Aaron was born on February 26.  Since then he has been a  nearly constant source of amazement and wonder.  Aaron has been alert and curious ever since his arrival, always trying to figure things out.  As this note is going out, he is 10½ months old, and can pull himself up, climb stairs, walk a wagon down the hall, empty drawers and place toys in them, and understand some phrases.  Just enough to be mischievous without paying for it.  We figure he'll be walking before his first birthday, so everyone make plans to visit 'cause we'll need help!

Aaron loves many things, perhaps most of all water.  Any place, any time, at any temperature.  In July he dipped in Lake Michigan near Chicago when it was barely 60°.  It was too cold for Lori, but Aaron loved it.  The pool was a steady source of summer fun, and Aaron will come from anywhere within earshot when the bath water starts running.  A toilet with the lid up is an open invitation, as far as he is concerned.

After 4 months in Michigan, we finally allowed ourselves to travel with Aaron.  A July trip to Chicago allowed for visits to Rob & Amy & Justin, and to Rob & Lois & Leah, and a Labor Day weekend trip to DC allowed us to visit Bubba & Bubba Bernstein & Monica & Logan, and to attend Deborah Goldman's wedding.  Aaron was a point of light for many otherwise depressed souls at the Holocaust Museum.  In October Aaron made his New Jersey debut at Matt's parents' home, which he celebrated by crawling forward for the first time.  And in December we finally made it out to California to eat our way through the state, make lemonade, and visit with the Dinitzes and Frankles and Rabins and Karon & Scott.  Aaron has been invited back, we're still working on whether we can join him!

Briefly about us:  Matt continues to work at GM, having recently been promoted into its Information Systems and Services organization, where he is dealing with Software Reuse issues.  Lori is mostly at home, trying to find time to turn ever more lawn into garden and occasionally sleep and even more occasionally get Aaron to take a nap.

The garden was spectacular this year despite a late spring; the tomatoes lasted into December and there are still multiple bags of pesto, marinara, and bright red chili and jalapeño peppers in the freezer.  If you visit, be prepared for spice.  On the sweeter side, our apple harvest was so vast that we went out and purchased a cider press.  It was hard work, and Matt actually managed to break one press (gee, I didn't know I could make a clean cut through 3 inch cast iron just by turning a screw!), but we ended up pressing almost 9 delicious gallons.

We hope you have had a great 1997, and hope to see you out here in Michigan to visit Aaron (and us), or just say hello. 

Have a happy and healthy year!

Love,
Lori and Matt

Email: matt@orel.ws
url:  http://matt.orel.ws
Aaron's url:   http://aaron.orel.ws