our Own State!

There are still so many cool places that we, as native Californians have not been to! I guess both of our families growing up stuck to the favorite vacation spots they knew and left it at that as far as exploring CA went.
One of the places Tim and I have never been is Sausalito and the Marin Headlands. We decided to take a day trip there 2 weekends ago. It is only about an hour and a half drive from our home in Brentwood! Sausalito is a BEAUTIFUL, picturesque little town on the northern peninsula of the SF bay. The main street lines the water with cute little shops and restaurants and looks over the bay into the city. It was the perfect place to spend our Saturday, checking out the $10 zillion dollar yachts on the marina, having a yummy burger fresh off the grill at Bridgeway Hamburgers, and window shopping in all the unique shops that only celebrities can afford. :)

Our Weekend

Grandma and Grandpa Bishop came to visit us along with Auntie Mer, Auntie Lucy and Uncle Willy from Turlock! It was fun giving the grand tour of our new home and Aiden was excited to see his family! Saturday was busy with cooking for our guests and making baby food in bulk at the same time for Aiden. Sunday was a more realxing day as we attempted to take some family portraits in our neighborhood park, did a bit of shopping but mostly just stayed in and played with Aiden. We are also enjoying using our hottub as often as we can which is harder than we thought with a baby. :)

A New Blog!

Check it out and let me know what you think! This one is focused on everything baby and mama!
http://blissedoutbaby.blogspot.com/

Summer '09

Our little family has been quite busy this summer! We began in late May with Aiden's first airplane ride up to Portland, Oregon to visit our family. We sure had a lot of fun catching up with all our relatives and Aiden got to meet his Great Grandparents, Aunt Tenille, cousin Mason and many others for the first time.
We have also been working on house projects on the weekends, setting up our new home and unpacking still! We have come a long way since we moved in March but still have a long way to go with a the decorating and landscaping we hope to do.
In July, we spent two weeks on our annual Tahoe vacation at the cabin near Camp Richardson. Lots of family, good food, swimming, riding our waverunner, boating, wake-skating, hiking and of course some shopping too! :) Aiden did some splashing in the baby pool with his cousin Mason and learned to hold his breath underwater! Aiden also made friends with his first pet-a tree frog and gave us all his first laugh too!
When we arrived back form our Tahoe trip, my sister Melissa had her baby Emma Sophia! Mommy, Daddy and Emma are are doing well and are busy moving into their new home in Roseville too! Aiden is very excited to play with his new cousin!
Now that we are home again we are getting ready for some more upcoming trips this month! Aiden and I will be spending a week in Roseville helping out my sister as she adjusts to new baby and a new home. Then we have Tim's alumni water polo game in Turlock and a trip up to our family's cabin near Pinecrest Lake near the end of the month. We're hoping to get a baby hiker-carrier by then and bring Aiden on his first hike near the lake.
Maybe we'll stay home the month of September...or maybe not! :)