Our Growing Boy!!!

We took Alex to the doctor this week. He survived his first round of shots and only cried a little. My how he is growing!!!! He is up to 13 pounds 8 ounces and is now 24 inches long!!!!

Trip to Washington, DC

On the road again!!! Alex loves to get on the road again!! This past weekend it was off to Washington, DC for Mommy's annual fitness convention DCAC. On Thursday we arrived in Alexandria at the hotel where DCAC was held. Alex got to meet Mommy's good friend Jeannie Wright. Jeannie and Mommy used to teach school and aerobics together in Danville, VA. Jeannie was also one of the bridesmaids in Mommy and Daddy's wedding.

On Friday we all got together with the Edmonds family for dinner. Daddy's friend Kip Edmonds was also in the wedding. Kip and his wife Emily have a new boy, Teddy. Teddy was born January 20, so he is just about four months older than Alex. Teddy is Alex's first friend. We got to spend a lot of time with Kip, Emily, and Teddy throughout the weekend.

On Sunday Alex took part in his first aerobics class: FitMoms - FitBabies. Mommy was the only person in the class to have a real baby there to participate. Mommy had a great time throughout the weekend taking classes to Petra Kolber, Rob Glick, and Lawerence Biscontini. She also talked to Clay Grant who lives and works near us in Long Island. Hopefully she will get to take one of Clay's classes soon.

Alex is 2 Months Old!!!!

Happy Birthday to Alex!!! Happy Birthday to Alex!!!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ALEX!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!!

Alex is two months old today!!!!! Check out his picture to see how he has grown. You can compare it with his one month picture at the "Almost Heaven" posting and with his one week picture at the "Alex's One Week Birthday" posting. He certainly is a growing boy!!!!

New York, New York

This past week we played "tourist" in our home city. Friends Virginia and Jamie were in town visiting from North Carolina. Since it was their first visit to the city we played "tour guide" and helped show them the sights. Boy is it tiring being a tourist in NYC!!!!

We did a lot of traveling by foot on Sunday. After meeting Virginia and Jamie at their hotel near Penn Station (and Madison Square Garden) we took the subway to Little Italy for lunch. Our friend Iggy met us there (since he lives nearby). We walked the short distance to Chinatown and then continued on past City Hall to Ground Zero. We walked around the tip of Manhattan to Battery Park and took a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Alex enjoyed the ride on the ferry back to Manhattan. Evening is one of his favorite times of day. It is light enough for him to enjoy the scenery, but the sun is not so bright that it hurts his eyes. A big thanks to Iggy who was a wealth of information on our "tour."

On Tuesday we ventured back into the city to meet our friends again. This time Alex and I met them at Times Square. From there we went to Central Park. After a short walk, Sean joined us and we all took a horse and buggy ride through the park. Quite a week for a boy not even 2 months old....he got to travel by both boat and horse!!!! After spending the afternoon in the park Virginia and Jamie came to visit us in Queens.

Alex and I went back into the city on Thursday to see Virginia and Jamie off. We walked them back to Penn Station where they were catching their train home. It was so good to visit with Virginia for a few days, but it made me miss my friends at Carnage and in all of NC. Everyone is invited to visit us in our wonderful city!!!! We really do make great tour guides. Just call us in advance to arrange your tour dates!!!!!!!!

Almost Heaven

OH MY!!!!! How busy we have been the past few weeks. Alex celebrated his one month birthday on June 25 with his second "well-baby" visit to the doctor. He is up to 10 lbs 2 oz and is now 22 inches long. What a growing boy he is!!!!! Later that week my friend Leslie came to visit us from Raleigh, NC. We had a great visit with Miss Leslie and Alex definitely won her over.

On July 1 we packed the car and headed for ALMOST HEAVEN WEST VIRGINIA!!!! Alex was first greeted by his Grandma and Granddad Wine and Grandma and Grandpa arrived shortly after. We surprised Sean's parents who didn't know we were coming. Then we sneaked in on his Aunt Jane!!! (All of Sean's family thought we were coming on Monday.)

On Monday, July 2 we went to Sutton to celebrate Grandma's birthday. (We won't tell how old she is!)

"The Lazy W" began filling up with family for the 4th of July. That day marked the 60th wedding anniversary of Sean's parents. The entire Wine crew was in with the exception of Carol & Bruce and cousin Mike. Everyone was delighted to meet Alex!!! I thought we were going to have to draw time slots to schedule who got to hold him next. On the evening of the 4th my parents, Jenn, Reid, and Elizabeth came to join in the celebration. I thought we were going to have a touching moment as Elizabeth reached out to her new cousin Alex. Then she snatched the pacifier from him. (Fortunately Reid caught her before she could put it in her mouth.) The traditional Wine Family Fireworks got rained out, but we saved them for the following night.

My best friend Sandra came from Ohio to meet Alex on Thursday. Many friends stopped by throughout the week...Pam Stewart, Evelyn Post, and Lori & Hannah Dittman.

On Saturday we were off to Webster Springs to meet the Morton Clan. Alex was a smart boy and brought a gift bag to cousin Caylin (To the Princess of Morton Mansion. From the Crown Prince of Gem). Alex got to meet "Aunt CaCa" (Aunt Cathy), Uncle Joe & Aunt Janet, and "Aunt" Tammy. Elizabeth and Caylin joined Alex for his very first swim. The water was too cold for his taste so the swim was extremely short!!!

On Sunday Alex attended his first church service with Grandma and Granddad Wine at Right Hand Fork United Methodist Church. After church we met the Cunningham side of the family and the Presbyterians at the Century Inn for lunch.

On Monday evening we stopped by Vacation Bible School in Burnsville so Alex could meet Toni Wine. She has been so good to send us signs for the door and keep the local newspaper straight on Alex's birth.

We headed back to NYC on Thursday. I am sure that our family at home misses us as much as we miss them. I hope no one suffered any camera or camcorder overuse injuries. We were sad to go but plan a return visit soon in August.

Happy and Sad

On Tuesday Sean and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. It has indeed been three wonderful years!!! We took advantage of Grandma's offer to baby sit! We left her at home with two bottles in the refrigerator and headed off to a favorite Japanese restaurant around the corner. Following dinner we stopped in our favorite Irish pub for a beer! Our son Alex has proven himself to be quite a good shopper. Even though he is not quite a month old yet he managed to get us an anniversary gift. Sean got season seven of The Simpsons on DVD and I received Bon Jovi's latest CD.

Gifts and cards continue to come in to welcome Alex. This week he received bibs and books from the Lipetzky family in Raleigh. (Dan is a former student council president of mine.) The Lipetzkys must know how important it is to feed both your body and your brain. Aunt Carol sent a photo album FILLED with the many pictures she took on her visit to meet Alex. She also sent me a couple of pairs of shorts....excellent gift since none of my old ones fit....not yet!!!

We did a bit of traveling this week. On Wednesday Alex, Grandma, and I went to the Bronx to visit my friends at PS/MS 194. Everyone couldn't get over how long Alex was. We tried to keep him out of the reach of the students...they can be germy little things. On Friday Alex, Grandma, Sean and I went into Manhattan to do some sight-seeing. We went to Battery Park where you can view the Statue of Liberty. Then we walked up to South Street Sea Port. We wanted to get some pictures of the New York babies together (Grandma was born in Brooklyn-Alex in Queens) in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. We stopped in the Heartland Brewery for dinner and walked by Times Square. Alex was fascinated with the lights!!

Saturday was a very sad day for the Wine household. This was the day that we had to take Grandma to the airport to fly home. We were so lucky to have her here for over a month. But that made it very hard to say goodbye to her. A few tears were shed at the airport, and many more once we came home. Cousin Elizabeth surprised Grandma by meeting her at the airport in Pittsburgh. The Wines will survive knowing that it is only about a week before we get to go home to WV to see Grandma and meet the rest of the family.

Birthday & Fathers' Day

This weekend brought us two celebrations. On Saturday I celebrated my birthday...no I'm not telling you how old I am. Sandra, my best friend who happens to share the same birthday, declared it "Happy 16th!!!" I like the sound of that, especially since the 2 of us decided several years ago that we refused to get any older. My wonderful son Alex instructed his dad to go out first thing Saturday morning and buy me flowers....they are beautiful!!!! We had a quiet evening here at the apartment. Sean made me a delicious cake....chocolate with coffee served warm with ice cream!!!! I got a gift bag full of goodies including a gift certificate to a local spa for a manicure/pedicure, the perfume "Lovely," and a magazine over-viewing Big East football! (Yes, I'm a football geek!!!)

On Sunday Sean celebrated his first official Fathers' Day. Grandma Sue treated us all to coffee and breakfast from Starbucks. On Sunday evening we took Alex into Manhattan for the very first time. He was great on the train...didn't cry a bit, but was wide-eyed and awake. We went to Central Park and picked out a spot on the bank overlooking the Boat House. We had a family picnic. Sean got cards and had his brag book filled up with pictures of our angel Alex. (He had gotten his big gift, a DVD camcorder, on his birthday as a b-day, dads' day, anniversary present.) We took some pictures by the lake and in front of Bethesda Fountain. It was a very nice evening...warm, but with a gentle breeze. What a great weekend!!!!!