Alex Goes To Santaland

Happy Holidays!!!!!!

We took Alex to Macy's Santaland on Monday to meet the REAL Santa Claus. He was a good boy when he sat on Santa's lap. He didn't cry, try to pull Santa's beard or try to take Santa's glasses off. He was more interested in his own shoes (they are new and they velcro) than he was Santa. We asked Santa if he knew where Gem, WV was, and he assured us he knew the way.

Santaland, by the way, is enormous. It takes up almost the whole 8th floor of Macy's. There was the Polar Express, dancing bears, tons of toys, and even a talking tree. If you have never been to the Big Apple over the Christmas holiday season I highly recommend it. If you can stand the crowds, the amazing window displays are worth it.

We can't wait to go home for the holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy 2008!!!!

Alex is 6 Months!!!!

Happy Birthday Alex. You are 1/2 a year old. He is growing...GROWING.....GROWING!!!!! He now weighs in at 20 lbs and is 27 3/4 inches long!!! We celebrated his birthday at home in WV. We traveled in for the Thanksgiving weekend. Since it was Thanksgiving (aka the food holiday) we decided it was time to start feeding Alex some food. Unfortunately for him he didn't get any of his Papi's wild turkey. He just got rice cereal instead. He also got to meet two more of his cousins over the holiday. He met my cousin Jake on Thanksgiving Day. And he met his cousin Mike Casto the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Three days after his birthday he started sitting up on his own. He still is a little wobbly, but he's working on it. He also experienced his first snow. We awoke Sunday morning to about 1 inch of snow covering the ground. We took him out for a look around the neighborhood. He was so excited that he fell asleep. At least we got in a few pictures first.

We were deeply disappointed by the Mountaineers' loss to Pitt. No BCS Championship game this year. Oh well. At least we're still bound for the Fiesta Bowl. Let's Gooooo!!!! Mountaineers!!!!! And Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away......a little boy named Alex dressed up like Jedi Master Yoda for his first Halloween. We traveled home to WV (too bad my Dodge Stratus doesn't have light speed) for the weekend. Cousin Elizabeth was there too....dressed as Princess Leia. Cousin Clint and Sean took turns playing the part of the evil Darth Vader.

Sean says we can't let any "real" Star Wars fans see these pictures because they would know that Yoda and Leia never really met. Oh, well!!!! How nice of our children to indulge our grown up fantasies. Soon we will have little to say over Alex's choice for his Halloween costume.

Sean brought Yoda to school on Halloween. The teachers loved the outfit....Star Wars is still a big hit with our generation. Ms. Zanelotti said he deserved a prize for the best costume in the school. No trick or treating this year.....one tooth isn't enough to chew candy!!!!

Alex is 5 Months!!!!

Alex turned FIVE months old on Thursday, October 25. He is up to about 20 pounds and is reaching new achievements every day. He celebrated his birthday by cutting his first tooth. I came home from work on Friday and Sean had me stick my finger in his mouth....there it was....his very first tooth (bottom left). That must explain why he has been chewing on everything...including his daddy's finger and his bed rail!!

He has become a very proficient scooter. He can't quite crawl but can move across the floor by scooting on his elbows and knees. He plays "fetch" with himself by tossing his toys (rattle, rings, etc.) out in front of himself just a little. As soon as he scoots over to it and grabs it, he throws it a little further away again.

I have been sick this past week, and the doctor has me on antibiotics. As a result, all of Alex's meals have been bottle fed. He is mastering holding his own bottle. With the exception of needing help tipping it up at the very end, he has it down!!

Sandra and Lady Liberty

What a great visit we all had from my best friend Sandra. She was here in the Big Apple October 18-23. After a Friday evening of pampering at a local spa with a mani-pedi, Sean and Alex met us at one of our favorite Japanese restaurants for sushi. On Saturday our friend Mike Anderson joined us to watch the WVU Mountaineers beat up on Mississippi State for a homecoming victory. On Sunday Sandra. Alex and I played NYC tourist. We took the ferry to Liberty Island for an up close look at the Statue of Liberty. Then it was on to Ellis Island. It is amazing to think about how many immigrants passed through this building on their way to the US. Alex was so amazed at the lights in the museum that you would have thought he was actually looking at the exhibits. Any history buff would have loved our Sunday outing. On Monday, I met Sandra after school for tea and then we took a stroll through Central Park. I tried to talk Sean into tying Sandra up so she would miss her flight and we could keep her and she could stay a little while longer. However, he said he was a bad boy scout and she was slippery. We were sad to see her go, but hope she will come back again soon for another visit.

Vacation Weekend

Sean, Alex and I took our first "official" family vacation last weekend....a long Colunbus Day weekend with our friend Joe Ortlieb to visit with his folks in the Syracuse area. What an absolute perfect weekend we had!!!!!

We stayed at Joe's parents' lake house about 20 minutes outside Syracuse. His parents' place is beautiful!!!! They bought an old camp about 20 yards from the water and completely re-did the place....Joe's dad is a contractor so everything was done right!!! By the way, Lake Oneida is HUGE. The view from the house is breathtaking!! Joe's family was a delight. His niece Clair (age 5) and his nephew Quinn (age 6) were great to entertain us all. His mom even gladly offered to babysit Alex (she called him "Little Bear") while we went to the Syracuse vs. WVU game.

The Mountaineers came through for us in a big way!!!! Joe had a friend who was able to hook us up with free tickets. They were even adjacent to the WVU section, which made it easy for me to locate mom's friend Kay Stoops and visit with her. As an added bonus, The Pride of West Virginia, The Mountaineer Marching Band made the trip to upstate NY as well. The band is always a treat. WV won the game handily 55-14.

Joe surprised Sean by inviting friends George and Michelle Kastrinos from Rochester, NY over for the weekend. George arrived in time to come to the game with us on Saturday; Michelle came Sunday morning.

We had fabulous weather for the weekend. Sunday afternoon we all took turns riding the jet ski with Joe on the enormous lake. He even let me drive!! Sean and Michelle cooked up quite a feast for us all on Sunday night. Late nights were spent enjoying great friends, great conversation, and great beer by the fire outside. It was so relaxing to get out of the city for a few days. What a perfect trip!!! We have all invited ourselves back to Joe's!!!!!!!

Nice Surprise!!

We received some good news this weekend. On Friday night, our great niece Alexis was crowned Homecoming Queen of Magnolia High School in WV. We are so proud of you. The best part is that she was genuinely surprised and overwhelmed by the whole experience. She said she felt like it was a dream. In addition to being a very sweet young lady who is obviously well liked by her peers, Alexis takes pride in being a part of the drum line in her high school band. Way to go Alexis!!!!!

What a nice surprise I had Saturday. I received an email from some friends of ours from NC. They were going to be in town this weekend. Even though time was tight, Alex and I were able to visit with Becca and Sam for about an hour on Saturday evening. Sean had to work so he didn't get to enjoy the visit. It was really nice to have a moment to catch up with friends. Everyone else is reminded that you are welcome to come visit anytime.

We are getting excited for a road trip to Syracuse this weekend with Sean's friend Joe. We are going to get to see the Mountaineers play!!!!! Hopefully they will get back on the winning track!!!

Alex is 4 Months!!!

Oh my how time flies!!!! And boy oh boy is Alex growing fast!!!! Sean took the first picture on his actual 4 month birthday. It is one of my very favorites. You can see how strong he is getting by how well he can hold himself up. The smile just melts my heart. I printed this picture and put it on my cart at school. All of my students love to see how Alex is growing. At his doctor visit this week he weighed in at 17 pounds 8 ounces (92nd percentile) and was measured at 25 1/2 inches (70th percentile). He now wears the same size diaper as his cousin Elizabeth who is over 1 1/2 years old!!!!

His "official" 4 month WVU blanket pictures were taken a few days later. Too bad the Mountaineers lost this week. But at least we weren't alone since 4 other top ten teams lost as well. At least we lost to another ranked team. And while we are ending on a sports note, way to go Sox!!! The Red Sox finally clinched the AL East. Turns out one of the new teachers at my school is a big Sox fan, so I'm not alone in Yankee/Mets territory!!!!!

Saturday in the Park

There is nothing better than a Saturday afternoon in the park (except a Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Field), especially a Saturday afternoon in Central Park. The Wines headed to the park last Saturday to meet some friends. Sean packed us some snacks and Joe brought the beer and bocce balls. Mike Anderson joined us and our friend Chris Whalen was back in town from LA. Alex finally met Whalen....that's the last of Sean's former roommates. Alex and I hung out on a blanket and enjoyed the sun while the former roommates played bocce ball....you throw a little white golf ball sized ball out and try to hit it with bigger balls....whoever gets his ball closest to the little ball wins....boys and their balls!!!!!

Alex spent his first afternoon at a real babysitter's this week. Her name is Luz Maria, and she is a very sweet Colombian woman. If she keeps Alex much maybe he will be bi-lingual. Then our friend Jazzy kept him while I had "open school" night. He was a good boy for both of his sitters...yeah!!!!!!!! He has mastered rolling over onto his belly. Now he is working on using his knees and feet to scoot himself along....right off his play mat and blankets onto the floor. It won't be long until he is crawing, and then we'll never keep up with him!!!

We've been keeping a close eye on the Red Sox and are hoping they can hold on and win the AL East. I've been trying to find a good luck outfit for Alex, but haven't settled on one yet...it would help if the Sox would get on a little bit of a win streak. We've also been enjoying watching the Mountaineers play on TV. We can't wait until we get to the Syracuse came in a couple of weeks.

On a more unfortunate note, it's a good thing my mom didn't name me Grace. I was going into the RiteAid a few blocks from our apartment this week and I got my heel caught in hole in a man-hole cover....down I went....like in slow motion. I scuffed my knee and shoulder a little and scraped my chin big time....OUCH!!! Nothing major: no broken bones, no stitches. I guess my pride and vanity were injured the most.

College Gameday

We were all ready for the college football season to begin, including Alex. Sean helped get us in the mood by fixing me a "WV" pancake breakfast on Saturday. Then Alex and I were set to watch the game. (Sean had to work so we recorded it so he could watch it later.) Much to our delight, the Mountaineers rolled in their season opener over Western Michigan.

Alex is THREE Months!!!!

Alex turned three months old on Saturday, August 25!!! My how time flies! He certainly is a growing boy weighing in at 15 lbs 13 oz (93rd percentile) and measuring 25 inches long (85th percentile). His grandparents all attribute his growth to that good old pure country air in the West Virginia Hills. On his three month birthday we had a photo shoot of Alex wearing the exact outfit that Sean had worn on his three month birthday. The photos below are of Sean on the left and Alex on the right...my doesn't he look like his daddy!!!!!!

We are back in New York now. I started work on Thursday; the students come Tuesday after Labor Day. We are excited for the start of football season and our WVU Mountaineers this weekend!!

Vacation Days

The Wine family has been enjoying the last days of my summer vacation in the West Virginia hills!!! We came home for Alex's baptism on Sunday, August 12 (I'll post pictures as soon as someone sends me some!!) and have been here ever since. Both the Wine's and the Cunningham's have been spoiling their little Alex. He has had a lot of fun playing with his cousin Elizabeth. He has met so many people on this trip home...his "Great-Godfather" Rob Flynt and Grace, Great Aunt Sarah, Class of '86 members Tim Hoover and "neighbor" JL Holsberry, Elizabeth's Nana Carol Amos, Russ and Joy Shepherd, MaMa Bea, and Thelma Lou West. Alex was even privileged enough to have an audience with the Mayor of Sutton, Jim Walker (Sean's former drama teacher!!) He attended the Wine/Singleton family reunion on Saturday, August 18 where he one the prize for the youngest Wine in attendance. He took his Grandma and Papi (no, not "Big Papi" David Ortiz, but my dad....a huge Red Sox fan....so appropriately he is being called Papi instead of Grandpa!!!) out to dinner for their 41st anniversary on August 20. We will probably head back to the Big Apple sometime at the end of this week.

If you haven't seen it yet, you HAVE to visit my sister's blog to see Alex and Elizabeth dancing (JibJab). It is truly hilarious!!!! Check it out at http://wvu-mama.blogspot.com/