The Tanpocos

May Post and General Josie Updates

2009-08-04T21:51:00.048-04:00

Josie woke up one morning and her hair was doing
something quite peculiar. We of course reached
for the camera and took pics from every angle. She'll
appreciate it when she's older.

Josie had watertots every Thursday in May.
You can tell that she started to enjoy being in the
water. When we started, only mom could hold
her, she made so much progress.

Josie and Dad in the water.

We went out for Mother's day to a Japanese
restaurant. She was a natural with the chopsticks.
It was the first time she held them and she did
exceptionally well.

Josie on the catwalk.

She wanted to try lemon.

Josie and Grandma.

She loves feeling the showerhead on her feet.

April Josie Pics and General Update

2009-05-01T16:17:00.000-04:00

April was a fun month. We had some nice weather
and took Josie for her first playground outing.
She loved the slide and swings. We had a hard
time leaving. Dad pushed her way too high for
my comfort, but Steve is Steve. Josie is walking
with more confidence every day and interacting
more with us. We had a great trip to Canada
for Easter. We weren't sure how she would do with
such a long drive but she was great! We spent time
with all of Steve's family and Josie and I met some
family for the first time. It was a nice weekend
getaway.

She loves to hold our hand when she walks.

We enrolled Josie in watertots in April. She wasn't
so sure about the water at first. In fact she hated
it. I'll try describe it so you can get a mental picture.
The first week she cried the entire time in the pool
and clenched her legs around my waist so tight I could
have let go and she wouldn't have gone anywhere.
The second week she started crying when we got into
the dressing room. The third week she cried when we
came thru the gym door. The fourth week she cried
when we drove into the parking lot. The fifth week
she didn't cry and spent time with Dad in the pool.
The sixth week she didn't want to come out
of the pool. Success!

1st week in watertots.

A glimpse of the enjoyment that was to come.

Just woke up from a nap.

An easter gift from Auntie Let, the bunny ears
dance to music when you press his foot.

Josie signed "more" for the first time at a restaurant
when she was eating chicken.

Steve's cousin, I forget her name.

Aimee and Josie.

Grandma Tanpoco going up and down the stairs
with Josie.

Group picture.

Auntie Febe and Josie.

Who doesn't love nutella?

Dad and Grandpa working on a project.

Auntie Let, Grandma and me going for a morning
walk.

Bill & Kerri came to visit for Marathon Monday.
We all had brunch in Boston.

Boston Marathon Finish Line.

Josie is mommy's little helper. She loves to help
take dishes out of the dishwasher.

March Josie Pics and General Update

2009-04-01T14:29:00.000-04:00

March was a milestone month! Josie is walking.
She still loves to use the little walker, still gives
her more stability and quickness. She looks like
a little diva with her mink (pink fuzzy blanket).
Josie loves making pretend food with her little
spoon and cup and likes to feed it to us. Josie
stopped attending daycare the last day of February.
We had a daycare gap for 2 weeks while grandma
was on vacation. Mommy got to work from home
and spend time with Josie, yeah! Cousin Marisa
also helped out and stayed with Josie when mom
had to go into the office. Thanks Marisa for reading
Biscuit is Thankful 100 times.

Opening drawers is a favorite thing right now.

Jackpot!

This is a look we know well. "Please take this now!"

Josie loves this little Santa. He plays the drums
for us constantly. She's also mommy's little
helper, she loves to dust everything.

Josie also loves to remove everything from bags.

Yum, Strawberries!

Peekabo!

She has almost all her teeth in as you can see.

She's been enjoying the shower lately, she
doesn't want to sit during her bath.

February Josie Pics and General Update

2009-03-01T14:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day Josie!

January and February were pond hockey months.

We had alot of friends over to skate on the pond

and enjoyed spending time with everyone. Mom

is still scared of falling thru even though dad
says the ice is very thick. We managed to get

everyone on the ice for a few minutes to take some

pics. We were really bad about pictures this

month as you'll see. So I'll try to fill everyone in

on what Josie is doing.

Josie and mom only a few inches from solid ground.

Josie is running with her walker, she runs over feet,

cats,shoes, anything that is in her path. She has alot

of teeth, now. It just seems like all of a sudden she has a

full mouth of teeth including pre-molars.

She was doing better with eating this month, it's up

and down. She's eating in her high chair this month,

but still needs coaxing. Loves Broccolli right now.

And she loves bananas and hats!

Josie has been in daycare since January and has been

very sick. This month was very hard on her. She

was sick for the entire month with a cough and high

temp on and off along with her poor little nose dripping

constantly. February was her last month of daycare,

the negatives outweighed the positives at this time.

She was sick too much and didn't seem to be getting

anything out of it except for lots of germs.

Josie walking around holding on to the window. She's still not
taking steps unless she has something close by to hold on to.

This month we discovered Steve Songs. He's a PBS crooner :)

http://www.stevesongs.com/
She stops cold when she sees him on PBS morning. We looked

for him on the WWW, and found his videos on youtube. Don't

you just love the internet! She loves his songs and will eat

willingly when we play his videos. Josie loves Steve Songs,

and so does mom, he hypnotizes us :) Dad has noticed this a time

or two - When I should be feeding her, I end up watching the videos

with her even though we've both seen them a 100 times.

Josie got some new shoes this month, she actually got 2 pairs, both

pink. She's moving a little better with them. They help her get a

better grip, but she's still very awkward when she moves around.

January Josie Pics and General Update

2009-02-01T16:08:00.001-05:00

Lots of snow!

We had a lot of snow in January. We took Josie
out for her first sled ride, she loved it! At first
she wasn't too sure what to make of it, but once we
started moving there were smiles and giggles
galore!

We have a tiny hill in the back yard, it's just enough
to help the human reindeer attached to the harness.

Mom had alot of fun too!

Trying on a cute poncho Aunt Febe gave me!

It's bedtime. I'm sleepy.

Josie started daycare this month. It's been traumatic
for her and mom. Mom hates it, and Josie doesn't
seem to like it much either. This was her first day.
She started to cry a second after the pic was taken.
She would cry tears of relief every time I picked her
up. I'm sure everyone was very nice to her, she
just missed being with Grandma and getting the
loving attention she was used to.

She became sick a day later and was out for an
entire week. So the cycle began. Our little one was
very sick, we had to take her to the E.R. because
she had a stomache virus and wasn't keeping
anything in. She had an IV and some meds to
help with the nausea, her little hand is all bandaged
up to hold the IV in. One of the hardest things
we've had to go thru with her so far.

She was such a good baby thru all this.

About a day later, mom got the same bug and
was in bed too. Dad took care of mom and Josie
and Dad tells it best; it was the hardest thing
he's had to go thru with her. It took him almost
2 hours to get some fluids and a couple of crackers
in her and it all came back out a few minutes
later. It broke his heart to see her so weak.
Josie made a full recovery a week later.

December Josie Pics and General Update.

2009-01-01T10:17:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Josie!

It was a busy time of year as always. We were very
excited to celebrate Christmas with Josie. She's
more interactive this year and enjoyed opening
all the gifts. Thank you all for so many wonderful gifts.
Wish we could claim someone's gift as her favorite but
she was more interested in tearing up all the wrapping
paper on Christmas morning.

We let her rip for quite a while as you can see. There was
so much joy in her face as she did this.

Josie is giving us more feedback. She regularly touches
my nose when asked where's mommy's nose? The smile
on her face as she does it is precious. She loves belly
buttons, she giggles every time she sees one and points
to hers which is sometimes on her chest. She's knows it's
in the general area. :)

Just checking if it's real.

Let me recycle some of this paper for you.

Reading to the snowman.

Here mama, let me help you clean up.

Josie is starting to walk along objects like couches.

Cottage cheese is yummy! Haven't quite mastered the spoon yet.

Let's see if i can hit my target with a bigger spoon.

Love the walker, I'm dashing around the house now!

November Josie Pics and General Update

2008-12-01T21:59:00.003-05:00

Happy First Birthday, Josie!!!

November was a big month for all of us.

Josie celebrated her first Birthday ... as you can guess, she was pretty oblivious to all of it. She didn't care much for the cupcake or candle.

She weighed 19lbs at her 1 year wellness visit. She's a little petite but perfectly healthy.

We also went to Illinois for Thanksgiving to visit with my family. That was a great trip. Josie was able to spend some time with all the folks that have been an important part of my life as I grew up. We only wish we could spend even more time with all of them.

I've taken a liking to eating my toes.

Don't worry, it's a short lived phase.

Another short lived phase is mining for boogers.

Sam and Ryan gave me these tasty mittens and a stylin new winter hat! They also gave me a cool red sled that I absolutely LOVE.

My First Birthday Balloon.

Birthday (cup)Cake!

AAAAHHH...

CHOMP ... hmmm ... no thanks.

I'm learning to get around pretty well!

Thanks SO much to Liz and Phil for my walker. It's really helped me give my parents a workout :)

Auntie Febe.

Uncle Ariel and Auntie Febe.

Dad and his cousins.

I'm pretty cute.

I should be a model.

When I get a little older, that Santa will be super creepy.

I love my Grandpa!

and I love my Grandma!

Grandpa Smithmeyer ... can you see the resemblance? ;)

Cousin Jenna. I have a feeling she will be a great, loving cousin.

Auntie Lisa.

Auntie Tracy and cousin Ivy.

Uncle Brian. and cousin Grant.

Cousins Jenna and Grant got me this funny barn toy that sings funny songs.

You wouldn't believe how much I love stairs. Should make it interesting for Mom and Dad!

Told you I should be a model.

Glamour Shots.

This is where I get my good looks from.

A closing note:
Special Congratulations and Wishes to Adam and Amanda on their new home!!!

October Josie Pics and General Update

2008-11-01T22:17:00.014-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Hi Everyone. This month, we celebrated Fatima's Birthday and had some fun with Halloween.

Fatima put Josie in a pink leopard costume and we waited for her to fall asleep ... which seems to happen during the daytime but not so well at night.
Anyway, like any good parents would do, we took ridiculous pictures of Josie while she was asleep and wearing a pink leopard costume.

Josie passed out in a sugar coma. Notice the candy and wrappers as evidence.

Josie discovered her nostrils recently.

Happy Birthday, Fatima!!!
We kind of have a tradition where I cook for Fatima on her Birthday. This year, I made coconut and almond encrusted fish. We also had sirloin. A little surf and turf.
This years guest list included:
Josie/Fatima/Me
Amanda/Adam
Emery/Reese/Sam/Ryan
Holly/Jason
John
Katie/Jason
Karen/Blair
Kelle/Frans

Karen was a godsend. I can't believe I nearly forgot her on the guest list. She helped so much with the cleanup!

Another year older, but still young and beautiful.

My lovely ladies :)

Ryan holding baby Emery.

Sam and Reese. Reese has awesome crazy hair.

Emery telling Blair who's boss.

Holly and Jason.

John (has the same hair dresser as Jason).

My organization held a Trick Or Treat day at work. We had a themed family costume :)
Fatima and I loved seeing all the little ones. Josie wasn't interested in the candy or the kids but this little tissue paper pumkin and balloon had her in a trance.

Little monkey and silly banana.

Josie and the Pussy Cats.

Sugar Coma.

Tidbits from Fatima:
Josie is still crawling and using her walker. She loves being able to move around and touch everything. We learned pretty quickly how fast she gets into everything. Steve did a good job of childproofing the house, there are a few items that we just have to watch her with. The phone cord above the cat food is one of them, usually the cat food keeps her just far enough away so she can't reach it. There are times of course when she just plows into the cat food and water and it slides a few feet from its spot, those are the times when the cats hide for a while. She loves opening and closing and opening and closing, etc... the cabinet drawers. It's pretty funny to watch her sometimes, she gets a running start and picks up speed and then just coasts until some huge objects stops her like the fridge or a wall. This impact doesn't usually phase her, she backs up, looks both ways of course(great woman driver), and picks up speed again.

September

2008-10-01T11:36:00.006-04:00

In September we celebrated Dad's Birthday and my Niece Marisa's who share the same day. This month Josie's top teeth started to cut thru and you can see her 2 front left teeth. She's such a good baby and doesn't fuss much about her teeth at all. She does try to bite you on occasion, i assume when the pain is a little too much. Josie loves eating on her own. We've been giving her shredded chicken and veggies and absolutely she loves yogurt. She cracks up if you ask her if she wants a yogurt, she can't wait for you to open it. She does the same with books, she basically can't contain herself when you ask her if she wants you to read a book, it's the cutest thing. We'll try to get a video clip of it for an upcoming month. Below are some pics we took of her in her sailor dress before she grew out of it.

Dad are you almost done?

Dinner time. Notice the placement of the food.

Yes, I think i'll have some chicken.

Not quite what i was expecting.

Mom, i'm going to move everything over to

this side so you think i ate more than i did.

Hanging out in my bouncer.

Love my new walker.

Red Sox game at Fenway.

All our friends at the game.

Hmm, he looks like a giant green Elmo.

But he's not furry.

Mom, there's my mouth.

Dad left it upstairs.

Should i go get it?

Still thinking.

No, I don't need it, Mom and Dad know i'm a princess.

August Josie Pics and General Update

2008-09-01T22:15:00.003-04:00

August was another fun month. We had two weddings back to back! Congrats to Amanda and Adam (08/08/08) and Congrats to Kerri and Bill (08/09/08)!!!
Josie went to the beach for the first time in her life! It was just some dumpy beach on a reservoir, but we didn't want to spoil her right off the bat ;)
We also rocked out on Rock Band with Holly, Jason, and John.

Josie is starting to get around pretty well. Her favorite mode of transportation is still Mom, Dad, or Grandma. Lots of babbling now a days, too. She's definitely trying to tell us something.

Josie and Mommy at the beach.

She LOVED getting her feet wet. She probably could have done this for hours, giggling the entire time.

Starting to stand on my own.

One of Josie's modes of transporation.

Excuse me, did you get that? I'm standing all by myself.

Mama, come down here and play with me.

I love the popper.

and I still love bathtime!

Hanging out with Grandma, one of my favorite things.

Mom on the axe and John - come come with the kickdrum!

Getting the band back together.

John rockin a solo.

Holly keeping the beat.

Fatima made the cupcakes for the Amanda and Adam Wedding!

I think there were 175 of them. You can count and let me know.

The Beautiful Bride Amanda and Handsome Groom Adam!

The Stunning Dr. Kerri and some guy. j/k - Bill is the Handsome Groom, here ;)

July

2008-08-01T20:12:00.002-04:00

July was a quiet month.
Josie's second tooth cut thru. We think we heard her say "Mama" for the second time. Josie is consistently crawling forward.

She weighed in at 16lbs 8 oz at a Dr.'s appt. and is definitely starting to show some personality. The doctor actually looked at her and said, "She has a temper". She definitely lets us know when something is not to her liking.

Maybe we have a future ballerina?

Josie in action.

Favorite pose.

Thank you Aunt Febe for the cute outfit.

Josie's keeping mommy company in the yard.

Playing the piano/xylophone.

Showing off my two bottom teeth.

June

2008-07-01T14:42:00.004-04:00

June was a busy month! Dad was away for a wedding and a bachelor party.

Josie and mom had a quiet weekend together with Dad away for Adam's bachelor party. We tried out the inflatable pool. I think it's a keeper.

Love these duckies.

Congrats Liz and Killian on your nuptials!

Dad stopped by to visit with the Olenders while in Illinois. This is Sela.

He also went to the Smithmeyer's house. Grant, Dad, and Jenna.

Josie started to eat soup this month. She started off with a lot of opposition but finally came around and actually appeared to enjoy it. We don't have any pictures of it. Just imagine lots of green stuff everywhere. She's enjoying some peach banana oatmeal in this pic. It's her favorite right now.

Josie is starting to crawl, mostly backwards, at first we needed time lapse photography to prove she was actually moving. She has the rolling from side to side down. Now we can't look away for more than a second because she's bumping into something.

Just woke up from my nap.

Darn paparazzi always following me around!

For our First Father's Day we went to Roger Williams Park Zoo. We think Josie enjoyed looking at the animals, but I think she enjoyed watching the human kind most.

Josie is fascinated with hair right now.

Everyone's saying cheese.

Bill and Kerri had a going away pool party. They moved to St. Louis at the end of June. We miss them already!

Soon to be Mr. & Mrs. William Luzzo.

Let's go for a dip in the pool. The hand off.

So far so good.

Getting my feet wet.

This is not enjoyable.

Much better, relaxing poolside in my robe.

It's been a long, traumatic day.

We figure our friends will hate these but we'll add them anyway. Enjoy!!!

Jena and Tom hamming it up.

Holly & Jason.

Getting ready for my first Red Sox game.

All of us outside Fenway Park.

Derek & Rachel.

It's past my bedtime but I don't want to miss anything.

Grandma & Grandpa Tanpoco came to visit. It was short but we loved having them. Josie loved spending time with them.

I love making raspberries.

Here's my first tooth. Can you see it?

May Josie Pics and General Update

2008-06-01T14:12:00.000-04:00

May was a very busy month. Here's a few of the events for the month:

Josie's first tooth is starting to show. It's pretty cute and we're looking forward to it but it definitely causes some discomfort for her. She constantly gnaws on things and drools like a rabid animal. Sorry - you still can't see it in any of the pictures.

Josie also may or may not have said "Mama" for the first time. Fatima thinks she heard her say it over the monitor when Josie was waking up one morning but it's hard to tell. First words are funny, aren't they? You don't really know if she said it. You don't really know if she meant to say a word at all. Anyway, we're going to maintain that she said "Mama" this month. (sneak peak to the future, we think she said it again in July but still aren't sure ;) So what's the "official" first word, anyway? I'm guessing it's the word she starts saying over and over while having no other words in her vocabulary. Does that sound about right to all you other parents?

Fatima's cousin, Christina, got married (congrats!)
Our friends, Tom and Jena, got married (congrats!)
We celebrated Fatima's first Mother's Day in an unconventional way - I competed in my first duathlon.
I went to Vegas for a bachelor party.
I'm thinking the last 2 items haven't earned me any brownie points.
Finally, Jason and Holly had a Memorial Day Barbecue. It's always great to spend time with friends and family.

Daddy, Mat, and Marc at the New England Season Opener.

Daddy finished 3rd in his division. He won 2 awards.

See how proud I am?

Me and Mommy at Jason & Holly's BBQ.

Daddy had to carry me around and carry my drink.

This next pic is a bit PG-13.

April Josie Pics

2008-05-04T16:24:00.017-04:00

My Beautiful girls :)

Welcome to the April Update. Feeling guilty about the sparse pictures from March, Fatima and I (Fatima was the great motivator) took a ton of pics in April. There's even one or two of camera-shy dad!

Some new developments: Josie arches her back very dramatically when she's upset. She also grunts as she does this. It's quite annoying for all and makes her difficult to hold ... which makes her more upset ... which makes her arch and grunt more ... you see where this is going? She also went to Babies R Us to demo the Bumbo Baby Sitter. She sat in that and a knockoff baby seat for a good 30 minutes. It was funny having her sit in the 2 different chairs on the floor as people walked by for 30 minutes and she looked around while mommy and daddy discussed their likes/dislikes of each. I mentioned last month that Josie rolls over. This month she can roll over both ways (left and right) but only once in a while can she roll onto her back. Thus, she wakes up pretty annoyed at night on her stomach. Josie's new favorite word is "whoooooooooo". She says it when she's content or happy - much like a cat purrs when it is pleased. It sounds like an owl, but has an underlying rumble like a pigeon. We have no idea what word she is trying to replicate, but we know what it means and it's good. It's the Josie equivalent of the Jamaican word "Irie".

Josie with her proud daddy.

Josie with Grandma Domingues

Mommy got a new haircut this month.

Josie got a new chair this month. We love the Bumbo's, but mommy and daddy wanted something with a seatbelt for piece of mind. This Bumbo knockoff has the soft foam insert, which can be removed as Josie grows. It also has a seatbelt and adult chair straps to secure it so Josie can sit at adult level. She LOVES it. She thinks it's the greatest thing to sit with everyone and be able to see everything going on around her. There's also an activity center that snaps around her to keep her occupied and pique her curiosity.

Finally some decent weather.

Josie, Mommy, and mommy's carseat carrying guns.

Sam and Ryan lent us this bouncer.

Uncle Albert and Auntie Jinnah bought me this Baby Einstein playmat. It's one of my favorite things. I love to eat the duck.

Very satiated after my meal of stuffed (animal) duck.

Eeeek!

All better. I think it was flatulence.

When there's no duck around, I sometimes eat my fist.

Let me roll up my sleeves for a better go at it.

As you can see, I do enjoy cereal, as well. Mommy started giving me cereal last month (March).

I still enjoy the occasional "airplane" ride, but not as much as I used to.

Mommy and Daddy try to take me out to dinner at least once a month. This trip, we went for a walk in the park (in Boston) and had a terrific time at Joe's Bar and Grill with Blair, Karen, Bill, and Kerri.

Josie and Kerri.

Mommy and Daddy.

Mommy feeding me at Joe's Bar and Grill. Hey, that's not a double bacon cheeseburger!

I even swallowed some.

Daddy carrying my binky for me.

March Josie Pics

2008-04-30T12:44:00.000-04:00

My super late March Update:

Sorry I slacked on the March update. We didn't take many pics this month and I've taken more time for myself (which hasn't gone uncontested!).

Josie, as has been the case, changed a bunch even since February. She had her 4 month wellness appointment with the doctor. She's healthy and happy. She weighed in at 12lbs, 4oz - 24.75 inches long. I don't know where that is on the percentiles, but the doc seems to be happy with her growth and progress. I didn't go, but Fatima relayed the doctors visit to me:
She received 3 needles for vaccines :(
The first, there was no reaction from Josie! The second, she made a little unhappy face. The third ... she let out a cry ... mommy picked her up ... she looked right at the nurse who just stuck her and she smiled.

She began rolling over this month. Another one of those milestones to talk about. When she rolls over on her playmat, I let her try to figure things out and enjoy some "belly time" ... though it doesn't seem like she's really enjoying it. When she starts to get too pissed off, it's easy enough to roll her over with your foot ;) She can only roll over to her right and hasn't figured out how to roll back, yet.

We started her on cereal this month, too. The doc said to stick with nursing, but there was no harm in starting the cereal and she's really growing with it. See for yourself with these pics compared to the April pics above (coming soon in the April Update) ...

February Josie Pics and Friends

2008-03-17T13:57:00.002-04:00

"More pictures, Dad?"

Josie hit 3 months on February 16th. I guess every 3 months is some kind of milestone until they're a year old(?)

Lot's of visiting with friends this month:

All of us went to the Walas house for a Superbowl party. It was a disappointing game but great to see everyone and hang out. We also discovered that while Josie likes crowds and noise, she HATES people cheering. She'll get used to it with all the passionate fans in New England.

On the 10th, a good friend, Dave, was in town on a visit. Since John and Marc also came to visit, we played a little pond hockey :)
Fatima's coworker's wife made this little pink top for her. Pretty adorable.

We LOVE this photo of little Josie.

Oh the 24th, little Reese, Samantha, Ryan, Amanda, and Adam came to visit. Reese is going to help us baby-proof our house. He enjoys running around, pulling out everything plugged into an eletrical outlet, picking up anything not fastened to the floor or heavier than himself, and placing any object (regardless of size) into his mouth. Side note, yesterday (March 16th) I was still finding graham crackers that Reese left around the house. Don't get me wrong - we love the little bugger. This is all entertaining to us.

Josie's closet. Even though her clothes are so little, her closet is somehow overflowing!?

"Do you like my St. Patrick's Day socks."

"I love my bear towel from the Smithmeyers."

POND HOCKEY!

2008-02-23T08:57:00.003-05:00

Played pond hockey for the first time. What a blast!

We had a White Elephant Party on January 26th and a bunch of us went out on the pond to mix it up. My neighbor, Art, and I brought the snowblowers out there to start clearing a rink. Then a bunch of the guys started showing up and helped out.

The ice wasn't very smooth, so it was actually a disadvantage to wear skates. That worked out well for the majority of people because they didn't have skates, anyway.

Rink was approximately 50' x 80'

January Josie Pics

2008-02-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

Even though we try to put Josie down in her own room now, this is what I often wake up to. I think she's a ninja. In the cover of night, she climbs out of her crib, turns off the motion sensor (SIDS monitor), sneaks out of her room and into bed with us. If I can prove this, she's going to have to start cleaning her own spit-up. Heck, if I can get around those child labor laws maybe I'll even enter early retirement.

Hmm. What to report...

I know this is titled "January Josie Pics" but it's actually February 16th as I write this. So Josie is officially 3 months old, today. I don't know how everyone else sees her but, in my eyes, she's changed a LOT in these first 3 months. I mentioned that she "baby talks", now. She's still doing that. She seems to have more to say to mommy than she does to daddy. Last night, she wouldn't even shut up long enough to eat. She was going on and on about something. I think she was talking about how much Obama has cut into Hillary's foothold. I was surprised she cared because I thought she was a conservative(?)

She's also starting to recognize faces, now. Let me take a step back - First, she started making eye contact and interacting (via a smile or laugh). It was the greatest thing ever! I mean, we've been taking care of this little person, she kept us up at all hours, and she added a decent amount of stress to our lives and relationships. Finally, she looks me in the eyes and smiles. It's a pretty awesome thing that no one could have explained to me. It's one of my favorite things to do, now - get a smile from the baby before I go to work or when I come home.

Anyway, the next step was getting her to do it on demand :) That's how the airplane hold was discovered. You can see from the February 2nd entry, she (and we) love doing the airplane hold.

So now, she even recognizes faces. This part is a little tougher on me. I'm realizing that she likes mommy more. I can still get the smiles and giggles but, when the novelty of my antics wears off, she wants the comfort and love of mommy.

Now, here's the January Pics. MANY thanks to all the thoughtful and generous friends and family that have given us so many of these cute outfits!

It's a loin cloth.

Pudgy cheeks.

Adam's perfect execution of the football hold.

First Entry

2008-02-02T12:06:00.000-05:00

I'm giving blogger a test run. I want something SUPER simple and with minimal administration/effort. I've tried zoomshare, MS Office Live, MS Publisher, flickr, picasaweb (blocked by my employer) and a few others way back in the day. Truth be told, I'm just too lazy/busy to keep up with a site (mostly lazy). Alas, laziness has all but forced me to get some kind of web impression. That's because I can't keep sending a million emails to everyone during work :)

Here's a pic of Josie. She's the main catalyst for a website of some kind. I'm holding her up over my head "airplane" style. She loves the airplane hold. Sometimes she can flip like a light switch from being cranky to smiling and laughing. All you have to do is hold her up in the airplane ... or put her down if you want her to be cranky again.

From Email: December Josie Pics

2008-01-25T14:18:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of puting together an actual website but for now, I'm still just using flickr.

I added a few December pics of Josie to share with you all.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21583880@N04/

This was, obviously, Josie's first Christmas but I don't have very many pictures of her during the holiday. Christmas Eve, she spent a good part of the time crying and fussing. I've discovered that during those times:
A. She's not very photogenic.
B. Taking pictures of her and trying to position her are not in our best interest.
Christmas Day, she mostly fussed or slept. Again, it would have been a poor decision for me to take many pics during those times.

She does like bath time, though. During and after the bath are the best times to take pictures of her because she's quite calm even though she's awake. Maybe she takes after her dad - she likes it best when she's bathing or sleeping. Other than that, she takes after her mom - crabby. :)

She's starting to baby talk, now. By "baby talk", I mean she makes a bunch of babbling noises. It's pretty fun because she does it when are looking at her and talking to her. I guess to her, all we're doing is making a bunch of babbling noises, too. So she's being cordial and reciprocating. It's a refreshing change from the only other vocalization we had known until now, crying.

I hope you're all doing well.

Oh yeah - for those who are interested: The diaper count has fallen below 100/week :)

Christmas Day at the Farrugia's with Charbel Junior

Christmas Eve at Grandma Domingues'

10 toes

So peaceful. Wait 'til I wake up...

My usual state of consciousness.

Holding Mommy's hand.

Thumb-wrestling with Dad.

Muwah!

Josie Claus

2007-12-25T11:43:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!!!

From email: A few more baby pics and then I'll stop ;)

2007-12-01T20:38:00.000-05:00

I'm not really sure who wants to see baby pics and who doesn't. I'll start trimming the email list a lot after this email. So just let me know if you want to stay on it.

The last 2 weeks have been pretty ... interesting :)

The three of us are all doing great. Josefina (Josie) is a such a blast. We've felt extreme joy and a good amount of stress, too ;) Josie has a few moments where you think she's making eye contact but only she knows for sure if that's the case. So far, she enjoys sleeping, nursing, pooping and crying. She especially likes to poop in clean diapers. It's very common for us to change her diaper 3, 4, or even 5 times in a row. I maintain that she holds it for a clean diaper. The smirk on her face as you fasten the new diaper is my only evidence, thus far.

Here are some new pics. Right now, it's just Thanksgiving but I'll slowly add more.

My family drove from Illinois to spend Thanksgiving with us. Fatima's family also joined us. There was a lot to be thankful for this year.

From Email: Please welcome Josefina Helena Tanpoco

2007-11-17T23:44:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone.

Just a quick announcement and I have to get back to my family:

Please welcome Josefina Helena Tanpoco

Born at 4:24 PM on Friday, November 16th, 2007.

7lbs, 9oz

19.75 inches

The tag says 0-3 months!