THE CHRISTMAS EQUATION

I know math may not be everyone's strong suit, but I felt it important to share what might be the most important mathematical discovery since Einstein theorized E=mc2!

Here is the "Christmas Equation", as derived by Professor Joli:

Joli(presents)=[Parent(preJoli presents)] - [Parent(postJoli presents)]

A simpler form of the equation might be expressed as: Joli(presents) > Parent(presents)

Professor Joli's equation redefines Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" by demonstrating that a relative's proximity to Joli is in direct proportion to the number of Christmas gifts.

The equation has been validated by scholars such as Tuft's Professor Grace, Dr. Roderic and Mary Talusan (PhD pending).

HOLIDAY ELF

It a little know fact that, while most of Santa's elves are pretty industrious, there are a couple of lazy elves.

They pretty much lie around all day eating, snoozing and telling other elves "Happy Holidays. Can I have a hug?"

HEADLINE: JOLI SPEAKS OUT AGAINST THE RECENT ATTACKS AGAINST HER PARENTS!
The following is an excerpt from a recent interview that 20/20 did with Ms. Joli Irene Talusan Vega. It concerns the recent allegations that her parents have "dropped the ball" in regards to her website.

BARBARA WALTERS: You claim your parents haven't mishandled your website, Joli. Then why is it that your site has gone so long without an update?

JOLI VEGA: It's really very simple, Barbara. I have a very busy schedule and my parents simply aren't able to keep up with me. Of course, this makes it very difficult to keep an up-to-date photojournal of me.

BW: I see. Well, what is it that keeps you so busy these days?

JV: Well, aside from all the charity work I do, I spend a considerable amount of time in meetings with business associates. I also spend a lot of the day at my desk, responding to fan mail. When I'm not doing all of that, I try to catch a little bit of sleep. A girl needs her beauty rest, Barbara!

BW: (laughing) Don't I know it, sister! But seriously, many members of your family have been very vocal about the website's current state. What would you say to them if they were here?

JV: Chill.

BW: Strong words, indeed. And what of the recent boycott threats made by your nefarious Uncle Pedro? What would you say to that?

JV: Threats? THREATS?! You call those threats? Barbara, please, I have a whole diaper full of "threats" for my Uncle Pedro (why is he smelling his finger?). He can stop by and pick them up any time.

BW: Er... I see. Well, since we're on the topic, your fans have begun to wonder exactly when they can expect to hear that you've graduated to a "potty"?

JV: No comment.

BW: Well, what about the rumors that you infrequently soil your bathtub?

JV: This interview is over.

Joli became very emotional at this point and stormed out of the studio.

COMING SOON!

Okay, so before all the aunts and uncles get all riled up ... Jorge will be posting pictures (3 of them!) before the end of the day. Stay tuned (and thanks for being so interested in our little Joli-polie!).
-liza

ANNIVESARY --- TIMES 2!

December 9th -- a date that holds a very special place here at the Talusan and Vega household! Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary, and it's also the 1 year anniversary of finding out we were having a baby! That's right.... we found out we were pregnant on our anniversary!

Okay, for those of you who haven't heard the story, it's pretty cool.

We were trying to get pregnant for a loooooooong time. On our 2nd wedding anniversary (Dec. 9, 2002), Jorge and I were out to dinner at our favorite restaurant -- East Wok. We had a lovely dinner, and we started talking about pregnancy. I told him that I had felt "different" lately. I wasn't sure exactly what "different" was, but I wasn't feeling quite the same. At the beginning of dinner, we decided not to take a pregnancy test for a few more days - we had already experienced the disappointment of having negative tests time and time again. But, by the end of dinner, we had convinced ourselves to at least go and buy the test. So, after dinner, we went to the store and bought one.

We came back to the house, and I was expecting my acappella group to show up in about 10 minutes. Jorge went upstairs, and, although I promised him I wouldn't take it, I took the pregnancy test. I waited anxiously before going upstairs, knowing that the acappella group would show up in a matter of minutes. Then... it happened.... there was a very faint pink line showing up on the test. This sort of thing happened before (where the line looked like it was there, but then it disappeared), so I didn't run upstairs to tell Jorge. Then... the line got darker....and darker.

I ran upstairs with the test and showed Jorge. We both couldn't believe it! The line was getting darker and darker, and there was no denying it now! We were both still in shock, then.... the doorbell rang. The group was here and I had to go downstairs to start rehearsal.

Needless to say I couldn't concentrate at all! Jorge came downstairs a few minutes into the rehearsal and whispered in my ear, "The line is reallllly dark now!" That was the longest rehearsal of my life.....

Once the group was gone, I ran back upstairs and we both started to call our family. Of course.... even in this age of advanced technology with cell phones/pagers/instant messenger ... no one picked up there phones. Go figure.

Eventually we got in touch with everyone and told them. Our families didn't believe us at first because Jorge would often call them and say something like, "Mom. Dad. We have something to tell you....(long pause).... Liza and I......(long pause).....ate chicken for dinner." The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

So, this is why December 9th is a really special day in this house. Marriage. Baby. Love.

Yes, we will post some pictures.

-liza

LET THERE BE... JOLI!! (and the people rejoiced)

Yes, Liza and I have been a little... slow.

And, yes, we missed the Thanksgiving pics.

So... here are two Thanksgiving Day turkeys!

Oh, and Sean thank you for stopping in to visit Joli! Congratulations on graduating and becoming a certified teacher!

YES... WE KNOW.....


Okay, we get it. We've neglected our Joli website duties. We've been... oh.. a little busy!

She had a doctor's appointment yesterday and here are the stats: 14.5 pounds, 25 inches long. Had her second polio shot. She did a great job of course!

On Monday, Nov 30th, we bought her an activity center (which she is too tiny for at this point), and she really seems to like it. Although, she can't really sit up in it yet. It's really cool, though!

Her new favorite thing is to scream at the top of her lungs for 5 minutes while she chews on her hand. She's what we call, pre-teething. Her gums are starting to get a little achy, and she finds relief by chewing on her fingers and drooling all over her cute little outfits. But, the screaming only lasts about 5 minutes, or just long enough for one of us to make her laugh (which we usually do by blowing on her tummy or doing some ridiculous dance).

Joli has started to sleep in her crib, and it wasn't too bad a transition. Actually, I think Jorge and I are having a much tougher time with it. While it's nice to have the bed to ourselves again, we miss her!! I certainly don't sleep as well because I'm so sad she's in the other room. Joli totally doesn't mind, though, and she is sleeping somewhere between 10-10 1/2 hours a night! Go, Joli! Go, Joli!

Okay, pictures to follow. Our neighbors Trista and James came over last night and helped us take our family photo (Jorge wouldn't let Gordon in it, though!!), so that'll be in the mail soon!

Sooo.... you happy now?? Probably not. You all won't be happy until we post some of those cutie pie pics, right??
-liza

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POPS!!

Forty-nine years ago (not too long after the death of Christ), on a day much like this (except we have electricity and indoor plumbing) Joli's grandfather, "Pops", was born into the world.

Joli recently had this to say about him:

** Aah-ee aah-ee. Coo-cah aah-ee. [fart] Gurgle. **

Translation: I LOVE YOU, POPS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

FOUR MONTHS OLD!

Yes, I know... we've been neglecting our Joli website duties! It's been a busy few weeks here. Last week, we took a trip up to Easton to visit my family. The family babysat while Jorge and I went out for our first dinner together at Legal Seafood. We also went shopping and hung out at the mall -- something we haven't done since Joli was born. Again, we didn't have to change any dirty diapers and didn't really have to do much of anything except watch television! Speaking of televisions, we also walked away with some cool stuff! Uncle Paulie graciously let us buy his tv from him - it's a 55 inch television. Woah! We had to attach a trailer to the back of our car to bring it back to NY. Lola and Lolo also bought Joli a digital video camera, and, of course, we taped tons of footage already!

This past weekend, Lola and Grace came to visit because Grace had her NYC premiere at a reading in the NY Public Library. She did a great job and people were asking for her autograph! Joli's auntie is famous!

When Lola and Grace left, I was having what my Uncle Paulie would call a "postpartum emotional experience." I wish they lived closer! It's always nice to have family around. Let's just hope Joli stays close by when she gets older!

So, Joli is 4 months old today! I can't believe it! She's come so far! One of the biggest leaps that we forgot to blog about is that Joli now sleeps soundly through the night! We can usually count on 6-8 hours of continuous sleep from her! Also, she's pretty darn close to sitting up by herself these days! We can usually prop her up on the couch or in her Boppy, and she stays put. She also is more interested in her baby videos and the different toys we have in her crib. I think she was so overwhelmed by the stimulus when she was younger, but now she really loves playing with her crib toys. Yay!

Coming soon: Thanksgiving photos with the Vega family (they come over our house for Thanksgiving).....

BONUS - LIMITED EDITION PIC!!

Okay, we know we've been slacking in the update department. So, we thought we'd give all those diehard Joli fans what they've been asking for... SMILING JOLI!!

SHE DOESN'T FIT!


Last night, I was getting Joli changed and ready for bed. I put her down in her crib and got out her favorite yellow footed pajama. In went one foot.... in went the other. Then, I stopped and was shocked... her body didn't fit in the clothing! SHE WAS TOO LONG FOR THE PAJAMA! It was like it happened overnight. Honestly. I tried to fool myself, so I put her arms in and began to button the front. But, then I noticed that she couldn't fully extend her legs. In this pajama, her legs had to stay bent in order for me to button it up! Oh, no! She's getting bigger :(

Well, I looked at the tag, and it did say "0-3 months", and Joli is well on her way to 4 months. So, I guess this is normal. But, it breaks my heart to see that she's getting bigger. Where did my little baby go??

So, if you're one of the many relatives gettin' ready to buy Joli some clothes, go for the 6-9 months stuff. I don't think she'll be in 3-6 months stuff for long!

SUPER-JOLI: ISSUE #1

"Faster than a speeding stroller, able to leap tall cribs in a single bound... it's a bird, it's a plane, it's SuperJoli!!"

By day, she is the mild mannered, cheerfully gurgling Joli Irene Talusan Vega. But, when danger (or a soiled diaper) calls, she unleashes the power of Super-Joli!

With her trusty sidekick, The Milk Maid, Super-Joli stands (or rolls) as a protector of truth, justice and the American way!

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Joli's been making some big strides these past 2 days. Jorge witnessed her grabbing a toy with her left hand! (I'm convinced that she can do this because of my daily "close-open-close-open" song that my grandmother taught me,which I sing to her at least 10x a day. )She also just discovered her RIGHT hand and has been staring at it as intensely as the left one. Honestly, staring at her hands have been hours of entertainment for her!

But, the biggest thing happened this morning (well, it was big for me!).... Joli put herself to sleep! She was in her crib this morning and was crying. As I try to do, I let her cry for about 10 minutes and only went in there 1x to just soothe her. No, I wasn't practicing any "child development" theory or anything -- I simply just wanted to check and respond to my emails without having to bounce a baby on my lap. My goal was to respond to at least 3 emails before I'd have to go upstairs and start my "morning cardiovascular workout" of walking all around the house, rocking her to sleep.

So, I came downstairs, got on the laptop, heard her crying through the baby monitor... and then... silence. Silence. Silence. I thought, "This is odd. Something isn't right. It's too quiet." So, in my paranoid-mom-delusional state, I thought maybe my poor child was up there and smothered in her blankets or something. Then I thought, maybe the dog had leaped into her crib and was licking her face. But, I went into the nursery and there she was -- my peaceful little angel sleeping with her arms stretched above her head. And, Gordon was fast asleep on the floor, at the foot of the crib, guarding my precious girl.

Joli had comforted herself to sleep.....

The sound of silence. How beautiful.

-liza

2 FEET OF PURE CUTENESS!

Miss Joli Irene had her doctor's appointment today -- here are the stats:

She weighs 12 pounds, 8 ounces
She is 24 inches long!

That's right -- 2 feet! Wow! Unfortunately, she is also losing all that luxurious hair on her head and is looking a little bald on top. But, luckily her charming personality is making up for the hair loss! Joli also seems to be pre-teething these days and has been gnawing on her little pretty hands to soothe her gums. She doesn't have any teeth, of course, but her gums are getting ready for the big day.

I forgot to mention that on Wednesday, Joli went to the grocery store for the first time!

Well, as I am writing this, Joli and her dad are fast asleep in the rocking chair despite my plea to "keep her awake" so she wouldn't wake up too many times tonight. Guess it's "like father, like daughter."

I know, we've been lax in our photos, but that's because we're waiting for Halloween to use up the space with Joli pictures! Betcha can't wait to see her costume!

till then!
-liza

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.. A BIG HAND FOR.. JOLI!

That's right! Joli "found" her hand three days ago (Saturday, Oct. 17). She can't stop staring at it! Now, she realizes she can open and close it. She's also been chewing on it lately which leads us to believe she's getting her little gums ready for those first few teeth.

-liza

THREE MONTHS

Three months? It's only been three months?!

Liza and I were talking today and we think Joli might be an X-Man. She has the uncanny ability to distort time. Though it seems like Joli's been here forever, we both feel like the last three months have flown by.

Except for those loooooooooooooooooong nights, when the minutes crawl by and it seems that time is suffering from a serious case of constipation.

Three months... three months... three months... yet it only took three seconds to fall in love with her.

AND NOW... BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM

It's been a little while since we've updated the site, so... IT'S JOLI PICTURE MANIA DAY!!

All the Joli you can handle!

There's "Hot Tub Joli". There's "Two-Headed Joli" and brand-new "Red Sox Joli"!

ROCK ON, BABY GIRL!

Joli had a fun day yesterday! She visited her new friends, PJ, Elisabeth, Missy, and Grace, at their house. Then, she went to a "rock concert" where she jammed to the best of high school music while strapped to Daddy in the Baby Bjorn.

She's also been sleeping much better! Last night, she went 4 1/2 hour stretches before waking up. And, she goes right back to sleep after nursing! Jorge and I are feeling so much more rested!

Speaking of Jorge, he really is the greatest dad and husband ever... he is in charge of all diaper changing, and he does so even during the middle of the night (and the wee hours of the morning). He also takes Joli when she wakes up at 6:30am and plays with her until 8am when he leaves for work. When I tell people this, they are all so shocked and usually reply with, "Gosh! My husband never did that!"

yeah, I'm a lucky gal....!

-liza

ps... I know this is an unpopular statement to make in NY, but "GO, RED SOX!" (I'm originally from MA!)

SOME COOL STUFF...

Joli Irene is ELEVEN WEEKS OLD today! Where is all the time going??

She's really smiling a lot these days! In fact, I was having trouble nursing her the other day because she kept laughing so much --- that silly girl!

--liza

EVENTFUL WEEK!

This week was busy for our little Joli Irene! On Sunday, she was Dedicated at Full Gospel Tabernacle in Far Rockaway (Queens), NY by her Grandpa Jorge, who is the Pastor at FGT, and Ita (Grandma Eva). It was Joli's first visit out to Far Rockaway, and she loved every minute of it. She got to meet her Titi Minnie and Tio Felix, as well as many members of the church, including the Hamilton family-- Joli especially loved hanging out with the Hamilton kids, Sarah and Isaac!

Joli then had her third doctor's appointment on Monday, September 29th. She weighed in at 10 pounds, 14 ounces and is 22 1/2 inches long! She had two shots that day, and poor Daddy had to turn the other way because he couldn't bear to watch Dr. Good give her the shots. Like a brave little girl, Joli whimpered and then toughed it out! She did great!

On Wednesday, Joli and Mommy went to the second "Mommy Scrapbooking Party" at Lauren's house (the first was at Jamie's) and hung out with Lauren, Donovan, Jamie, Elyse, Lisa and Nathan.... Jalen made an appearance after Play Group was done.

Whew! She's a busy girl!

--liza