Tuesday, October 23, 2007

you know that your town is in trouble when...

The Today Show is broadcasting from within a few minutes of your house.

We are all fine. We have no idea if the house we are renting is still there. The area where we live is under mandatory evacuation We high-tailed it out of the area when the voluntary evacuation started yesterday am. For now, we're camped in a motel in Desert Hot Springs, about 100 miles from our house.

The current weather forecast calls for the Santa Ana winds which have fueled these fires to wind down on Thursday. Until then, the planes we rely on to extinguish wildfires are largely grounded. Firefighters are waiting by the thousands to pounce on the fires when the winds die down.

From everything we can piece together, thousands of homes will be lost.

I'll keep posting on the blog as things develop.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

but what about the parents?


more from Italy




OK, sorry it's been so long...





With things as hectic as they have been over the last few weeks, we've been completely remiss in posting the blog. Finally, here are a few new pictures from this month's trip to Italy. More to come soon...

Sunday, April 8, 2007

An Easter note from Luca's mom





Happy Easter from the Rondinellis!

How in the World can it be April already? The little man arrived about eleven weeks ago and it feels like we have slipped into a time vaccuum here. To put it simply, Luca is AMAZING! He has changed our lives in every conceivable way and we love it!

This past week was a wonderful whirlwind. My sister Kelly flew out from Washington state and met her brilliant nephew for the first time. We so enjoyed having her here and will miss her loving energy and helpful hands. Suki met Kelly, Luca and me for dinner at Shun Lee in Manhattan (right by Lincoln Center) on Monday night. Two fellow diners couldn't keep their eyes and hands off Luca -- it was one of those fantatic, unexpected moments of social warmth in the Big Apple. A proverbial "second cherry" to top off our wonderful evening. Seeing Suki was lovely -- she's happier than I've seen her in some time and I think there's a man behind it all -- wink, nod!

Chris and Richard are visiting tomorrow and I can't wait to see them see Luca. He weighs roughly twice what he did when they saw him last and is cooing up a storm! Jim will be on the West Coast for work so I'll be sure to capture some great memorable moments by camera.

Much love everyone!!!


Toni

P.S. Has anyone seen Luca's blue fuzzy sock? The binkie we keep in the car? What about his mommy's brain? If so, please let me know!!!

Friday, April 6, 2007

Aunt Kelly Visits Luca!






What a great week with the Rondinellis Kelly has had! The little guy is absolutely incredible! I believed Toni, but the proof is really in holding him. He is a very happy little boy (most of the time ;o). Even the pups are understanding who's really boss around here now. What a lucky boy to have such wonderful parents! I'll miss this bunch terribly, so I'll sign off and kiss on 'em some more before I get on the plane .
-kb 4/6/07

Thursday, March 22, 2007

NOW OVER 12 LBS.!

I guess it's easy to believe if you look at the pictures below. Especially the bottom one.

Jim

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Luca's Growth Spurt






Apologies that it's taken so long to post new pictures on the blog. We're still getting used to the travails of new parenthood. The sleep cycles of 3 hours, the house being a little messier that it used to be (and accepting it), taking an hour to get out of the house. It's all new to us.

So finally, we get to posting new pictures. I figure that the best place to start is to show you how quickly he's growing. All those late night feedings are paying off.

More to come.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Today's weigh-in 9lbs. 14 oz.!!!!

Another visit to the pediatrician today and our little Luca has shot up 10 ounces in a week!!! A week! More pictures to post later today.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

More week 3






Look how big he's getting compared to the sheep...

Week 3 - Back From Barcelona






Sorry it's been a few days since we've posted to the blog. I've just returned from a week in Spain on business. Being gone so long was hard on all three of us.

One of the highlights in this series was the visit of my good buddy Steve and his wife Sybille. Steve is one of my oldest friends and the first of the hometown crew to stop in for a visit.

The headcold I picked up on the trip is making coherent thought a challenge.. Enjoy the pictures.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Did anyone notice that I'm already confusing Luca and Lola?

Note the title of the last post. Another sign of a new Dad asleep at the switch. Yikes.

Monday, February 5, 2007

More pictures from Lola's second week






Luca's eyes are opening and focusing more and more every day.

First day back at work....






It's hard being a new Dad when you have to go back to work. Save an email or two from my good friend and colleague Ed, I have been focused on things other than the office. Leaving Luca today was definitely a bit melancholy. BUT....


My coworkers gave me the most pleasant welcome back to work one can imagine. My new boss has been very generous and consummately understanding. It really felt great to be back in the office.

Lola, on the other hand, apparently was used to me being around and was super upset when I left. Upset so much that she stayed at the door and barked for over an hour at the top of her lungs. Over and over and over.

Enough dribble for now. here's wnat you've been waiting for: more pictures of little Luca. Notice how much he's filling out over the last week, especially in the smoothness of his face.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

First Visit to the Pediatrician and Weekly Reference






We'll be taking a picture of Luca every week with the same object (the super-cool fuzzy sheep) so you can track his growth.

Also included: some pictures from the Dr.'s office this morning.
Quote for the day comes from our pediatrician: "If there's one thing I want you to take from this appointment, please know he's perfect!"

Thank God for Chris and Richard!





So, in spite of all the warnings, we were completely surprised by the amount of chaos a new baby brings into the house. Enter Chris and Richard, our cousins from Pittsburgh. Sensing that we needed some help, they dropped everything and ran up to help us. It's a blessing to hae them around. Luca has been gaining some weight and even seems to be settling in to a sleeping schedule. His eyes seem to open more every day.

That's all for now, except Thank God for Chris and Richard.

Jim