Usually becoming an aunt for the first time would be the most exciting thing going on in my life. Under normal circumstances, I would have hopped on the first plane to Seattle as soon as my sister had her baby. However, since Mitchell was only 5 days old when his cousin Calvin was born, we had to postpone the first trip to meet Calvin until we felt comfortable traveling with Mitchell. Waiting for 3 months to see Calvin was difficult, but thanks to modern technology, we were able to share lots of pictures and talk over Skype a couple of times.

Our trip to Seattle was monumental in a way since we were meeting Calvin for the first time and my sister and brother-in-law were meeting Mitchell for the first time. It was also fun to see the two babies right next to each other. Since the boys were barely the size of blueberries, we have been sharing advice and experiences (“he did this yesterday… is that normal?” and “how do you deal with…?”). I was glad to finally get some quality Calvin-time.

Soon after our trip to Seattle, Calvin and his parents came down to California to spend some time with us. While it was exciting having 4 adults and 2 infants in our little condo, we had a great time. Here are some photos commemorating the trips:

For Marissa’s first Mother’s Day, I arranged to get some family photos taken by this great local photographer, Michelle Sullivan, who also happens to be a good friend of our good friends, Matt & Marilee.  You can see the previews at her blog here: http://msptheblog.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/old-town-tustin/

So we aren’t ones to miss a good party… and the wedding we traveled to Sedona for last weekend was no exception. It was the first trip to Arizona (not including the Phoenix airport) for all three of us and the first trip out of California for one of us (I’ll give you three guesses which one). Well, the little guy was a great traveler… which is good since his parents like to travel.

The wedding was spectacular and Mitchell was quite the little star. He looked adorable in his wedding outfit (on loan from Cousin Calvin… thanks again for sending it) and was a hit with the wedding guests, the photographer, the crazy bartender, and other random strangers. I just hope that when the wedding photos come back, there aren’t more photos of Mitch than of the bride. She looked beautiful too, by the way.

We have been to more than a dozen weddings in the past three years and my favorite part is how different they have all been. This particular wedding is the first one we have been to where Mexican food was served and there was a piñata filled with little bottles of tequila.

Last weekend, okay 2 weekends ago… we have a 2 month old for crying out loud… we were able to go down to San Diego for the day to visit with our friends Rob & Maria and their new son Andrew.  Besides the usual baby related activities (changing diapers, crying, etc.), we had lunch and walked around La Jolla.  Mitch and Andrew had a great time “playing” together… you know, lying in their respective carriers next to each other.

This week Mitch participated in his first Passover Seder. Lucky for us, it was a slightly abbreviated version, because Mitchell isn’t always the most patient of babies. He did manage to find the afikoman and check to see if Elijah would be joining us (with a little help). Grandpa gave him a pass on reciting the 4 questions (traditionally done by the youngest member of the group), but next year he might not be so lucky. So now in addition to learning how to crawl and talk, we have to add learning Hebrew to the list of things to do this year.

It is hard to believe that Baby Mitchell was born only 7 weeks ago… and at the same time, it is amazing that he is already 7 weeks old.  It is quite a paradox, as he is almost twice as big (in terms of weight) as when he was born… yet he is still so little and cute.  Marissa and I have loved every minute of the last 7 weeks; even when his crying for no reason, or when he is wide awake at 3am, or spits up on a new outfit.  I cannot help but continue to utter the cliche that he is the cutest baby ever!!  Seriously… how did we become so blessed to get such a beautiful baby?

About a week ago, our great friend Marilee (of The Whole Mischpacha fame) was nice enough to take some photos of Mitchell.

Now don’t get me wrong, I feel like like I was totally blessed with the whole pregnancy and child birth thing… I felt mostly good during my pregnancy, labor and delivery went very smoothly, and the baby is absolutely perfect… but every time that we have had tests done, the results have been “on the high side of normal.” The doctors are always saying: “it’s probably nothing to worry about, but we just want to be sure, so we are going to have to do a few more tests.” Thankfully, they are right, it always does turn out to be nothing. In the meantime, the additional stress is annoying.

So my little explanation there was so that none of you will worry when you see these photos. Mitchell was on the high side of normal on his jaundice test, but he hung out in the baby tanning booth for a couple days and now the situation is under control. I just thought the photos of him sunbathing were so cute.

Mitchell Aaron was born on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 6:55am. He weighed 6 lbs. and 11 oz. and was 20″ long.

I know every new parent says this, but we have the most beautiful baby in the whole world. See for yourselves:

I have come to realize that the old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child,” is completely true; and you are our “village.” In a season that has been marked by pay-cuts, reduced hours, and loss of job security Marissa and I have been completely blown away by the generosity of our family and friends to help us prepare for this child. Whats more, is that we know that most of you are experiencing the same economic hardships that we are, too, if not more so; yet you all have gone out of your way for us and Marissa and I, and baby Mitchell (we reserve the right to change our mind, but we are probably going to name him that) are eternally grateful. Technically, the baby will probably be about 17 before he realizes the significance of what you have all done for our little family though. Without your help, I can honestly say that I do not know how we would have been able to do it. The Bible says that God will provide for our daily needs, and it is pretty cool that He used all of you to do that.

Thanks to all of you for the Chanukah and Christmas presents, the miscellaneous baby gifts, and the 3 baby showers – especially Sharon in Kirkland; my mom (Jean) in Rancho Santa Margarita and her committee of Jen, Lisa, Kamala, Marilee, and others I am sure; and the crew for the Tustin shower consisting of Jessica, Kerry, and Kim. Not to mention the guys that took their time to hang out with me during the showers… someone has to play Wii and watch football after all.

As you can see, the baby’s room is almost ready to go now. As usual, we have probably used an unorthodox aesthetic for the design of the room – yes, those are brown walls that we kept, but we think it looks really great! I am sure Baby Mitchell will agree… right before he puts stickers on the clean white furniture and draws all over the pristine brown walls.