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!!!