JOLI'S FIRST TRIP TO FLORIDA!

Joli took her first trip to Orlando this weekend! We met up with her Lola and Lolo, stayed at the Polynesian Resort at Disney, and met lots of Jorge's relatives. We met his grandmother (Eva's mom), Yolanda and Albert (Eva's sister and brother in law), cousins Melinda and Albert, Jr., and Anelle and Eric. She also met cousin Adam and Evalise as well as her aunt Elizabeth and cousin OJ (but we forgot to get pics of them! Sorry!).

Joli was also lucky enough to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom! She hung out there with Lola while Mommy and Daddy rode the rides. Joli met gorillas, hippos, crocodiles, and even dinosaurs! While walking (strolling) around the park, she also met her friends Lilo and Stitch!

Lola and Lolo were nice enough to arrange for Joli to have breakfast with one of her favorite Disney characters, Mickey Mouse! She even tried to kiss him! We all had a Universal good time, even though we all were a bit "goofy!"

Thanks, Lola and Lolo for flying us down to Florida! We had a wonderful time, and we are truly thankful we could spend time with you in the w-a-r-m sun!

As a side note, Joli was great on the airplane! It luckily was only a 2 hour flight. We just kept her entertained (yes, she was awake the whole time!) and made sure to bring lots of toys. I know every parent likes to say this about their kid, but people were actually stopping us in the park and on the bus to tell us how cute she is. One lady even told us to enter her into a "beautiful baby contest." Yeah, she's cute.....

I think Uncle Paulie missed Joli the most. He was having his website withdrawal.

Thanks for everything, Lola and Lolo! That was really generous of you to treat us to a much needed weekend in the sun!

HAVIN' SOME CAKE!

Joli was finally awake enough to eat her cake (no, of course, we didn't give her any)! A Happy Birthday to you, a Happy Birthday to You! Six month birthday, yum!

SIX MONTHS OLD!

Joli turned 6 months old yesterday on January 17, 2004! She was delighted and thrilled. She wore herself out all day and didn't even get to eat her birthday cake before falling asleep. Unfortunately, her mom and dad were not too tired to eat her birthday cake-- but don't worry, we did leave a piece for her! Happy Six Months, Joli Irene!

Check out how big she has gotten! If you get a chance, compare her pics from her other months (each month we've taken a body and face shot of her with her best friend, Tigger!).

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS!! JOLI EATS!! THE PEOPLE REJOICE!!

Once again, proving that this is the ONLY site to get your Joli fix, ilovejoli.com has secured photos of another "Joli First".

Now, Joli is quite the adventurer. We all know about her nudist days. We were all amazaed when she announced that she was moving up North to join the eskimos. But yesterday, she shocked us once again...

Joli started eating solid food!!

SOLID FOOD AND PROGRESS!

Joli update:
As of today, she is 5 3/4 months old (she turns 6 months on Saturday). She had her doctor's appointment today and weighs 15 1/2 pounds and is 25 1/2" long. She also had 2 shots today and was very very sore from them. I had to give her some Infant Tylenol about 2 hours after her appointment because she was very upset!

Jorge and I have been letting Joli join us at the table while we eat dinner to get her used to seeing people eat and taking part in that process. She usually just ignores us, but today she started drooling and staring at our food! She also was getting really irritable. So, we gave her a sippy cup with water, and she was eagerly trying to slurp it up. Then, we figured we'd go and try the cereal. Yes, folks, the first foray into solid foods! Joli took to it like a "fat kid to cake" (where did that saying come from anyways???). She LOVED it! She was swallowing it like crazzzzy! She was screeeaaaming for more! We ended up giving her about a 2 teaspoons total, and then she had some water. This is only her second time with her sippy cup, and she was drinking from it (with our help). Go, Joli! Go, Joli!

Okay, Jorge took video and pics and should be posting them soon!

Enjoy!

THE FUSSIES AND A SIPPY CUP

Joli has been increasingly fussy this week, but we think it's because she's growing! She's no longer content with me or Jorge just looking and her and making weird faces. She wants to be entertained, and things only hold her attention for so long. I feel bad for her sometimes. It's clear she's trying to communicate something but doesn't know how to say it. So, instead she just makes this weird "whiny grunting" noise until she gets what she wants. I'm sure we'll be able to decode those noises some day soon.

I also tried experimenting with a sippy cup today. Joli drank a small amount of milk from the cup, and she did pretty well. I think she'll be well on her way in the next few weeks!

Jorge and I figured we'd start her on solids on January 17 -- her 6 month birthday.

Later!

A RATHER GENERAL BLOG....

In response to "Tita Mari's" recent comments in the comment section, we've decided to give you a quick update of Joli's vacation!

On Dec 19th -- Lola and Tita Mari came all the way from MA to visit and to babysit while Liza and Jorge spent a romantic adventure in NYC, where they visited Sean (see the Thanksgiving blog) and went to Sue and Jay's wedding (congratulations!).

Joli, Liza and Jorge (and Gordon) opened their stocking presents on Dec 22nd before leaving for Massachusetts. Joli got the best presents, of course -- a Spiderman bobblehead doll and an Ernie crib attachment. She was delighted!

We then left for MA the next day to meet up with Liza's family. There Joli got to spend more time with Tita Grapes, Uncle Paulie, Uncle Jon, Tita Mari and the grandparents. Joli discovered she loved laying in Tita Mari's arms -- limply. We nicknamed it "The Plank Position." (see "Family Pics: Tita Mari"). We stayed until Dec 26th and came back to NY.

On Monday, Joli got to see her Ita, Grandpa Jorge, and Uncle Ped where she, of course, got even more presents!

Okay, sorry for the long update! The next one will be "The Adventures in Solid Food" , I imagine!

Happy New Year!

JOLI'S NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

1. Start eating SOLID FOOD! (yeah!)

2. Start making SOLID POOP! (yuk!)

3. Learn to use my superpowers.