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!!

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....