WinklerWorld: Our little corner of the web

Cowboy Alex

It was dusky Christmas Sabbath evening. Alexander was playing in the living room with Mama and Aunt Nancy when a not-so-familiar 'clip-clop-clip-clop' was heard coming from around the corner. He turned with all curiosity to see a most handsome young stallion 'galloping' across the dining room floor. With three 'neeeeiiighs' and a friendly type snort he came to a stop right in front of little Alexander. It was love at first sight- a partnership to last throughout the ages. Alexander (all in smiles, of course) approached his new companion, and swiftly gave his mane a very drooly tasting. Rocking horse approved! This gift from Nana (complete with hat of course!) is certainly a treasure. Though Alex prefers to stand next to the horse and make him rock back and forth when you press the ear for riding sounds, he'll wear his hat for a few moments and put on his cowboy smiles to the praise and giggles of all the town folk and passers-by. This is one trusty steed he'll have great fun growing into.

A beautiful part about Christmas this year is that we've been able to share this very special "first" Christmas with so many family and loved ones. We were excited to have Aunt Nancy come from Chicago and spend some holiday time in Ann Arbor with us over Christmas weekend. We had plenty of time to chat Sabbath afternoon, share gifts and ooogle Cowboy Alex. Sunday we had a ladies ( + cowboy baby) brunch out. It was just fun pacing out some of the festivities for Alexander and sharing his joy with Aunt Nancy while she was here.

By Winkler World Online
On Friday, December 28, 2007
At 10:54 PM
Comments :

So This is Christmas...

"So," said Alexander, sitting amidst strewn paper and bows, and in the shadows of towering presents, "this is Christmas!"

We celebrated our Christmas "gala" day on Monday, the 24th. Brian and Renee had been staying with us since Saturday Night, and Sunday evening after baby was in bed, we transfered the first set of gifts to the tree. Early Monday morning- I believe just before six- Alexander and Papa were awake and very eager to assess the gift situation, so Mama reluctantly trundled down with the boys to admire the tree and celebrate the calm before the storm. After some twinkly-gazing and ribbon-pulling, Alexander returned to sleep (yay!!!!) until nearly 10am!

Nana, Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma and Ellen all arrived with yummies and presents, and the kitchen was a-tizzy with pancake cookin', casserole bakin', cookie snackin' all in prep for the 'simple' Christmas morning brunch that was planned. Alexander found himself amidst the tizzy, all smiles, but as we all were, very ready to eat come food-time.

Presents were quite literally a 'mountain' of fun. For the first bit, Alexander was a great sport at tearing paper and unwrapping his little delights. He sat amidst the hubub playing with toys, paper, tree-skirt, kitty, mama's hair... We finally had to remove him from the fray for some quieter time, but he was a trooper all day. He later returned to his highchair and enjoyed some Zwieback toast w

hile we all took to coffee/drinks and cookies or played with our ne

w toys.

He took a long-awaited nap in the car on the way to visit family in Romeo for Christmas eve Dinner. We tried to teach him how to play Connect Four or Guess Who with David's little cousins, but maybe a few more years time would be helpful. He did, however, get his first guitar lesson from Mama, as that is a must in wooing that special girl's heart down the road. :)

It was a packed-full day. When we arrived home late that evening, Papa carried sleeping baby from his carseat to crib, like every 'happiest Father in the world' on Christmas Eve. It was hard to believe that after all the excitement and energy of the day- it would really be Christmas all over again in the morning. It would be a quieter day with just the three of us that we were looking forward to and revelling in- David and I- in the late night by the twinkling lights of the tree.

Visit Flickr for more pictures!

By Winkler World Online
On
At 1:06 AM
Comments :

Christmas Wishes from Grandma & Grandpa J.

2007's Grand Christmas Gala began with a friendly visit from Minnesota. Grandma and Grandpa J. forged through snow and Chicago traffic to spend several days with us and celebrate the pre-holidays. We enjoyed some good chats, a couple nice Nana-cooked meals (including some wonderful chili) and of course time for lots of grandson-oogling.

Alexander received a very special first Christmas present that he's been enjoying daily- his first car! The little red convertible (top off for indoor driving) is a big hit around the various loops in the house (including some basement driving while Papa works), and will grow with him in the summer as the bottom tray comes out and he can 'walk' it with his feet instead of being pushed around.

He got right into the assembly action, and Grandpa took him for his first royal spin around the island. (Kitchen Island that is). Later, Papa, Mama, and Grandma J. all took their turns 'in the driver's seat" and later even Alexander took Tatou for a little cruise. We wish we'd gotten pictures of that one!

Rick and Serena got to spend shopping time together, and Jan brought neat news of family history and stories from Minnesota family. Amidst cookies and presents a-plenty we were most happy for good company and a chance for Alexander to spend time with family. How blessed we are to be surrounded by such love.

See a fun little video below of Alexander in his car :)

By Winkler World Online
On Sunday, December 23, 2007
At 10:18 PM
Comments :

(Almost) Ready for Christmas!

First Introduction to the Christmas Tree

We've really been having a lot of fun this year jumping wholeheartedly into the holiday spirit. We (yes, did you know David is an awesome kitchen assistant??... especially when it comes to cookies) baked seven dozen cookies for the women's ministries cookie exchange, were one of those cheesy people who decorated for Christmas starting the weekend after Thanksgiving (after Alexander examined each box for treasures he could put in his mouth of course), and hit the stores the day after. We mailed out over fifty Christmas Cards, strung the house with lights (most of them work) and have already faithfully wrapped most of the presents (Alex couldn't help with this one, we did it after he went to bed).

Bundling up for a shopping extravaganza | Irrisistable temptations...

Alexander comes down the stairs each morning with mama and lights up with brilliant smiles at the sparkling Christmas tree. And he gets big grins when he watches his face distort in the shiny mirrored bulbs. When Grandpa and Grandma brought down the first load (!!?? spoiled first grandson??? nah!!!) of presents for Winkler Family Christmas from Saginaw, Alexander was ecstatically amazed at all the bright colored boxes in the dining room. (Though we keep them in the guest room until the big day- the temptation under the tree would be more than any little one could handle.) His first pre-present from Grandma Johnson today was a big hit (especially the tissue paper it was wrapped in) and we think he's just going to be beside himself in the midst of all the paper, bows, and commotion. We can't wait! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! (Can we finally get some sleep now?)

Decoration Inspector | Tatou and Alexander paruse the gifts "Is this one for me???"

By Winkler World Online
On Thursday, December 20, 2007
At 12:51 AM
Comments :

First Snow!

Finally! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We had over 10 inches of snow on Sunday. We did venture out to do some Christmas shopping and Alexander was less than pleased when the blowing, biting wind plucked the blanket off his carrier and nipped his nose. (Though we blame him completely for always taking his hat off- yes we DO put one on!) Later in the day Alexander found himself much more pleased to watch the white world in wonder from the inside. Maybe he'll get a snowsuit for Christmas and next week he can play king of the snowdrift with papa... or then again, maybe we'll save that for next year.

Watching Papa shovel
First Snowball

By Winkler World Online
On Tuesday, December 18, 2007
At 1:50 AM
Comments :

Babe to Bethlehem

The other day we took Alexander for little stroll through Bethlehem. Strangely enough it only took about 15 minutes to get there and there must have been something special going on in town because there were so many familiar faces everywhere we turned. It wasn't until the gossiping salon lady stole our baby and gave him to the produce merchant that we realized that we hadn't landed in Israel but in the gymnasium of the Ann Arbor Adventist School. It certainly had us fooled! We'd paid our tax in gold and written our names in the census. David had played the rope maker's games, and we'd shopped amongst others the basket maker, perfumier, and weaver's wares. Alexander had been quite fascinated by the shimmering, jingly neckpiece they tried to sell to mama, and we were just about in a tizzy after being bumped by a bumbling leper when the familiar voice from the produce station called over to us.

Lo and behold- there was Nana! Could it be? How did she get here? It took Alexander a moment to recognize her with her lovely pink head scarf before he turned all a-grin. Reassured that no leprosy would befall us, and quite relieved we were closer to home than we expected (we'd heard all the inns were full), we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our journey through town and applaud the magnificent production put on by our Ann Arbor church family and friends.