Touch A Truck Fun!

Yes it was TOUCH A TRUCK and a good time was had by all. TAT is the large fundraiser for our Junior League where trucks of all kinds come and kids can play and get close to them.... of course ADL was over the moon with excitement as all he talks about is trucks and the like. He is especially in love with trash trucks which they had and of course fire trucks which they let him pretend to drive and run the siren (very exciting). While Mommy was working her shift at the ticket counter all the boys had a great time.

Thanks to Mama Boal who sent the special jacket to wear just for the event - very big boy!

XOXO

Library Time Complete -

Yes we have sadly reached the end of Library time for the fall - they take off November and December before starting up story time in January again. This week we did have a Halloween reading and craft and we of course had a nice long visit with Fireball the pet guinea pig who is the beneficiary of some celery from the house... yummmm... We can not wait to get back to story time! XOXOXO

P.S. The Autumn wreath was the craft from last week which is really cute as well.

Back from Ireland!

Yes Daddy is back from his trip to Ireland on business. ADL understood that he was going away and that Pop Pop was here to visit - we even checked out a book on Ireland from the library and read all about it. When he returned Daddy had lots of gifts for the boys, mostly from the Guinness factory store conveniently located not far from his hotel..... hmmmmm. Anyhow we are glad he is back safe, are loving all the stories and the boys are thrilled to have Dada home again. XOXOXO

All The Good News!

All is well with the Laterzas - Pop Pop is still visiting with us and we have had a great time. The boys love having him here and he is soooooo much help to all of us (now if the leaves would just stop falling so he could enjoy all the work). ADL continues to love school, especially the bike room and his fabulous job as big brother. We were also the greeters this Sunday at church and he shook hands with everyone as if he was the mayor of St. Paul's.... Even when people were crossing to avoid him he would wave and say Hi in his long new southern drawl.

Nino is loving sitting up and is starting to make the move towards crawling which has Mommy a little worried - he is like a little bull and think he will not be as good, quiet and calm as his big brother always was.

Now looking forward to Halloween! XOXOXO

Cold and Wet Week -

Yes it seems that Fall or rather Winter is finally here. It has been cold and rainy for most of the week and continues to look so. This is not good news for the BIG event this weekend Tuck-A-Truck our Junior League fundraiser and of course what the boys are all excited about attending. Hopefully Sunday will not be a total wash out...

ADL continues to love school and all the excitement there. He also is expanding his vocabulary so quickly that we can hardly keep count of all the new words. He is also repeating everything so we are really having to watch what is said of course. ADL is having a little trouble sleeping and claims to be "scared of the dark" so we are researching lots of good ideas for this (as you know we all love our sleep). Thanks for all of you who have shared a great idea - they are working and so is the new "car" nigh lite we got for his room.

Nino continues to sit up well and wants to frankly stand up and run. He loves it when you stand him up and hold him only by his fingertips which makes me excited (and worried) that we will be on the move soon. This week Nino started making some sounds - they seem to sound like Mama but perhaps that is my imagination getting the best of me? We are still working on some teeth although the two that are there on the bottom are quite sharp... Can't wait to see what another week brings.

Pop Pop arrives on Friday for a couple of weeks and we are thrilled - am sure there will be lots of photos and stories to share soon - Have a great weekend!

XOXO

Nino at Seven Months -

Nino is seven months today and we are amazed and impressed at each moment. He is sitting up and rolling over (although seems pretty lazy with this one) and loves to eat anything with apples (his favorite is blueberries still). ADL is still the model brother as you can see by all the photos.

As David says we are now on the downward slope to one year so we wanted to mark the day.

Thanks for all the well wishes and excitement. Nino is over the moon (and luckily napping happily right now to celebrate).

XOXOXO

Apple Picking -

Yes we went apple picking this weekend and it was great. We went to a nearby farm here in New Jersey and picked three different kinds of apples from the orchard. Luckily Auntie Chrissy was also along to capture lots of fun moments on film for you avid readers. In addition to the apples there was a Hay Ride that ADL was a little scared of because of the loud tractor - daddy was most disappointed in this as he seemed most excited about the ride. There was also a corn maize, corn play pit, obstacle course and "kiddie play land." Not to mention the most exciting pick your own pumpkin which we were really looking forward to. There were also some "Great Pumpkins" that were exciting just to look at but certainly not to buy. All and all we had a fantastic day and had lots of mud all over Alessandro to prove it. If you are close come by - am experimenting with apple pie recipes. XOXOXO

Happy Columbus Day -

Yes we did dress the boys in full regalia for Italy today and they did sit down and watch part of the parade on TV. They were especially interested in all the music and ADL was in love with all the policemen on motorcycles. One interesting note - there was a guy singing Opera and ADL asked me to sing that for him (of course I can not) but he seemed to understand it was opera and that you should clap and say "Bravo" which was very cute.

The little jacket on Nino is a gift from his Godfather and I was a little scared it would not still fit but it did and zipped as well - he is quite the little pork chop these days (in a good way).

Although the boys are Italian they also have another claim to being special on this day - for all those who know the story thanks for calling - and if my heritage got you a day off from work all the better -

Sending all our love for Columbus Day!

XOXO

DL

Nino "Sitting Pretty"

Yes our little Nino is sitting pretty right on schedule at six months. He has been trying to sit up for about ten days now and has almost got it. Sometimes he tilts a little to the right but can sit there for a few minutes even off-sides. Am hoping to perfect sitting and then our next goal is holding the bottle ourselves which would be fantastic. The boys had a great weekend and loved spending all the time with Daddy.

We have had lovely weather so far this week just perfect for hanging out at the park. We also walked to the library for "Library Adventures" which was all about falling leaves (see photo of our art work) - next week is all about pumpkins our favorite (or as we like to say "rumpkins."

ADL continues to love school and is looking forward to a possible date this weekend with "Auntie Chrissy" to go Apple Picking for the first time - photos and story coming soon of course.

Lastly to tempt our readers - see photo of Daddy and ADL opening the box with his Halloween costume. He has not wavered one time on what he wants to be and will tell you very quickly. Daddy went right on-line and ordered the costume which arrived yesterday. Any guesses on what it is? Note poor Nino is wearing the sad hand-me-down pumpkin that Alessandro wore for his first outing - think this will work until he knows better - right? XOXOXO

"Hot Wheels" Come to Life -

Yes it is true the love of cars does come from DNA from father to son. Alessandro is so in love with his cars (most of which were his Daddy's lead paint and all) and plays with them everyday. This past weekend we had a local fair and "muscle car" showcase. ADL and Daddy were so excited just walking around and seeing all the cars. Then they picked which were their favorites and why just circling around. Some of the car owners were even nice enough to let them look inside which was very nice. Perhaps one day Daddy will have his muscle car and then they can go around exhibiting it for everyone else to enjoy? Until then come and visit the house o' hot wheels. XOXOXO

P.S. The General Lee car photos are for you Aunt Deborah - as it was our "dream car" when we were little. HA!