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!