THANKS FOR VISITING!

Well, Joli has added to her toy collection, thanks to her over-indulgent Lola and Lolo. She now has a LeapPad, play telephone, Pooh and Piglet singing bedtime thing-a-ma-jig, and other noisy toys to drive her mom crazy during the day! She also went to church for the first time in a loooong time, and she was really good!

Thanks for visting, Lola and Lolo!

Joli's new favorite things to do are ride in her jogging stroller (we went for a 60 minute walk today and she fell asleep in it!) and ride on her dad's shoulders! She loves banging on his head and giggling! See... she already calls all the shots around here.....

ps... we're taking up a collection... to buy Jorge a "new" sweatshirt.... as you can see, he wears this one all.. the...time....

IT'S GETTING WARMER OUT!

Joli went out for a walk today in her jogging stroller. It was windy out, but the stroller comes with this great plastic wind-shield that goes over the stroller. Joli was out for 45 minutes, and when I brought her back in and took off the plastic shield, she was still toasty warm! Joli was happily joined by her friends, Elyse and Audrey. Elyse is the one sitting up in the stroller, and Audrey is bundled up behind her in her car seat (see the brown handle?) because she's only a few weeks old.

The weather is supposed to get warmer, so maybe Joli will start modeling her poom-poom shorts (just kidding, Jorge). Speaking of modeling, we sent out her pictures to a few agencies at the suggestion of some friends. Will keep you posted!

IT'S OFFICIAL... JOLI HAS A COUSIN

Joli's little girl cousin is on the way! Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Jenny have included a very clear ultrasound of their up and coming baby girl! Baby Girl Matthews is due in July - will she and Joli Irene have the same birthday?? We can't wait to see!

Countdown for Lola and Lolo to visit! They should be here sometime today!

NOT MUCH GOIN' ON HERE....

Okay, even though there hasn't been much going on, i figured i'd write so that i didn't get bombarded with comments! Tita Mari, I thought I had blogged about it at Christmas time, but it's not there. So, here is the "Tita Mari Has the Chi" picture for you.

Joli has been making a new sound! She makes a "clicking" sound with her tongue, and then she waits for you to respond! She'll click back at you if you click at her. How cute! She's also been spending some time in her jogging stroller when it's not so cold and windy here (we've gone out 3 times so far). Yesterday, she proved to be a CEO in training as she attended THREE meetings with me! She was so good at all of them.

Good news! I booked my first flight as a satellite agent for Flights Travel (please contact us for all your travel needs...) thanks to the help of Lola and my friend Tammy who recommended the travellers! Yay! Maybe Joli won't have to go to day care next year, and I can just stay home with her!

So, pretty un-eventful few days so far. Lola and Lolo are coming to visit this weekend, and we'll take more pictures!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, LOLA AND LOLO!

Joli has been so busy riding in her new jogging stroller that she accidently forgot her Lolo and Lola's wedding anniversary. They are celebrating 34 years of blissful, wonderful, problem-free marriage (ha ha ha)! Joli felt really bad about not being able to call, so she said she'll just lay really really still until next year's anniversary comes along.

Happy Anniversary!

SEVEN MONTHS OLD!

We forgot to thank Uncle Paulie and Aunt Kirsten for visiting us this weekend and giving Joli's mom and dad a much needed break! Jorge and I actually went to both a dinner and a movie, thanks to the babysitting skills of Paul and Kirsten. They also brought over Valentine's Day presents for not just Joli, but also for the two of us and Gordie! Thanks, you two! We really appreciated you coming and visiting!

Okay, so now to the good stuff! Joli, of course, is 7 months old now. She doesn't go to the doctor for another month, so you'll have to wait on those stats. But, here are the much anticipated tigger pictures. This is one of Joli saying, "Woo hoo! I'm 7 months old!" And, of course the ever changing face picture is here. Enjoy her toothless grin while it's still there -- I think her next month photos will be rockin' the bling-bling teeth! Finally, the picture of Joli and tigger. I think she's getting a little tired of the Tigger pose, what do you think?


Here are some old-school Joli pics I just came across .. might be fun to just compare how little she was then to now. In these pics, she is 3 weeks old. I'll call them, "me and tigger, sittin' in a crib" and "look! i'm almost as big as the orange guy!" As a side note, that was a premie outfit she was wearing in the last pic and it's huge on her!

ALMOST 7 MONTHS OLD!

Tomorrow, Joli Irene turns 7 months old! Can ya believe it? In preparation for all the physical demands 7 months puts on her, Joli has expressed interest in wearing ballet clothes, eating beef, and just being all around adorable.

Happy almost 7 month birthday, Joli!

PIC OF THE WEEK UPDATED!!

To the irrational masses gathered in protest outside our door, I say...

SILENCE!!

Let this cuteness soothe your savage souls...

Pedro... you've won the battle, but the war has only begun.

WE DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH IRATE UNCLES

ha ha! just kidding. here are some pics for all those Joli addicts out there! Oh, we've gotten our webcam hooked up again if you want to yahoo IM us and see her! (of course, being a mom of an infant, I'm rarely on IM these days). So, pics may have to do for now.

Very cute, Uncle Pedro. Very cute. (see comments from last entry if you want to read Uncle Pedro's "anonymous" entries).

Joli has a cute profile, Joli laughing from hours of entertainment by her mommy (notice the very very very bored look of her pal, Gordon, who used to be the sunshine of our lives....we love you, Gordon!)

FOR HER "BEHIND THE MUSIC" FOOTAGE

Joli had her first piano lesson today! Ever since she was a wee embryo, she's been hearing me sing to her -- scales, songs, arpeggios, etc. -- so she's pretty used to hearing music. Both Jorge and I are always surrounded by music, and according to all those fetal specialists, babies can hear music while still in the womb.

Yes, I admit to buying into the Mozart theory, but Jorge made sure Joli also listened to her fair share of Aretha Franklin, R&B, and India Arie. We've noticed how she changes when she hears music. Lately, though, we think she's been "mimicking" scales and doing these pretty accurate intervals! (I know.. I know... we're probably being delusional...). But honestly, when I've been doing scales in front of her, she does them right along with me! I kid you not!! Jorge's also been having these dreams of Joli singing on stage. Hmmm.....

So, here she is..... Joli Irene in her musical debut!

-liza

ps my friend Erika just got back in touch with me after about 10 years! She didn't know I was married or that I was a mommy, so here is a cute picture of hubby Jorge and baby Joli in Florida! Enjoy

pps... i have NO idea how to do the pic of the week....so do not blame shift, Uncle Pedro! Study Hall is for "studying" and not "Joli post revolutions!" (but nice try....!)

SHE ROLLED OVER!... AND I MISSED IT....

She did it! Front to back! Go, Joli!

We were at our "mommy get together" and I had put Joli on her back on the floor next to one of her playmates (Mia Crocco, her little cutie pie friend, is 3 months old). I went into the kitchen for a minute, and when I peeked back into the livingroom, Joli was laying on her belly ... swatting at poor little Mia! I asked the other mommies if they happened to roll Joli over, and they said "Nope." So, little Joli Irene rolled over all by herself! I was bummed that I missed it, so I put her on her back again, and lo and behold, she rolled again! She's sort of done it before, but that was with Jorge or me pulling her or gently pushing her over. Our big girl did it! Way to go!

SOME STUFF

Not too much happening here, but I figured I'd post some pics before Uncle Pedro got the troops rallied up again.

As some of you know, Joli has started on solid foods. She did great with her rice cereal, moved onto sweet potatos (which I now actually make myself, thanks to our friend Lauren who helped me!), and ventured into the peas. Unfortunately, Joli didn't like the peas at all. In fact, she'd rather spend her time watching Baby Mozart with her pal, Gordon. We have to help her sometimes, though, because Gordie likes to sit right in front of the television and blocks Joli's view. But, Mom and Dad are always close by so we can prop her up a bit.

Stay warm!

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.