Big Snow

Tossing snowballs


Hiding under jungle gym with Austin


Showing snowball to Daddy


Warming up with some Italian hot cocoa "Ciobar" after a fun morning outside

"Chasing the Bad Guys"

Luca and Austin Chasing the Bad Guys from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

8th Night of Chanukah

8th Night of Chanukah from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Luca's Little Composition

Blowing Bubbles

Bubble Blowing in Connecticut with Grandma from Ellen Fleisher on Vimeo.

Happy Halloween

With decorations in our lobby:


Posing with Mommy before trick-or-treating:


We visited a Halloween Fair today in our neighborhood -
There were all sorts of strange characters in costumes. Luca found this tap dancing skeleton and they performed together until Luca got upset that his shoes weren't making the cool tap noises and quit the show.

Dancing Skeletons from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Truffles are in Season!

Gioel got some fantastic truffles last week. We had risotto with porcini mushrooms with the truffles shaved on top. Luca enjoyed it very much. If you recall from last year when Gioel served this dish, Luca ate only the truffles off the top. This year he did a better job of enjoying the dish in its entirety!

Apple Picking

Apple Picking from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Luca and his buddy Austin carved these pumpkins. Ok, maybe not. But they did have fun assisting in the process and they especially had fun making hash out of the innards during and after the pumpkin clean out. The weather was beautiful in CT this past weekend and the boys had fun collecting leaves, digging in the mud and racing remote control cars.
(Scroll down for pics below the video)

Jack-O-Lanterns from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Throwing rocks off the hill


Our friends Ali and Austin visiting for the weekend


Carving pumpkins Sunday morning


Austin working hard


In jammies, ready to drive back to the city. Making funny faces for camera...

Pumpkins and Firetrucks

Today in Connecticut we went to the little center of town where the firemen had their trucks on display and there were pumpkins for sale. Luca picked "the perfect pumpkin" and got to sit up in the drivers seat of the truck - he was in heaven!



The fireman is Luca's buddy Austin, our neighbor from NYC, who is up here with his mom for the weekend...

First Visit to a Hobby Shop

Hobby Store from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Luca in his Classroom

With classmate Eden and teacher Cybele at the sand table. His favorite spot. This morning he woke up and told me he didnt want to eat breakfast - he wanted to go straight to the sand table at school. Of course I was excited that he likes school so much, I wasn't exactly thrilled that this happened at 5:30 a.m. and he wouldnt go back to sleep!

Luca Riding his Bike

First Day of Preschool

All set in the lobby of our apartment, ready to walk to school.



Breakfast at Bouley Bakery across the street from preschool. Luca enjoyed an orange muffin he picked out at the counter.





Pictures at the school were off limits to reduce commotion - although there was a mother who was snapping away at her daughter in the classroom while she and Luca were playing together at the sand table at the start of class. I asked her to email me the pictures so hopefully I can get those up on the blog too very soon!

It was a great first day. Luca has class in the same room as his cooking class at the JCP last semester. Finally, all the toys that were pushed aside and off limits to him before were laying out on display for his use! He was so overjoyed he forgot I was even there. After 5 minutes watching him play from the sidelines, I told him I would wait for him out in the cafe at the school and come back in an hour. He said "OK!" and didnt even look up from what he was doing!

Today was just an hour. Tomorrow is a bit longer and after about 2 weeks he will be completely phased into his regular 3 hour morning, 9-12. He has 12 kids in his class and 3 teachers - Cybele, Chloe and Run.

What is a Gazebo?

Three Little Birds

Singing Song from Wall-E

Singing song from Wall-E from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Living the Good Life

Lunch at the Verbano Club in Stresa



Playing on the rocky beach of Lago Maggiore at the Verbano before lunch:

Lunch at the Verbano from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Playing with Italian Cousins

Giocando con Cugini Italiani a Gignese from Gioel Molinari on Vimeo.

Il Nostro Primo Giorno a Gignese

Of course all we do is eat!

Nonno made more pizza:





We played all afternoon with cousin Lucia's son, Pietro, who is about 6 months younger than Luca. Then we went over to the bar for gelato. Both boys chose their own treat, then once they saw each others they only wanted what they didnt have!

Making Pizza with Nonno

Fa Una Pizza con Nonno from ronni Molinari on Vimeo.

Reading Recipes

This video is about a month old - I just forgot to upload to the blog.

Luca loves this little book of risotto recipes from Erenia. Our little chef in the making!

Reading Recipes from ronni Molinari on Vimeo.

Intrepid

We took Luca to see the Intrepid Museum today to expand his fascination with land vehicles to air and sea. He got to see war planes, helicopters and tour the inside of the Concorde. There was a submarine docked too, but its not open for another couple months. We'll have to take him back again!

CLICK HERE to see the full album.

Luca in a Box

Visiting the Donos

We just got back from a super fun visit with the Donos at their new home, just outside Philadelphia. Luca and Pierce are the cutest buddies. They are like little twins playing side by side and always looking out for each other. A lot of credit goes to Pierce for this - he is the most compassionate, caring child, always making sure Luca is having fun, eating enough food, trying every toy, right along side him.

Probably appropriate to mention that the boys are pants-less and debuting their new undies since they are getting potty trained this week.



CLICK HERE to see video if its not showing in your browser.

Hanging out in the fort, pretending to go for a trip on an airplane:



CLICK HERE to see all the pictures from our visit.

More Coloring & Chatting

CLICK HERE to view the video if it doesn't show up...


Coloring from ronni Molinari on Vimeo.

Big Top Circus

Today we took Luca to a UJA event called "Big Top Circus" at Chelsea Piers. It was perfect for the little ones - a circus show with acrobats, clowns, bounce-house, carnival games and arts&crafts projects. Here are a few pictures of the highlights for Luca.

Luca's first cotton candy. He was enjoying it so much I couldnt get him to pull it away from his face for a good picture!







Playing baseball...





Time to head home. More sad to leave Uncle Steven than the circus...

New Big Boy Race Car Bed

New car bed is a total success! I keep finding him snuggling in it during the day just for fun.

Tonight is his 3rd night in the bed. The first day we assembled it, he was too excited to take a nap and even at bedtime he was pretty wired. After a while trying to calm him down - nearly 9 pm after a napless day - I told him "Luca, lay here for a couple minutes while I unload the dishwasher. I'm only coming back to check on you if you don't cry or get up." I went in the kitchen, moved a couple things around, made a little noise and when I went back in 3 minutes later to check on him he was out cold. Probably should've tried that technique 30 minutes sooner!

He still calls for me in the morning and doesn't get out on his own. Old habits die hard? We thought we might find him standing next to our bed at sunrise, but he is sleeping until his usual time. Can't complain - I love running in his room when I hear him calling to find him lying there, looking up at me with that giant smile. Just the same as it has been since he was an infant when I would first get him in the morning. Sigh....

We highly recommend this goofy bed for anyone who can handle the excitement.

Coloring with Markers

Practicing drawing a frame around the page. Not sure where he got that idea? Also, I try to coax him to speak his thoughts on the color pink ("Its for girls")...


Coloring with Markers from ronni Molinari on Vimeo.

CLICK HERE to view video if it doesn't show up in your email.

Making Music

Luca plays his guitar and sings his own version of "Where is Thumbkin?" meets "Frère Jacques"...

CLICK HERE to view video


Making Music from ronni Molinari on Vimeo.

Playing with Daddy

Luca plays with his magnetic pattern shapes toy with Daddy. They are discussing the shapes in Italian. When Luca can't think of the Italian word for trapezoid, he makes up his own word rather than using the English. He does this from time to time and its quite funny!

CLICK HERE to view video if it doesnt show up in your email.


Playing with Daddy from ronni Molinari on Vimeo.

Making Muscles (video)

CLICK HERE to view video

Bedtime Routine

Bath, Brush Teeth & Storytime

Craft Project

Luca having fun making wooden bead necklace "for mommy". He was so proud of the finished product!