Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House

Our life changed dramatically at 3:41pm on March the 9th when our baby arrived. Learning we had a girl, seeing, hearing, and holding her for the first time was an amazing experience for us. Alexandria Lake Bias has been a wonderful addition to our family. She has been strong and healthy and has a delightful personality. Her curiosity, persistence, love, and development have been a continuous source of amazement in our lives.

Grandma and Grandpa (Linda and Bob) arrived to see Alexandria for the first time. We will never forget that moment in the Delta terminal at DFW airport when they first set eyes on Alexandria. The visit was a great bonding time for baby and new grandparents with lots of time for loving, cuddling, and sleeping. Unfortunately, Caroline ended up in the hospital for several days of the visit which put a damper on everyone's excitement. A nice bonus during this visit was seeing Kathy and Dave from Hawaii who happened to be in the area while Bob and Linda were visiting.

Gillian and Logan came to visit when Alexandria was only a couple of weeks old. Alexandria enjoyed all the attention and affection from her Auntie Gillian and Cousin Logan.

Bubba (Barb) came to meet Alexandria and help with some of the chores. She ended up spending the whole week going to doctor's offices with Caroline trying to finally get healthy again. Alexandria had a fantastic time playing with Bubba and we certainly enjoyed the company and the help.

Gillian and Logan managed to make a road trip to Texas around Labor Day, and Linda and Bob ended up driving out for several days when their September 14th flight was canceled following the tragic events of September 11th. We enjoyed the zoo, Chuck E. Cheese, and spending time together with these visitors at various parks.

Sabotaged attempt to Cool off

Our "Big" trip of the year was a week in Maine. We went to Boston for a couple nights first so that Alexandria could meet her Great Aunts, Joyce and Joanne, their children, and so that we could see Joyce's lovely new home. We got to go to Plymouth for the day while we were there and were also happy to support Jonathan's delicious new Subway franchise. Once we got to Maine, Alexandria got to meet her Great Grandmother and Great Great Aunt Esther as well as other family members. We had a super time visiting, but a heat wave got to be too much, so we had to escape to Canada for a few days. We scoped out FDR's summer home, Campobello Island, and also saw the Easternmost Point in the Continental USA! Alexandria and Daddy managed to escape some of the heat in September when they trotted off to Niagara Fallas for Labor Day weekend.

Go West and Celebrate! In celebration of Barb's graduation, we joined her and Zaida (Jim) in Arizona for her commencement ceremonies and then proceeded to enjoy the Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks with them. We enjoyed touring the Hoover Dam and getting to see John and Lois in Las Vegas before Barb and Jim dropped us off at the airport. We were so happy to get to introduce Peggy to Alexandria while we were in Arizona.

Alexandria meets Mickey: Alexandria got to meet Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, Anaheim. What fantastic timing. We went the day after having Thanksgiving with Lisa and Scott and had just walked in the gate when we spotted Mickey with no waiting. Alexandria loved Mickey, but was even more excited when we walked around the corner and spotted Raffiki. She LOVES hair and has a small stuffed version of Raffiki, so was VERY thrilled to see this large moving one who she could hug and touch the hair. Lisa seemed to enjoy the trip too.

It's SNOWING!:

Liston had to go to Denver for Raytheon when Alexandria was not quite a month old, so Caroline and Alexandria joined him in Denver. Alexandria's first flight was uneventful and she was a trooper throughout the trip. She even got to see her first snow/blizzard. She was pretty unimpressed. It was during this trip that she started really smiling. We went and saw the Coors factory and took in some awesome scenery in the mountains.

A Camping we must go: Our year is never complete without camping with friends. We managed 2 trips this year, one in May to Lake Ray Roberts, and one in October to Turner Falls. We had to take the kids (Ashley and Alexandria) into the water in May because it ended up being very hot. October ended up being very cold and slightly more rustic than we had planned, but was probably the best trip yet. We had a huge turn out and everyone seemed to have fun hiking, scoping the falls, and spending time around the fire. The kids had fun playing ball and just being outside.

Gotta Love Florida: In spite of being stuck in Dallas for part of the year while waiting on baby, we were happy to get to go to Florida several times. Alexandria finally got to meet her Auntie Kim when we went to Orlando in July. Grandma and Grandpa hosted 2 big parties for people to come and meet Alexandria and we also were excited to take her to see her triple great Aunt Florence. We also met up with the Biases in Tallahassee when we went to the NC State game and got to visit with Zaida Jim (Bubba was off at school), Iris, and our favorite FSU tailgaters. Our Tallahasse trip included seeing our friends Traci, Claire, and Peter as well as Mitch and Sue. What fun to catch up with all these growing families. We were happy to go to St.Petersburg in July to show off our little girl and visit with friends. We saw so many people that weekend that were friends of Grandma Sylvia's & Grandpa Larry's, and of course spent time with Caroline's friends the Turri's and Lacey's. Gillian graduated from massage therapy school December 7th, so we wanted to go support and congratulate her on that occasion. We were happy she was generous enough to give us each a massage while we were visiting. She is really good at it. We stayed on the beach and Alexandria had a great time playing in the sand and swimming in the pool. She and Logan had fun playing together. We also enjoyed meeting up with the Turri's to have "Buckeye night". We enjoyed seeing the Bradens, Sarita, Lois, and Candy. Of course, no visit to St. Pete is complete without a trip to the park, so we spent some time seeing the trees, checking out the new aviaries, and visiting with Gabe and Diane.

Go Pokes!: Oklahoma State Homecoming has become a tradition we really look forward to. For several years we have gone and stayed with Lili and Jason and our mutual friend Nora. This year, Lili and Jason's daughter Maria, who was born in April, and Alexandria made it even more fun. Showing the House Decorations and the parade (which we always watch with Cyndi) to the babies as well as watching them play together was so much fun. OSU played an excellent game against Colorado (who some would argue was the best team in the country at this writing), but ended up losing in the final few minutes.

Visitors Welcome: Other visitors this year included Barriann who we went to see when she came through DFW airport and also came to visit for a whole weekend, Mark who took Alexandria to her first baseball game, and Great Aunt Lane & Great Uncle Norm who came for a few days to meet Alexandria. Caroline's cousin has a baby 10 days younger than Alexandria, so you can imagine Great Aunt Lane was busy being Grandma to Emily. We appreciated them spending the time with us.

Sorrow doesn't escape us: We were saddened by the unexpected death of Linwood at the end of last year. (Thought we were going to get to go a whole year without any deaths in the family). We were fortunate to be able to attend his funeral service and took comfort in spending time with Gillian, Logan, Patti, and family that horrible day.

Other Tidbits: Caroline and Liston are both in their 2nd years of volunteering as board and committee members for the City of Rowlett. Caroline also gets together with friends once a month to work on the family scrapbook and the baby book.

Alexandria and Caroline spend some of their time getting together with other Moms and kids each week. Alexandria really enjoys playing with Natalie, Ashley, Cody, and Kennedy. Caroline enjoys the adult conversation and friendships with Cheryl and Anna.

Job Front: Liston started a new job with Allegiance Telecom in April of this year. He is enjoying his work and they give him lots of flexibility. Caroline has been enjoying working with a few private clients and is gradually expanding her caseload (see http://www.projectspeech.com). Finding that balance between being a professional and being a parent has been a challenge.

Christmas is Coming!: We are planning to spend Christmas as home this year. We have no visitors planned Christmas Eve/Morning, but looking forward to Christmas dinner with friends.

To contact us by e-mail, send a message to careb@pobox.com or bias@pobox.com. You can view homepages at http://www.bias.org. Our current phone number is (972) 463-1496.