OUTING WITH MAMA

Joli and I went to the Boston Children's Museum and had a great time! Unfortunately, our camera died out and we only took a few pictures.
Look! We caught more fish than Andy, Dad and Lolo!

Maybe you'll have better luck fishing for ducks instead!

We tried to take the Boston duck tour, but that was all sold out....

And you thought GORDON was a big dog? Check out Clifford!

Ah, that's more like it... Cleo is just the right size...

It's LUNCH time! You can sit on my lap, Baby!

"Golly, Smithers. I do say, this must be caviar we are eating, is it not?"


Also, today, Joli got her first BIG GIRL ICE CREAM! (which, yes, is a milestone in our family). She ordered her own kiddie cup of chocolate ice cream and sat on the stoop with Mama as we ate, shared, laughed, and smiled!

Picasso Joli...

Whew! We finally found the easel that Aunt Kirsten and Uncle Paulie bought! Thanks you two! Joli loves her new easel and has been busy painting... both on and off the easel, of course!

The Newest Dr. Talusan!
Congratulations, Tita Mari, on earning your PhD!

We had a great time visiting the Vega family this weekend, even though it was short! We got to see Uncle Andy and Aunt Marie (with little Lillian - still in utero for a few more months!). Tons of fun!
Hangin' with Uncle Ped and Dad

Gramma does my braids

Dancin' with the Vega men

Can I have more pancakes?

These pancakes are da bomb!

The Vega men at a special Father's Day blessing (Jorge Vega x 3, and Andy Vega)

Thanks for letting us stay over, Pops and Gramma (and Ped and Ozzie!)! See you in a few weeks!

23 MONTHS OLD!

Woah.... Joli turns 2 years old next month! Wow!

We're heading to Far Rockaway for the weekend, so I'm sure we'll have better pictures after that. Until then, here are the best pictures we could take at 7:30am... before coffee.... before breakfast.... of Joli's 23 months old pics!
Yes, Tita Mari... I will fix her hair....

Her face picture!

It's Summertime... and the livin' is easy!

We've been having a great time with our summer hours! I only work 3 days a week to spend more time with Joli and we have a full schedule ahead! We recently went to the Roger Williams Park Zoo with Tita Ligaya and Mia... oh, the experience of having 2 kids!

It was Jorge's 30th birthday on June 10th, and we had a great little BBQ in our new house. Here's Jorge on his last day of 29 ... (you'd think he'd be happier!)

At the Roger Williams Zoo with the turtles

Mommy and Joli hanging at the zoo

Joli liked seeing "Zob" (from Zobomafu on Nickelodean)


She'll be turning 23 months tomorrow! Woooaaahhh...

Some cool stuff? Well, she loves the Wiggles.. can't get enough of those guys! Also, we heard her singing the alphabet! She got all the way to the letter "X" and stopped-- pretty cool, man! She's super sweet, and is often caught putting her little Spiderman toy to bed and saying, "It's all right, Spiderman. I love you. You'll be okay, Spiderman." The best is when we catch her saying things or doing things when we're "not looking." The other day, Gordon was sitting in the middle of the room, and Joli grabbed him by the jowls and said, "GordieGordieGordieGordieeee... you're a good boyyyyyyyyy." Too cute!

More later!

THE PRIDE OF HOME OWNERSHIP!
Thanks, Jorge, for tackling the lawn! Jorge spent most of the afternoon mowing the lawn and edging ... a far cry from the paved streets of Far Rockaway, NY. He did an awesome job -- and Joli of course slept through it all :)

CONGRATULATIONS UNCLE JP AND TITA MARI!
We had a totally excellent time out in California attending Uncle JP and Tita Mari's wedding! Congratulations! We also got to see Jenny, Jon and Baby Mia, too!

a little basketball

Lookin totally hip

chillin with my cousin Mia

Hey! Aunt Jenny's in a picture, finally!

me and Mama are twins!

dancin' queens!

Please, no more pictures...

The sisters!

OUR NEW HOME!

Welcome home, Talusan Vega family!

WE LOVE SPRING TIME!

Just a little fun on a wonderfully sunny day!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks, including a trip to Rockaway Beach, the aquarium, and from Easton.

Joli in Camel wear


The ladies on Mother's day


Visiting Mia and Keri Crocco at our old apartment



At the Rockaway with Uncle Pedro and SpongeBob


Happy Mother's Day!

ALOHA!

We miss you cousin Mia, Uncle Jon and Aunt Jenny! This is the dress you bought Joli when you first went to Hawai'i ... she was just a wee nugget then, but now she wears it with Island Pride (even though it's still only 50 degrees here)! See you in May!

21 months old
She's official... 21 months old!
Here are some great pictures now that the weather is finally warm. Of course, in the Northeast, we always take it day by day with this weather.

body shot


body shot 2


breaking bread with Daddy


funny face Joli


making cookies with Daddy


Who's more scared... Joli or Daddy?

Almost 21 months!

We close on our house in a few weeks, and we've been enjoying all the great sunshine we've been having!

Last weekend, Tita Grace, Tita Liggs, one of Tita Ligg's friends, and Mommy ran a 5K! It's the first kick off to our summer of fitness! Joli got to play on the playground after the big finish!

Not too much going on other than playing outside. We miss Mia Jewell, but we keep up to date on her website at www.miajewell.blogspot.com. Tita Mari's wedding is coming up soon, so we've been busy doing wedding planning. Oh, and in case people didn't know, Joli is getting ready for another cousin (courtesy of Tita Mari and Uncle JP).

Last week, Joli also got to see some of the American Idol contestants! She's been "watching" that show since she was in utero. Thanks to Tammy who told us about it!

Enjoy the pics! (I'm trying something different this time with the pics... give feedback!)

CAN IT REALLY BE SPRING?
Well, we're not hopeful just yet, but the past two days have been a wonderful 60 degrees in the Northeast. We bought this awesome swing set last year (when she was wayy to little to use it) but now she's almost too big for it! Enjoy!
20-months-on-the-slide.jpg
sassy-toddler.jpg
Joli-brushes-Gordon-April20.jpg

Joli is wearing a jacket!

Around this time last year, I found an old orange jacket that my brother Jonathan wore when he was 2 years old. It's an awesome jacket, so we put it away in a closet because Joli was waaaaaay too little to wear it.

Well, lookie here... she's finally big enough! Big up, Jonathan! Your legend lives on!
jons-jacket.jpg

joli-on-the-bike-20-mos.jpg

CRAZY FUN PICTURES!
Joli has been super duper fun lately! She's hilarious and really does copy just about everything we say (so we have to be careful!). Funny stuff:

FUNNY JOLI STORY #1:
MOM: "Joli, what does the dog say?"
JOLI: "Ruff ruff"
MOM: "Joli, what does the horse say?"
JOLI: "Nayy Nayy"
MOM: "Joli, what does the bird say?"
JOLI: "Tweet tweet"
DAD: "Joli, what does Grammy say?"
JOLI: "PED!!!!"

JOLI STORY #2:
Just after Joli's bath, she lay down on the bed, pulled up toes to her nose and said, "Oooh! Smells good!"... then, she farted... and said, "Uh-oh, I farted."


JOLI STORY #3:
Joli and Mommy were lying in bed. Joli turned away from Mommy and got really quiet. So, Mommy peeked over to see what Joli was doing. To Mommy's surprise (and horror...), Joli had her finger in her nose, looked up at Mommy, and said, "Go Away."

Some of JOLI'S FAVORITE SENTENCES:

"Momma, ice cream, now."
"Gordie, BE QUIET!"
"Daaaaad, dance-dance-dance!"
"C'mon, stop it."
"I'll get it."
"You help me."
"Oh, graaayt" (thanks to Tita Grace)
"C'mon, Lolo, let's dance."
"Lola, popsicle, now."
"Fishies, want orange?" -- (we then noticed there were about a dozen little oranges at the bottom of her fish tank... oh grayyyyt)

Okay, okay, the pictures.. that's what you really wanted anyways....



she-shoots-she-scores.jpg -- taken after a warm day!
Tita-Grace-taught-me-this.jpg
but-don%27t-tell%21.jpg
it-was-sugar-free.jpg -- don't worry... ahh Fudgesicles!
just-too-funny.jpg -- I ran into the store when I saw this! ha ha ha!

She's 20 months old!

Wow! Joli is now 20 months old and is amazing! This week, she's, once again, a finalist in the Babyzone.com photo contest! She was a finalist last month too! Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks:
20-months-old.jpg
20-mos-tigger.jpg
20-mos-want-ice-tigger.jpg
motorcycle-19-mos.jpg
what-did-i-tell-ya.jpg

It's been a while....

Sorry it's been so long since we've updated the site, all! It's been one heck of a crazy month! I'll post some 20 month photos sometime tomorrow.

We are in the process of buying our first house (hence, the lack of correspondence) and have been so busy in that process. Joli now goes to "Lucy's Day Care" 4x a week, and Tita Grace takes her to music class 1x a week. Yes, music class.

Joli's awesome. Totally conversational, very cute, very polite, very kind, very thoughtful. She's totally outgrown her clothes (18 months) and has "caught up" with the rest of the kids her age. When she was born early, the doctors all said she'd catch up physically around this time. She's just about as tall as other kids her age, too! Unfortunately, we need to go buy her new clothes! She's definately into the 2T stage!

THEY'RE BACK!

Hurrah! Joli and Jorge are back! Well, I'm gonna keep this short so I can go and spend time with them, but here are a few highlight photos!

beard.jpg
that one was taken in the jacuzzi in the timeshare where they stayed! Here are a few more from the huge bubble bath: shaving.jpg,
this-is-a-bath.jpg
This is a really cool picture that Grammy Eva took - hmm... is the butterfly real?? for-real.jpg
the-family-in-Florida.jpg
We're eagerly awaiting photos from a very pregnant Aunt Marie and from Pops' camera!
Glad to have them back!!

oh, and a hearty congratulations to Tita Mari and Uncle JP (John Patrick) on their upcoming wedding! Joli's gonna be a flower girl! Mari%20and%20JP.jpg

VALENTINES DAY, 19 Months photo, and a sad mommy!

We're experimenting with new conditioner.. as you can see with Joli's "not so crazy" hair on Valentines Day! 18-mos-valentines-day.jpg

Can you believe she's 19 months old already! She's awesome and SO tall! If you haven't seen her in a while, you'll be surprised just how tall she is (clearly not from the Talusan genes!). 19-mos-face.jpg and 19-mos-tigger.jpg

Congrats to Uncle Jon who made is safely in Hawai'i and who is eagerly waiting for Jenny and Mia to arrive!

Joli and Jorge are going to Florida in the morning, and Mommy is super duper duper sad.... will I make it? Well, the next posts after this will probably be of Miss Joli livin' it up in Florida!

JOLI OR J-LO?

J-Lo's green Grammy dress ain't got nothin' on me....

the newest runway fashions ...


the-runway-photo-1
the-runway-2
Grammy-dress-2005

UPDATES...

Hi, everyone! Sorry we've been so slow with the updates. We've actually been doing a lot more video than pictures, because Joli's just been a hoot of fun verbally! She's pretty awesome ...she talks like crazy and can actually have a conversation with you (that is, if you can understand the occasional "alblablahblauhglahbah" word thrown in there. She also went to her first college basketball game the other night and loved it!
She knows a mess of opposites: on/off, hot/cold, open/close, sad/happy, big/little
Knows her colors: red, blue, yellow, green
Shapes: circle, triangle, square
Can name every single person in the family - including significant others!
Knows every part of the body

blah blah blah.. and so on.. so here's the good stuff .. PICTURES!

our-driveway during the blizzard... oh gosh...
ha-ha-ha.jpg
looking-cute-in-Dora-wear
stop-taking-my-picture-mommy
straw-hat-Joli
tryin-to-tame-her-hair

GO VOTE FOR JOLI!

Hurrah! Joli was selected to be in this week's BabyZone photo contest! Go to www.babyzone.com and click on the photo contest (usually a picture of a baby on the right hand side of the website). She's in the toddler section at the bottom! But, only vote 1x from your computer (per day) otherwise your vote won't be counted! (and, disregard the stupid looking picture of me in the corner). Thanks to Alonso who took the picture last October!

LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF SNOW....

We woke up this morning to already 10 inches of snow, but Lolo and Joli insisted on watching-the-weather report anyways.

Gordon hates the snow. It makes him depressed. But, Joli is quick to cheer him up saying, "at-least-we-have-fruit from the indoor plants."

The snow is piled up so high that it's even bigger than Joli! look-at-all-the-snow !

We are literally trapped.... we can't open any of the doors or the snow will come flooding in. And, even if we could open the doors, we would have to somehow make it over the snow banks!

So, how's the weather in California, Mari? What about you Jon/Jen/Mia ..? How's the weather in Hawai'i?? Bet you are all soooo sad you're not still here visiting!

MORE PICS OF JOLI ON COUSIN MIA'S SITE!


Well, we're stranded under 2 1/2 feet of snow (and still falling).... Blizzard of 2005....

Surf on over to Joli's cousin's site to see some awesome pics of when Mia, Jenny and Jon visited last week. Their site is www.miajewell.blogspot.com.

Stay warm!

I'm 18 months old!

Well, my cousin Mia went home to Oregon the other day. I had lots of fun with her! I'm now 18 months old and a terror on wheels (says my mom!). Actually, I'm a really good kid, and I love running around in my light-up sneakers, talking up a storm, and singing at every chance I get! I can name every single person in my family, tell the dog to "stop it" and hold a decent conversation with adults. I also get along really well with strange children and like to entertain them at restaurants.

Here are some pics! enjoy!

Joli-18-months
Joli-and-Tiggs-18-months
little-teapot

MY COUSIN MIA IS HERE!! (oh, and so are Jenny and Jon....)

Yay! The grandkids are here! Joli is adjusting to having Mia around because now she has to share the love (there is plenty to go around.. don't worry!). It's awesome having Jenny and Jon here, too! Oh, Tita Mari.... we mittthhh you!!!




lazy-day-in-bed
get-this-baby-off-of-me
cousins-hanging-out
Lola, Liza, Mia and Joli

A FEW MORE FOR THE REAL FANS!


"what-do-monkeys-eat , Joli?" She says, "bananas."

awfully-comfortable right before dinner time

who-has-more-fun on Joli's scooter??

Only a few more days until Jon, Jenny and Cousin Mia arrive! Hurrah!

ps.. we went to see Joli's new friend, Melina Menghi -- we had tons of fun (and great food from Tammy and Ed!) Hopefully pictures of the two girls coming soon!

A FUN FEW WEEKS!

Here are just a few pics to catch you up on all the Joli goodness!

Christmas-scooter.jpg
Dom-Perignon.jpg - we had this at Christmas dinner
our-neighbors-from-New-York.jpg -- we visited them after Christmas
piano-lessons.jpg -- watch out Alicia Keys!
tufts-race.jpg -- taken in Oct after Grace and I ran the Tufts 10K for Women
yoga-class.jpg -- I just couldn't resist....

Joli is awesome! We don't track her words anymore because she's on to sentences and just saying absolutely everything!

CRAZY AMOUNTS OF FUN AT ROCKAWAY!

We're here in Rockaway Beach having Christmas Eve at the Vegas, and Joli is having one heck of a great time. She gets everything here! Elmo toys, baby dolls, little houses, beans and rice, magnetic letters, a dry erase board, and lots and lots and lots of attention. (the Talusan family has called at least 4 times in 2 days saying "We miss Joli!!"). She also gets away with everything here -- including crayons to tag her name as "graffiti Joli". We got here on Christmas Eve, and Joli jumped right into opening presents. It certainly was the "Joli Vega Christmas 2004". We even got a rare opportunity for a family picture (unfortunately without Andy and Marie) at the church. Note the great fireplace .. Pops really wanted the picture there! We even got a picture of Joli at FGT .

Cool stuff: Joli is honestly the smartest 1 1/2 year old I know. She totally talks (especially to Ozzie, the minature Doberman) and is completely understandable. She know shapes, "big vs little", parts of the body, glasses, how to use utensils, how to treat animals "nice", how to hug and kiss, and how to clean up. She is so darn smart.....

Back to MA tomorrow!

17 Months Old!

Joli turned 17 months old on December 17th. She's really active and has been using a few complete sentences these days! Too cute! Mari and JP are here visiting from Los Angeles, and Joli has a fun time confusing "JP" with "Paul!"

Here are a few of her cute pictures! Enjoy! Happy Holidays to everyone!
17-mos-photo
17-mos-photo-#2
the-next-Dr.-Talusan

When Lolo babysits....

Lolo is very helpful when watching Joli. He makes sure she always stays hydrated with a nutritious drink, helps to answer the phones while taking messages, learns how to use the potty in order to avoid a traditional diaper change , practices for her days as a big sister by taking care of the baby, and helping to prepare dinner. (note that all of these did, in fact, happen in the same day... and in the same few hours).

Trouble.. trouble ... trouble....

A Thanksgiving Trip to California!

We spent 5 days in California to visit the Gamalinda side of the family and to see Jenny, Jon and Mia for the first time! We were able to take a very rare picture of The Talusan Family (missing Alonso Nichols and Kirsten Lebo) as well as see a few Gamalindas. And, of course, we took tons and tons of pictures of the grandparents and grandkids. On Saturday, Mia had her christening, and Jorge was asked to be a godfather. We took great pictures of Mia,Jenny,Jorge and Joli as well as the four beautiful women who took the long long trip from Oregon to California just for a few days (Katie - Mia's Aunt, Laura - Mia's Grandmother, and of course, Jenny and Mia!). The godparents were Katie, Jorge, Mari and Jon's friend, Justin, at Mia's christening. Joli has a tough time sitting still these days, so she had to go outside with Uncle Jon to run the stairs for a while. One of the best pictures we took was of the two generations of grandparents (Lola's parents are in the pictures on the wall).

Joli had a tough time on the airplane ride on the way there because she wasn't quite used to being so confined, but on the way home, Joli was awesome! She had a great time with Baby MiMi and all her cousins! What a reunion! We haven't all been together for about 12 years, so this was a treat! We stayed with Liza's cousins -- Denis, Aileen, Larissa and Mark -- who Joli LOVED!

So, whadda you think ... do I look good with two kids ???

Grandpa Jorge's 50th Birthday!

This past weekend, we took a trip down to Rockaway to see the Vega family and celebrate Grandpa Jorge's (Pops) 50th birthday. When asked to comment on how it feels to be half a century old, Pops simply said, "fifty-is-exhausting." Unfortunately, Uncle Pedro didn't realize he was at Pop's birthday .. he thought he had finally made it to star-search. Joli always seems to enjoy taking pictures by herself, and never seems that pleased when it is a picture of Daddy-and her. Don't feel too bad, Jorge... she didn't exactly get happy when she found out she was sharing-the-spotlight with Mommy, either! But, that's okay, because after the party, someone had to clean up..
coming up next week -- pictures from Lola's birthday, Thanksgiving with the Gamalindas, and meeting Baby Mia Jewell! You can check out Mia Jewell's blog at www.miajewell.blogspot.com. Happy Thanksgiving!

SHE'S BIG! SHE'S TALL! SHE'S 16 MONTHS OLD!

Joli has been having a great time now that Mommy is home and through with her traveling! She's so excited that she even has crazy-hair.jpg! But, when she's not being a peanut-head.jpg (as her Daddy likes to call her), she's busy giving her best serious-face.jpg. As a busy toddler, Joli is often on the run, so this was the best-body-shot that I could get.

New stuff? Well, Joli continues to LOVE Barney! She goes absolutely crazy when it comes on TV, and she loves dancing with her Barney Sing A-Long doll! She knows how to do the whole "If You're Happy and You Know It" song, the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song, and of course, the Barney song. She can "meow" like a cat, "growl" like a bear, and say "oh, my gosh!" She also knows how to say "please" and "thank you" as well as "sorry." She can ask for her cup, say she is hungry, and even tell you if she has to pee (which she does in her diaper, of course). She can say a few more words, too: papaya, hot, coffee, office, Joli (which she pronounces "joeeee"), fish, doggie, outside, shoes, socks, and blue. She can play hide-and-seek, "read" her book, turn off/on the TV, and eat some of her food with a spoon. She can also draw and color pretty well with a crayon.

Joli also is now at the point where she prefers to be put in her crib. A few months ago, Joli would cry and hug you if you tried to put her in her crib, but now she actually leans into it and tries to go there. She lays down quietly and just waits until she falls asleep. She also has a great time playing in her crib in the morning -- she often stays there for at least 30 minutes before asking to come out.

Happy 16 months, Joli!

PRINCESS DRESS AND CRAYONS

Here's actually a picture designed with Tita Mari in mind. It's the princess dress.JPG you bought Joli when she was just born.

Joli has a molar! You can tell by all the drool in the next picture. She is also a pro with crayons.JPG ! It's so cute how she holds them -- she holds them like a pencil and only colors with the pointy side. At her latest doctor appointment, we found out she weighs 22.7 pounds and is 30 inches long!

ALL DRESSED UP! (THIS TIME SHE'S WALKING ON HER OWN)

At last year's Halloween, Joli was carried in her Superman outfit from door to door collecting candy for her mom and dad. (I believe that blog was called, "SuperJoli!"). Well, this year, Joli is a hoppin' toddler who likes to walk the bridge.jpg. She is no longer "SuperJoli" but she is also a super duper the little duck.jpg who asked people all night to gimme some candy.jpg! (of course, she said PLEASE and THANK YOU). Hope you enjoyed the pictures the new and improved Joli costume.jpg

YOU'D BETTER SIT DOWN FOR THIS ONE....

Oh... my .... goodness...

.... screams of "ahhh!!! she's too cute!!!" were echoing throughout the house as "Pops" (Grandpa Jorge) sent us these pictures of Joli's visit to Rockaway Beach. You should probably sit down because these pics are so cute, they'll make you dizzy...

rockaway beach
solitude on the beach
a girl and her dog

One more... added late... good heavens... this one is ridiculously cute! Thanks to the grandparents in NY for playing with Joli Joli!

Joli loves dogs.jpg

YOUR PIC FIX....

Joli's dad, grandpa, and uncle have been busy building a rock wall.jpg for Joli to have lots of all fun and games.jpg . She also made time to play with her Uncle Paul.jpg . But, honestly, nothing beats playing a little rock and roll.jpg with my grandpa!Here's a great picture of the finished product.jpg

Fifteen Months Old!

It seems like just yesterday when Joli was as small as Tigger! Now here are her monthly face and tigger shots. Although, she's getting more and more impatient about posing with her little orange friend! Enjoy!


ps.. new word of the day is "Lolo!!!" She's now up to 54 words that she can actively say and identify! Sorry about the loading and quality of the pics. We haven't had Adobe photoshop on this computer so we can't resize as well as we used to.

Say hello to my little friend.jpg

It's a happy fall.jpg

Just a close up of my 15 months face.jpg

Fall Day At the Park

Joli had a fun fall day at the park today. She went down the slide Joli slide.jpg, climbed the blocks Joli climbing.jpg, played in the leaves Fall day.jpg, and then came home and wrote all about it Joli writing.jpg. Oh what fun!

Eatin' sumthin'

Hey! Who do you think you are sneakin' some vegetables into my dinner???goodcarrots.jpg

Psych..! I actually love them!laughingtable.jpg

Some Joli updates:
-When you say, "Who is mommy's (substitute any name in here) love?" She raises her hand and says "Meee!!".
-Joli can climb up the slide and actually go down it correctly now (before, she couldn't quite figure out how to turn around at the top).
- She can point out your eyes, ears, and mouth!
-Her favorite word continues to be "NOOOO!"
-She can get her shoes when you ask her to do so.
- She says both "Gordon, NO!" and "Gordon, GO!" as well as "Gordon, nice" (that last one is really rare, unfortunately).
-Joli has learned the art of climbing -- she uses just about anything to climb out of her play area! We can no longer keep "table" type toys in there because we caught her hanging off the rim of the play yard having used the table as leverage!
- She asks for an "apple" and can eat it whole, and she can ask for a "banana"

Yay!

HANGING OUT IN THE ROCKAWAYS.. (a-lean back, a-lean back)

Joli had an amazing time with the Vega family out on Rockaway Beach this past week. My job took me to NYC this week, and I brought Joli along to hang with her family. We have some cute pics, and LOTS of cute stories (although Joli will probably be embarassed once she's old enough to read this....).

Some of the funniest moments involved, what else?, POOP. That's right. Poop. Story #1: Joli had just finished her bath and was hanging out (with no diaper) in Uncle Pedro's room. Thankfully, he was at church that night. Ita (Joli's grandmother) and I were talking about toilet training, and she said, "You know Joli's ready to be put on the toilet when she makes 'that special face.' Well, I looked over at Joli and said, "Uhm, you mean like the face she is making right now???" And, sure enough, a big old turd dropped out onto Pedro's floor.... thank god for tile flooring...

Joli then spent a few nights with the Vega fam, and I got a call in the evening that Joli had been splashing around in the tub and, you guessed it, stood up and pooped. Ita had to drain the tub and re-wash all over again!

In terms of fun stuff, Joli had a great time with their little dog, Tuffy! Finally, a dog smaller than her! They were buddies -- Joli would go and get Tuffy's bone and give it to him. She also was fascinated by Ita's fish, and she would watch the bowl and say "fishie!"

During the day (when it wasn't a torrential storm), Joli and family went to the beach and playground by their house. It's really a beautiful place to live! Joli also was busy helping her grandfather go on a fire inspection of the church. And, after a long day, she found time to cuddle with Uncle Pedro in her play pen.. yes.. in her play pen. Mind you, Pedro is like 5'11", and that playpen is tiny! But, he managed to get in there with her (and managed to get yelled at by Ita, too!).

Joli and Jorge are heading back down there in a few weeks, and Joli is counting down the days! (well, she's at least counting to 1-2-3, which is all she can do right now).

Any new words? Let's see... "fish", "dog", "banana". I think that's it.... Oh, and check out the cute pig-tails in Joli's hair! Ita did that for her! Cute!!

Later! Enjoy the photos (courtesy of Grandpa Jorge -- Pops!)

ps Happy Birthday, Grandpa Ed! See you when you and Lola get back!

Sep27018.JPG
slide.jpg
sep27019.jpg

MORE NEW WORDS..

In case you are interested, here are some more new words she's learned in the past few days:

ears, bubbles, Jesus (as of today), no, ow, corn, tee hee hee (when she touches your belly), thank you, burp. She has upwards of about 40+ words that she says clearly.

SHE'S 14 MONTHS OLD!

Joli is officially 14 months old. She walks and talks and eats and is so independent. Unfortunately, she also knows how to rip off her own diaper, which led to a rather interesting encounter with ... well.. Joli's "diaperless butt" and the floor. Need I say more?

Here are her face and body pics with Tigger. It's getting harder to take her picture these days because she's more interested in seeing what's on the screen of the digital camera. So, whenever she sees it, and I try to take her picture, she screams, "Baby! Me!". And, that doesn't make for good picture-taking.

She's learned a few more words: "Mimi" for Baby Mia, "There!" for when you say, "Joli, where are your toes?", "cup", "more", wow", "mom", "dada", "Gordon", "corn", "car", "book", "Elmo", "bird" (not sure where she learned that one), and then this random babbling that she does. It's adorable. She also dances and touches her nose when you say "Stinky? Butt butt?". Joli can also throw out her own diaper and pass you an item that you ask for (such as a book or her cup).

Enjoy!

sept 17face1.jpg
body.jpg

SHE WALKS..! SHE TALKS..! SHE'S SUPER JOLI!!

That's right! Joli is a walking machine! On Tuesday, Sept 7, 2004, Joli took 3 independent steps. On Wednesday, Sept 8, 2004, Joli took THIRTY-FOUR independent steps (now that's what I call a fast learner!!). She's so amazing!

Go, Joli! Go, Joli! We love ya! We love ya!

Joli walked from the coffee table to the living room doors. Certainly, there was incentive as she has pictures of herself all over the doors. She even went over and kissed all of her own pictures! It was as if she was walking the "red carpet" and kissing all of her adoring fans! Then, yesterday, Joli walked from her play set to her car toy and then to Tita Grace's garden! They spend lots of time in there, so I'm sure that's where she was headed.

Way to go, Joli! She totally loves walking. She's slow and kind of unsteady, but I'm sure by the time I get home from work, she'll be running around.

My mom took her out to lunch today, and she said that Joli was talking to people in the restaurant. She said there were two women who were talking and laughing at the table next to them, and Joli turned and said, "Wowww... ha hah ah... uh-oh.. wowwww." She was right there with them, gossiping along!

Other cool Joli things: She kisses you without being asked. She'll turn her head towards you and just pucker up! When in her high chair, Joli holds a piece of food over her tray (as if to drop it), says "uh-oh", and then drops the food on the ground. We, of course, tell her not to, but it's just too darn cute! (Gordon is getting much fatter because of this, too).

She's also saying "Papa", "thank you", and can COUNT TO 2!! If you say, "one", she'll say "twoooo."

We love her!! We went to the New England Aquarium the other day, and Joli loooooved the penguins (and, for some reason, hated the octopus....).aquarium.jpg

FUN TIMES IN EASTON

The weather has been great here in Massachusetts, and Joli has been really busy. Jorge set up a computer for Joli, and she has already had a few clients as a partner in Flights Travel Easton. Don't worry, though -- she also finds plenty of time to hang out and eat. Unfortunately, she doens't have time to comb her hair....

Enjoy!
jolis office.jpg
joli client.jpg
jolimullet.jpg

BIG ROLLIN' IN MA ELMO CHAIR

Life is good when you can just hang out and chill in your most comfortable chair.

Joli has been taking a few steps lately. She walks so fast and steady in her Strawberry Shortcake shoes! Some cool words she says: "Gordon", "Quack Quack" (when she sees a rubber duck), "Moooo!" (when she sees the cow), "Wow!" and "Maaa" when she sees pictures of Baby Mia! These are the ones that are most intentional. We've certainly heard her say "Ma" and "Daa", but she doesn't exactly say them to call us. But, with the other five words, she uses them very intentionally.

We're doing well! Tita Grace has been babysitting while Lola and Lolo are visiting Jenny, Jon and Baby Mia. Joli has taken a fondness to grilled cheese on whole wheat toast, green beans, carrots and raisins, in the food category.


elmo chair.jpg
elmo chair 2.jpg

Joli turned 13 months!

Joli's been having an awesome time being 13 months old. She had a great time with Tigger on August 17, and they even played on the slide together! Joli 13 mos face.JPG
13mos body.JPG
tigger catch.JPG

(Sorry..the pictures take a little longer to load because we don't have the program anymore that resizes them.)

We're back!

Hi, everyone! Well, we've finally gotten settled into our new lives. Jorge has started work. Liza has started work. And Joli has started at "Lola's Day Care." So, here is a catch up of some pictures of us. The first is of Joli before her birthday - she wasn't too happy about being stuck in the crib. The second is of Joli and Liza at Joli's first birthday! It was all too exciting for Joli! And, the last one is of Joli and Jorge just taken the other day.

Joli's been "talking" up a storm! Her words so far are: bear, "who's that?", "a-lo" (she says this when the phone rings, and she puts her hand to her ear), mama, dada, goo-shh (Gordon), "see", and an assortment of songs. If you start singing, "2 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed", Joli will do the actions to the song!

She's eating all solid foods now. She's not a fan of pureed foods in a jar anymore -- she spits it out. She has added some great foods to her regular diet: meatballs, corn, cheerios (still...), grapes, blueberries, mango, roast beef, turkey, steak, breads, potatoes, green beans (she loves holding and eating them), spaghetti, lots of fruits, melons, and ravioli! She pretty much eats everything (except nuts, honey, and citrus fruits).

Joli's taken 1-2 steps at a time. She stands like a pro, and she's ventured a few steps before falling down. She's getting there! She's getting tons of practice cruising around the house and doing things she did in our apartment -- like taking down all the DVDs and throwing them around the house.

Hmm... anything else? I think that's about it!
picture.jpgjoli and mom.jpgjoli and dad.jpg

JOLI IS A COUSIN!
 
Congratulations to Jenny and Jonathan! Baby Mia was born today at around 1:30pm (?) Pacific Time. Details to follow, but from what I know, Baby Mia is 9 1/2 pounds and brave Jenny gave birth without any medication. You go, girl!! Also, Jenny hung in there an additional 12 days -- Mia was supposed to be born on Joli's birthday (July 17th.. for all you non-Joli stats people). Happy Birthday, Baby Mia! Congratulations Jenny and Jon -- now try to get some sleep (ha ha ha).....

Quick Joli news: she's standing like crazy! She even stands on the bed! We've stopped timing her as she can pretty much stand for minutes at a time. Joli bug is under the weather -- she's had  high fever these past few days, but Mommy is giving lots of TLC and staying home from work to watch Sesame Street with her. Oh, she's also discovered Blues Clues, the Teletubbies, and the Wiggles. I know .. I know.. but we ran out of books to read and it was the only thing that would keep her still and drinking juice.

Alright.. no blogging for  a while.. the computer is the next thing to get packed up!

 

JOLI'S NEW STATS!
 
Joli had her last doctor's appointment with Dr. Good today. It was so sad to leave him and all the great people in his office. (we had to get a new computer, so pictures are at a stand still for a while). Her stats:  19 1/2 pounds, 29  inches. She's had 12 shots in 1 year and her iron count went up into the normal range.

We're getting ready to move, so we may be off line for a while. Stay tuned! Joli is on the verge of walking! She can walk just holding on to one hand and is super duper fast!

Her favorite activity is to sing and bounce! Joli is hilarious! She had a fun time at the Artists Institute performance where she saw lots of her neighborhood friends dancing and singing. Joli is eagerly waiting her turn to get up there!

Stay tuned!

 

JOLI TURNS ONE!!
 
Today was Joli's 1st birthday! We had a small party with the neighborhood kids and some family friends. We all ate pizza, ice cream and cake and had a pinata! Joli, of course, fell asleep during her party and woke up just as everyone was getting ready to leave. All-in-all though, a great day! The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining! Our other computer crashed, so we're waiting to get the software to upload the pictures again. Until then, it's now countdown to moving day!

COUNTDOWN TO JOLI'S BIRTHDAY!!

Has it really been almost a year??? Joli's birthday is this Saturday! We have tons of fun planned for the kids - arts and crafts, water balloon game, a pinata, pizza and cake!She is getting so big and doing so much stuff! Today, I blew on her belly and she blew back at me! That's the first time she's done that. Jorge also showed me that Joli loves the India Aire CD -- when she hears the first 2 notes of the CD, she claps and bounces up and down. Joli is also getting ready to walk! She is eagerly standing on her own for 5+ seconds and can walk with holding on to just one of our hands.

Look for the upcoming birthday pictures! She turns 1 year old on Saturday!

ps.... Jenny is starting to feel contractions and is due any day now! Congratulations Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Jenny! We can't wait for Baby Mia to arrive!

PEEK-A-BOO!

After months and months and months of playing Peek A Boo with Joli, she has finally decided to play back....

She also has rediscovered the pool, which she takes very seriously.

OUR FIRST (AND HOPEFULLY LAST) CAR ACCIDENT.....


Okay, Uncle Paulie told me to start off this story with "We are fine. No one is hurt." He got really mad when I emailed him what happened and ended with those two sentences (which put him into a freak-out-spiral).

Joli and I were driving to MA for a job interview and to visit Lola and Lolo. At about 4pm, we were struck from behind on the highway and spun to the other side of the road. Turns out a large trailer truck was sailing down the left hand breakdown lane of the highway - probably because he couldn't stop in time in response to traffic. I'm not too sure what happened after that. I mostly just remember saying, "We're going to get hit!" I remember being perpendicular to the on-coming traffic and thinking "Oh, God, Help Us." By the grace of God, Joli and were not hit by any on coming traffic, and we landed safely on the other side of the highway on the grass. Joli was safe in her car seat and our car suffered only a little bit of damange in the back. The officers and EMTs checked us out and then we were allowed to drive home.

Woah.

We made it safely to MA, and Joli was none the wiser. In fact, an hour after the accident she was swinging on her playset and going down the slide!

JOLI TAKES THE BIG APPLE!

Even though we've lived in NY for years, this was Joli's first trip to NYC! Sister Joan (our family visitor from India), Tito Emil (Lola's brother from CA) and Lola visited, and Joli and I played "tour guide" for the day. Joli got to hear a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral and pose in front of the Armani Exchange -- note, she is eating a cracker in front of the Armani store which was her own personal message that "fashion models need to eat more." Yeah, she told me to write that..... She also wanted to pay her respects at Ground Zero. Of course, Jorge and I had been to these places a few times already, but it was Joli's first time there! And, with our upcoming move, it was even more special for her to go!

LOTS HAS HAPPENED!

It seems so much has happened since Joli's 11th month day! We celebrated Father's Day with the Vega Family, and Jorge celebrated his first father's day! Liza started work with Breakthrough already, and this is a picture of Joli with one of the teachers, Nathalie, just before they met Bugs Bunny at Great Adventure (yes, Joli has now been to THREE amusement parks in the 11 months she's been alive).

We also went to visit Patrick, Joli's new cousin, in Pennsylvania. Joli played with Patrick, Dorica, Jerica, and Roslyn -- her cousins! She also met lots of Talusan family relatives who Joli has never met before. The "aunts and uncles" are technically her "grandparents", but they felt too old to be called grandparents and insisted on being called "Joli's Aunts and Uncles." So, for their sake, she called them that! She met her Aunt Rose, Aunt Socorro, Aunt Grace and cousin Grace. She met her Uncle Rey and Uncle Ben, her Aunt Socorro, Aunt Rose, Uncle Rey and Cousin Grace. She has so much fun! Even though we drove around a lot this weekend, Joli found some time to play in the yard as well.

Joli also went to day care for 1 1/2 days this week and she had a blast! She went down the slide at the playground all by herself, and was so exhausted that she fell asleep in my backpack.

11 MONTHS OLD!! YAY!!

Here are her latest face and body pictures! We're off to Great Adventure!

OUR TRIP TO OREGON AND JORGE'S BIRTHDAY


We just got back from our trip to see Jonathan at his graduation! Congratulations, Jon! We also got the chance to spend time with Jon and Jenny and "see" their beautiful growing baby girl.

June 10th marked Jorge's 29th birthday, which he spent with us and his family. Joli also got to see her Pops and Ita (as well as Uncle Ped,who escaped the pictures somehow!).

Joli turned 11 months today (whaaat??!!??) and we'll post pics soon!

MEMORIAL DAY PICTURES

We spent Memorial Day weekend in MA and Alonso took these cool pictures of Joli and Lola, Joli and Tita Grace, and Joli with Jorge on the new playset.

QUICK FUNNY STORY....

okay, I have officially been inducted into the "Mommy Club..." .. I went for a walk with Joli in her stroller today and gave her a teddy bear to hold. When we got back, I realized she didn't have it with her and must have dropped it. Now, mind you, she really didn't care... she didn't cry or wasn't even looking for it. But, of course, I felt so bad that there was this lost teddy bear somewhere in the streets of Glen Cove.

So, I hopped in my minivan, and drove around and around the neighborhood looking for it. And, thankfully, I found his sad little body on the sidewalk about a 1/2 mile away from our house...

Teddy is safe at home, and Joli is chillin' with her fruit cup, none the wiser. She was very happy!

BRACE YOURSELF FOR TOTAL CUTENESS!

We spent the long weekend up in Massachusetts visiting Joli's Lola, Lolo, Uncle Paulie and Tita Grace. Honestly, you may need to go somewhere private to view these pictures -- I'm afraid you'll squeal with joy when you see them, and you might get funny looks from people.

Brace yourself.. I call these the "Joli is THE cutest baby in the world" photo blog!

Oh, by the way, she's such a big girl! This weekend, she learned how to push her little scooter all by herself, hang out with Daddy and see the cows at Sheep Pasture, and even taste a sample of watermelon...... needless to say, she loved it......

(new news...Joli can stand up and take steps sideways!)

IRRESISTABLE AFRO!

I absolutely couldn't resist posting these pictures of Joli's growing afro! Here is the front view and the side view! Also, here is a rare family picture of the three of us taken at a fundraiser last week.

Oh my goshh.... as I'm writing this, Joli just took Gordon's ball and held it out for him to take...!!

Okay, whew! Well, as you can tell, Joli is crawling all over the place now. She is so fast, too! Her favorite things to do are to pull apart our DVD collections, pull herself up on the coffee table, crawl to the piano and hide underneath the bookshelf, crawl over to Gordon's toys and steal them, and pull everything out of her toy box. It's actually quite fun to see her go! I am able to sit at the diningroom and she plays on the floor, then when she wants me, she crawls to me! Of course, that's only some of the time.. the rest of the time, I'm chasing her!

Congratulations to Uncle Paulie and Aunt Kirsten who got engaged this week!

I'M 10 MONTHS OLD!

We're a day late, but Joli turned 10 months old on May 17th! She thought that was the funniest thing ever (ie face shot). We did our usual Tigger shot, but she's getting so big that she decided to hold him instead of sitting still. When I told Joli that it was also Tigger's 10 month birthday, she decided to give him a treat and take him for a ride.

What is she doing? -- yes she can stand when leaning up against something (and she's even stood up for 3 seconds one time!), she can crawl forward with her hands and knees (that was just TODAY!), sits up completely independently, and can sit up after being on her belly. Wow! She's also now eating meats (turkey and chicken) and lots of fruits and vegetables. You go, Joli!

She's also super busy with her Uncle Andy visiting, so we'll write more later!

POOL TIME!

It's been hot and humid here in NY, so Joli's been keeping her cool in the pool! But, don't worry. She's keeping up her energy eating Cheerios (and waiting 30 minutes before swimming, of course....).

Joli is also mobile! That's right! She's moving forward (and rather quickly!). She's not quite on her knees yet -- mostly just using her arms and toes to push/pull herself across the floor, but she's so fast!

THE FIRST MOTHER'S DAY!

Even though we celebrated a "mother's day" when Joli was still in my belly, today was an extra special mother's day made by Jorge and Joli. We went to IHOP (where just about every mother from Long Island was with their babies), took a ride in Joli's new wagon, took our first Mother-Daughter's day picture, and ate some lobsters and steamers!

It's still Mother's Day as I'm writing this and we're getting ready to eat! Oh, and Joli ate meat for the first time, yesterday! (chicken and vegetables).

Oh, NICE DAY OUT!

With all of Joli's friends moving away, we're winding down to our last few play dates with Nathan, Mia, Audrey, and Elyse. See how sad they all are! The good news is that it's getting so nice out, and Joli is now hanging out in the wagon with her buddy, Nathan. It's been so nice out that Joli is wearing SHORTS for the first time today!

PRINCESS PEA AND THE TUB

What do you get when you combine 3 sisters, a baby, and a tiara? You get Princess Pea and an overflowing tub.

I've always thought Jorge was the best person in the whole wide world. After having put up with the three sisters for a few days, I absolutely KNOW that he is. Thanks for letting us be a little crazy, Jorge!

GORDON, NO!

Tita Mari and Tita Grapes are here.... it's chaos. Grace almost burned the house down making popcorn while Joli laughed at her. Then, Tita Mari let her play with a monkey. Even Gordie got in on the action and tried to share her biscuit (note Tita Grace's scream in the background).

Oh, the joy of Aunties....
Tita Mari took the pictures.

A NEW FRIEND

Tita Mari's friend, Julie, came over today to meet Joli. We said, "Julie, this is Joli... Joli, this is Julie.... Joli, Julie, Joli, Julie."
Julie is an amazing singer who is studying to be a music teacher! Tita Mari went to Brooklyn to visit Julie, but she called lots of times because she missed her "JoliJoli." Tita Grace is coming tomorrow to get her Joli fix as well..... poor Jorge.. surrounded by Talusan women.....

TITA MARI IS HERE!

Tita Mari is here visiting for a few days (okay... 10 days...). She's pretty much been through an average "day in the life of Joli Irene", which has included sitting in the bouncy seat, practicing crawling, and taking a bath. Tita Mari caught a break when it was time for Joli to do some work at her desk! Whew!

The funniest part for me (Mommy) is that Tita Mari seems to really be getting a kick out of being with Joli. She keeps saying, "Wow! You could, like, totally do squats and lunges and crunches with the baby -- what a great work out." Uh, yeah, let's see how much energy Tita Mari has after a few more days with Miss Joli Joli..... :)

Congrats to Jorge who got a job in Massachusetts! We're moving! Yay!!

DIRTY LAUNDRY....


We've decided that there were too many dirty diapers, so we just put Joli in the laundry......

LOGGING IN THE MILES

Hi, everyone! I've been away at my Lolo and Lola's house in MA. These are pics my dad took when I turned 9 months old (April 17th). At first, I wanted to show my more serious side, but my dad insisted that I show ya'll some teeth! He also wanted me to get a picture in with Tigger, you know, like I do every single month. I think I'm getting too big for the Tigger pics, so instead, I played the game "Got your nose!" with Tigger! Another game I love is, "doing the hula!" I invited my three friends over and we did the hula in my crib. It's also a good picture of me standing!!

Gotta go play now!

PICS BY ALONSO NICHOLS

Quick blog -- here are three pictures Uncle Alonso took when we visited last week. Joli turned 9 months old yesterday, and spent it traveling back to Easton.. again. We'll post more pics after the trip!


Joli pic 1, Joli pic 2, Joli pic 3

(yes, the pictures lack creative titles, but they far make up for them in beauty!)

ALMOST 9 MONTHS OLD!

Ah, the fans are restless... (hey, Tyra! Great to see a comment from you! We got Tony's letter and pics!)

Joli went to see Dr. Good today for her 9 month check up. She got 2 shots and was very brave. She cried, of course, but was a trooper! I (mommy) was very proud of her! She's 17 pounds, 4 ounces.

Let's see... what's new? Well, Joli has been logging in tons of miles as we've traveled to Easton a lot. We're actually heading back up to MA again (3rd time in 2 weeks!) for more interviews. We spent Easter with the Vega family and Joli looked super duper cute in her Easter dress that Ita bought. Now... before you go crazy... the battery died in our camera before we could take a cute pic of her, but I'll take another one this weekend and post it (relaaaaaax!).

It's been rainy here in NY, so we haven't taken many adventures as of late. But, this weekend is supposed to be nice, and we'll take pics then. Last week, though, Joli did go to Frothingham State Park in Easton, MA and played on the see-saw and different spring animal rides. She saw an elephant at Tufts University (where Tita Grace is a professor). No, the one with the white shawl is NOT the elephant... that's just me still wearing 10 pounds of post-partum baby weight....HA HA HA.

Joli's highlight was "bling-blinging" it in Lolo's fire red porche. We had to teach her not to sit on the car. Being that she's a quick learner, she got into the driver seat, started the engine, and drove herself to Toys R Us.

ps... "Oh, Grandpa Ed..if I post this picture, can I have the Porche?"

I WENT TO THE ZOO!

Hi, everyone! It's me, Joli. I went to the zoo today with my friend, Gail, and her mommy, Rachel. It was kinda far away, so Gail and I had to drive there. Personally, I would have liked to fly in my private airplane, but there was no room for anyone else to go with me. Gail decided she would ride a pony at the zoo... my pony's name is "Graco Stroller." When we finally got there, we all fed the baby goats - they were so cute! At the end of the day, we were all so tired, so mommy and I took the train home. I had so much fun! Thanks for inviting us to the zoo, Rachel and Gail!

ADVENTURES WITH LOLO

Joli took a trip to see Lolo and Lola (and Tita Grace and Uncle Paulie) this weekend. Her daddy missed her terribly!

While Joli spent tons of time with her family, she mostly spent time with her Lolo. She visited the Joli Shrine, got her eyes checked, and even went and shared some chicken with Lolo. (don't worry... no chickens or babies were harmed in the actual picture...)

NO PRACTICAL JOKE! SHE IS STANDING!

Yup, that's right! Our little "once preemie" baby is standing! Not on her own, of course, but in the picture, she is honestly standing by herself. I even let her fall on her bum one time (don't worry.. she had plenty of padding). Maybe she'll be an early walker! She looks like she's going to crawl any day now, and I have a feeling she'll be walking soon after!

Also, Joli's top teeth are coming in! She's got two little pointy white things coming down from the top! Actually, I realized her teeth were coming in when I heard a strange "grinding" noise - and sure enough, it was Joli rubbing her teeth together!

Thanks to everyone who wished us "get well soon!" I think we're almost back to normal!

ITA VISITS!

Joli's Ita came to visit for a few days and hung out! The weather was beautiful and Joli seemed to have kick the little bug she had for 3 weeks.

We all had a great time (and yummy food! Ita is an awwweeesome cook!!)!

SICK BABY UPDATE

Yup, still sick. We went to see Dr. Good and he gave her some antibiotics because she developed her first ear infection. He says it's no big deal and that she should feel better in the next 3 or 4 days.

Stats update:
16 pounds, 4 ounces
27 inches long

No shots this visit because she was still sick, though. Okay, hopefully we'll do an "I'm Not Sick Anymore" post soon!

PICS BY REQUEST...

At the request of Tita "Grapes", here are some Joli pics. Joli's been in isolation because of being sick. She's actually developed a cough now, too. We're going to the doctor's office on Tuesday.

Anyways, here's her 8 month version of "Kung Fu Kickin'". Feel free to make a comparison between this one and her one in the left hand column! Also, her fine motor skills are getting so much better, and this is her picking up her sippy cup by herself for the first time! Usually, we have to hand it to her, but she found it on her "desk" today and just picked it up and started drinking it! The pic is a little "grainy" because I took it from far away and didn't want her to see me!

Hopefully we'll feel better soon!

I GOT CURLY HAIR

check out my curly hair!

I'm feeling much better today, everyone! Hopefully I can see visitors again soon!

EIGHT MONTHS OLD!

Here's the much anticipated "Joli at 8 months old" pics! Location: the crib... she's still sick.
I'll call these:

"Mom, can I show everyone my teeth?"

"Yes, Joli, but I need you to lay still!"

"Okay, but then can you stop taking my picture?"

"Yes, baby girl! How about one more happy picture? Then, we can play!"

WE'RE ALL SICK

Okay, before you all get riled up that we haven't posted with pictures, we are all sick. Even Joli Joli. We think it was day care. Joli was the first to show symptoms -- not able to breathe, runny nose, cough. The other night, she was up all night and just couldn't be consoled. I honestly haven't seen her smile or giggle in about 3 days. Then, Jorge got sick and had to get his wisdom teeth out, too. So, he's been up at night coughing. Then, despite thinking I was some sort of superwoman, I woke up sick this morning. In the words of Tita Grace - "Oh, Great."

We'll post more as soon as we're all better.....

A BUSY DAY.. A VERY BUSY DAY...

Hi, everyone! My mom and dad are too busy to write, so I'm gonna write this entry!

Today was a very busy day! Usually, as you know, I stay home with my mommy and doggy. But, today, my mom was asked to do a few workshops at the school. I went to day care for the first time today! (my mom said she wasn't allowed to take pictures, so no pics today!). I saw all my friends from the neighborhood and we did lots of playing. I was a little grumpy, though, because I wasn't used to taking a nap with all those babies. But, I did okay in the end. My parents kept visiting me and interrupting my play time -- those two are crazy about me! They couldn't go an hour without seeing me! I guess that's the good thing about having my parents work in the same building as where I would go to day care.

So, as some of you know, my parents sent out modeling pictures for me. We got 1 rejection letter and, today, we got an agency who was interested in my pictures. My parents are going to do more research about the agency, and we might set up an appointment. It's in New York City...oooohhh!

Alright, I had a long day and I'm going to bed. Good night!

LONG DAY....

I had such a long day today. I was so tired from eating my Cheerios that I had to lay down and take a nap. But, after recharging my batteries, I went back for more! See if you can spot Gordon in this picture!

Bye bye!
love, Joli Irene

MOVING OUT

Aaaaaaaah... they grow up so fast. Seems like only yesterday I was holding in her my arms.

Well, my little girl's all grown up now. She bought a car about a week ago and, as of this morning, she moved out of the nursery and into her own home.

What's a father to do?

A LETTER FROM JOLI....


Dear fans and board members of the Queens chapter, Los Angeles Chapter, and the Retirement Chapter of Easton:

I love you all, but you seriously have too much time on your hands.... I'm busy playing in my high chair, pinching my dog, pooping my pants, farting, eating cheerios, eating at East Wok, and making deh-deh. My mommy and daddy are busy, too. They are changing my diapers, cleaning up after my brother Gordon, doing my laundry, giving me massages, and oh, yeah, working. Maybe if you guys tried some of my activities, you would have less free time (particulary the farting activity -- that tends to take up most of my day, too).

I will write more later. My mom thinks I'm taking a nap, but I snuck down here to respond to your demands. If you love me, you'll chill out.

Love,Joli Irene Talusan Vega

JOLI EATS CHEERIOS! (sort of...)

Joli has discovered the art of Cheerio eating today! I tried feeding her some a few weeks ago, and she really didn't like it too much. So, I figured I'd give it another try today. I put some Cheerios on her tray, and she was able to scoop them into her hand. She couldn't quite figure out how to put them into her mouth, but she at least knew they belonged there! It was so cute! Jorge and I didn't want to do it for her because she needs to learn how to do it herself (although, of course, we caved in a few times and fed her). Overall, Gordon ate more Cheerios than Joli did (ie.. they fell on the floor), but it was still so adorable! She just keeps them in her mouth and mashes them with her tongue. She did try chewing a few of them, too! Way to go!!