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!