look whooo's talking

my first haircut

2010-11-28T17:28:00.003-05:00

so, mommy has been telling daddy for a couple weeks now that i really need a haircut, and daddy asked her to wait until after thanksgiving. she missed all my curls, which seemed to disappear as my hair continued to grow. she was very happy to hear that Snip-Its was open on sundays, and off we went!

because i barely stop moving these days, daddy was very scared that i was not going to sit still in the haircut chair, and he was even more scared that there would be very sharp scissors by my eyes and ever-moving head. but i actually stayed very still and cooperated with no problem.

what's weird is that when we got home, mom took some more pictures and said something about my hair...so i pointed to it for her. mommy and daddy acted all surprised that i knew what "hair" was, even though they never taught me to show them my hair. i mean, they ask me to show them my feet and my belly all the time, so i just figured i'd show them my hair too. i know a lot more than they think i do!

here are the hair-raising results...can't see the curls yet, but maybe they'll be back after my bath tonight!

before:

during:

after:

now if only mommy could convince daddy that i don't need my pacifier anymore...hopefully a blog post coming soon!

a welcomed change...

2010-11-26T14:38:00.003-05:00

both grandmas have now told mommy that my blog has weird symbols all over it, so while mom is waiting to get through on a website to for a great black friday deal, she made a temporary change to the background.

plus, maybe i am over owls now that i am over one year old! it's time for me to start thinking about my next theme...without mommy's help this time!

october fun...

2010-11-05T15:19:00.002-04:00

october was a busy month. mostly because i keep my mom and dad busy chasing after me. i have learned to get into everything. what mom and dad thought was a lot before was nothing...and i am pretty sure i have more in store for them ;)

we did a lot of fun stuff in october, but right after my 12 month doctor appointment, when mom told the doctor i wasn't doing a lot of the things she expected me to be doing, i started doing them! i'm tricky...i did them all within a week! so now, i am an expert at 'so big', clapping (especially when prompted with 'if you're happy and you know it'), waving (in my own laid back, chillaxin' way), doing high five, and even pointing to my belly when asked. mom wasn't really worried that i wasn't doing these things, because she knows how focused i've been on both my fine and gross motor skills, but she is definitely entertained that i can do them. all while NOT forgetting how to "dancey, dancey", still one of my favorite things to do (she says i learned my love for dancing from her).

i also graduated from swimming class and started taking kindermusik, which is all sorts of fun. and just last week, nina and i started to go to storytime too, a pasttime that we hope our moms will keep up.

life is good! here are some pics from our fun:

at the pumpkin patch. can you tell i was hot? it was 80 degrees that day...

at the Great Pumpkin Party...in the South Chagrin Reservation...little did mom know that she was going to get a trip to Aurora Premium Outlets out of it!

pre-trick or treating at Nina's house for Chiliween...

my outfit change, dad's idea, to Run DMC...

some trick or treat action...next year i'll even get to eat some!

birthday fun...and not so much fun...

2010-10-07T14:11:00.009-04:00

little joey is tucked away for a nap right now so i figured i could grab some time on his blog...

it's been a whirlwind of a week, as many of you have probably heard by now. although it was not the greatest timing, it was certainly a reminder of how blessed we are to have such a strong support group and loving family...and to have our health, well, most of the time. it seems that about once a year, i am faced with a situation that puts me back in touch with what is important in life, and this often occurs during times that i am focusing on and stressing about the little things (like if we should use red and orange flatware or plain white for the big bash). well, this time, it was a trip to the hospital with a very sick child who, after always being so dynamic and animated, appeared listless in our arms. i'd like to blame it on just having too much fun during his birthday weekend :)

anyway, thank you all a hundred times over for being so caring and thoughtful during this time. and as my mom said, God works in mysterious ways, and this time i thank God for giving me a reality check to remind me that the tiny bundle of joy we held in our arms in that very hospital just a short year ago has grown to be a loving, silly, cheerful, active, beautiful, healthy little boy. and we love him more and more everyday. (and apparently so did all the nurses!)

joey spread his fun bug to his mommy too, which landed me in the ER, just to make sure baby sister was okay...and she is as active as ever, kicking and punching more than most buns her age!

you have to admit...he looks pretty darn cute in a hospital gown, eh?

now, for some birthday fun pics, in backward order (forgive me, i have LOADS of laundry to do right now)...

joey bag o' donuts...

we know he hates hats, but skullcaps too?

he doesn't hate party hats...he didn't even know he had this on!

this is where the 'backward' order looks really funny...

happy 1st birthday, joey!

2010-10-02T20:36:00.001-04:00

happy. birthday. joey.

your big party today took more out of mom and dad than it did you! you refused to nap once you got home and instead wanted to play, play, PLAY!

anyway, mom and dad just wanted to drop a quick line before...we....fall.....aslee.....

OH! Oh! we wanted to tell you how much WE LOVE YOU and let you know that you truly have brought more joy to our lives than we EVER could have imagined. we are still in awe that you have already become the big boy you are today!

hopefully more soon...with some pictures from the big bash!

breaking news!

2010-08-31T20:12:00.002-04:00

just moments ago...I TOOK MY FIRST STEPS!

i've been taking single steps and falling for the past several days...

and dad was fretting that i'd be taking my first steps while he is away this weekend...

so mom plopped us down on the carpet just to see what would happen...

and i stood up, departed from mom, and...

right,

left,

right,

left...

dad started laughing with glee...and you know what that does to me...

i started giggling too...and the more dad laughed, the more i did. i was still standing upright, just laughing away.

and of course mom was crying.

the giggles took priority over walking, as they do everything, so the big moment was over.

but mom and dad still seem to be reeling from it!!! don't worry, mom and dad, there will be many more steps to come!!! (you won't be able to keep up with me!)

i'm a big boy now!

2010-08-22T14:16:00.004-04:00

don't i look like such a big boy in all of these pictures? the proof is in the pudding! (ps i don't know what that means, and since mom says she is 'figurative language-challenged', she doesn't really know what it means either).

anyway, mom says it's a good thing that i am getting to be such a big boy...because she says i am going to be a big brother! i don't know what that means either, but i am pretty sure she does!

she's been acting pretty funny all summer and hasn't been herself. remember how she had plans to blog more often once her work ended? well, she also had plans to cook dinner every night, take me to the zoo a lot and to go swimming, wash all the windows in the house, and help daddy do some of his weekly chores.

none of that happened. she tried really hard to play with me and chase me around every day, but she also took naps every time i did!!!

anyway, even though i don't really know what being a big brother means, i have a feeling i am going to learn pretty quickly. mommy's belly is getting bigger and bigger, so i think maybe it has something to do with that...stay tuned!

my first family "pic"nic

2010-08-02T21:37:00.003-04:00

so grandma tina got a little (a LOT) camera happy at the first family picnic that Nina and I have ever attended...thought I'd post some of her silly pics!!!

joey knows best

2010-07-20T21:20:00.002-04:00

it's been almost a month, and all i am posting is a silly little video...be back soon!

first trip to the pool...

2010-06-27T18:06:00.005-04:00

mommy started her summer vacation on friday and we've already been having so much fun! and when she goes back to work, it is only for 3 days a week. so she wants to help me write more in my blogs!

anyway, i have been doing lots of new things in the last month. i have 8 teeth (i got 6 of them all in one week) and daddy brushes them every night, i am starting to furniture walk and to climb the stairs, i love elmo and attempting 'so big', i sit in big boy restaurant high chairs and in shopping carts, i can stand independently for between 5-10 seconds, and i am eating 3 meals a day (and i love baby lasagna!). i can even say "mama", but only when i really need something...

most notably, though, i am getting into EVERYTHING! i have mastered the art of opening drawers to desks and dressers (and i love to throw their contents onto the ground) and opening cabinet doors...so mom and dad have kicked their childproofing efforts into high gear.

in other inaugural news, i went swimming in a pool today! i was scared at first and kept reaching for mommy and daddy but eventually i was a pro! below are some pics at the pool and a few other random ones:

this one is my 'pool hair':

now i'm gonna go watch mommy make some homemade baby food...this should be interesting!

happy father's day, daddy!

2010-06-20T00:01:00.007-04:00

dear daddy,

mommy tells me all the time that you are a 'stand-up guy'. at first i thought that meant you like to do stand-up comedy, but now i know it means you are a pretty special person (even though you ARE really funny and make mommy laugh all the time).

anyway, i think you are pretty special too. in these past 8 1/2 months, i have learned that you are SO good at putting me to bed at night, bathing me, playing with me, hugging me, snuggling with me, feeding me, and taking naps with me (you are REALLY good at that one!)...just to name a few of your talents.

and i know mommy loves you for putting up with her craziness (she said it, not me!) and her soon-relieved stress, and for helping her so much with all the household chores. most of all she loves watching your love for me grow deeper and deeper with every giggle and tug at your pant leg.

mommy sure thinks you are a wonderful man...and so do i. it makes me want to be like you now and when i'm all grown up, too! See what I mean???

I LOVE YOU, DADDY! happy first father's day!

friends, friends, and more friends

2010-06-06T20:55:00.005-04:00

gosh this weekend was jam-packed with good stuff. friday night was an impromptu guest appearance by yours truly and Dad and Papa at the Lake Erie Captain's minor league baseball game for ITALIAN NIGHT! i did my best to look like i was visiting the Italian Vets Club...i think i pulled it off pretty well :) (ps, the beer in my hand was NOT my idea...ew...not til i'm 21, mom says)

on saturday, mom and i held our first playdate, and dad ran far, far, far away. far. we had 4 moms over with their 4 babies: Aunt Jenna and Nina, Aunt Kara and Kamille, mom's friend Jenine and Natalia, and mom's friend Tracy and Aubrey. you may notice i am the only one in blue...because i was the only BOY! sheesh...dad, why'd you have to run so far away?! at least charley was there! (ps, you don't see Neens in the picture below, because she was doing her favorite thing...eating!)

mom wanted to take a group picture but absentmindedly waited until the END of the play date to do so, and we were all soooooo tired and didn't really want to follow mom's agenda. like it or not, though, she wanted to show you all the silly pictures she took. below is my cousin Kamille and me. i was holding her in place so she didn't slide off the couch :)

then some more pals joined...Neens to the left, then Kamille, then me, and then Nattie. i think i was trying to comfort her from crying...but upon closer look, she was probably crying because i was SQUEEZING her wrist! woops! sorry, Nattie!

and finally, we have all the troops present below. Nina, Kamille, Me (I was even crying by this point!), Aubrey (also crying), and Nattie (not surprisingly, crying as well). kudos to Nina and Kami for not crying; they don't look sad, they just look so annoyed that our moms actually thought this picture would be successful...and as a result seemed to want to slither out of the picture!

i can't wait for another playdate...even if it is with all girls!!! i can wear pink with the best of 'em!

just kidding, dad ;)

lazy memorial day weekend...

2010-05-31T14:06:00.003-04:00

nothing clever here, just a few new pictures. are you surprised? mommy says she promises to teach me how to write good stuff on my blog as soon as she is done working (only 4 more weeks!). stay tuned...

look whooo's crawling

2010-05-22T13:03:00.002-04:00

if that's what you want to call it.

also note how supportive doggy charley is in the process; he's with me every step of the way!

taco, burrito, what's comin' out of your speedo...i mean, diaper

2010-05-05T18:37:00.002-04:00

cavs, cavs, cavs!

2010-04-25T13:31:00.003-04:00

tax day!

2010-04-15T21:37:00.001-04:00

mom's new favorite pics...

2010-04-11T14:30:00.002-04:00

i'm a happy kid...

a really happy kid...

spring break and new milestones...

2010-04-05T18:25:00.009-04:00

what a great week we had...mommy didn't work and we did all sorts of fun stuff...

on monday, me and nina wanted to go hang out at the mall...we asked our mommies to leave us alone so we could look cool and to meet us at the food court later, but they had something else in mind...

on tuesday, i went to visit my new friend nattie (yes, i know my head looks huge, don't remind me). we had so much fun! i can't wait to see her again!

on wednesday and thursday, me and neens (nina) went for long walks with our mommies. well, i guess we went for a stroll (er, get it?). we decided to ham it up and take some silly pics too!

i got a little hungry during our photo session...

on friday, we made soup at grandma tina and papa's house. i did most of the work.

on saturday, nana and gramps came in for a visit, and i showed them all my new tricks...like sitting up all by myself, 'crawling' backwards, holding my bottle all by myself, eating cereal as fast as gramps eats his dinner, and actually paying attention to my bedtime story and turning the pages (dad, be quiet! don't reveal the trick).

sunday was Easter. i was so good in church. then we all went to grandma tina and papa's house. once again, neens and i decided to ham it up. we even got our pal Aubrey to join in the fun. the proof is below!

and i think for the biggest milestone of them all...TODAY I CUT MY FIRST TOOTH!!!! time for some cookies :)

happy 6 month birthday, joey!

2010-04-03T14:40:00.006-04:00

joey,

i thought i'd take a quick minute to write on your blog and wish you a happy half-year birthday! i cannot put into words how much joy you have already brought to me. the last 6 months have been some of the best of my life :) you warm my heart each morning when I see your bright eyes and hear your squeals and giggles, and each evening when I pick you up from Grandma Tina and Papa's house and you play "mommy, i don't see you".

i had no idea how absolutely wonderful motherhood would be, and it's all because of you!

oh, and your dad says "ditto" (lol). maybe in the next 6 months, we can get your dad to help you post a blog entry!!!! (lol again; mommy likes to help you!)

i love you so very, very much.

mommy

some things daddy loves...

2010-03-21T13:02:00.002-04:00

taking naps with me, even though he tells mom he is just "resting"...

silly ways to use diapers...

going on walks with me, especially if he gets to use the carrier and not the stroller...

giving me mohawks...(obviously you can tell i am not a fan of them!)

where's wald-joe?

2010-03-21T12:59:00.002-04:00

since i can fold myself in half, mommy thinks it's funny that i can make myself as small as i was when i was born!

look ma, some feet!

2010-03-21T12:57:00.001-04:00

nothing clever, just some pictures...

2010-03-06T18:23:00.007-05:00

mom got a little camera-happy in the last few days...

a little hat-happy, too:

dad, on the other hand, got a little nap-happy (who am i kidding, he's always up for a good nap):

mom tried to put this hat on me when i left the hospital, just days old. it finally fits me!

and she can't get enough of it. while i can't get enough of my fingers!

dad took the next picture of me to show how i turn in my crib 360 degrees during the night. and i am really nosy now and had to turn my head to see what he was doing. boy, is my neck flexible!

mom's new favorite pic of me:

more crazy hat/hand pics:

commenting on how cute i am :)

2010-02-27T11:34:00.001-05:00

mom accidentally disabled the ability for readers to leave comments...she just changed the settings again so let's see if this works...

my first, first cousin!

2010-02-26T08:42:00.004-05:00

mom has a snow day today, so we figured what better way to use it than to update you on some FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!!! my baby cousin nina was born a week ago today...isn't she beautiful?

i love her so much already, i couldn't WAIT to hold her hand. we are gonna be best buds. and before you say it, yes i know, i look huge next to her, especially my head:

some other fun we've been having...i am LOVING bathtime, especially now that i can hold my bath toys (and eat my towels):

and the best part, dad can't get enough of me:

and mom can't get enough of taking ridiculous pictures of me:

some new pals...

2010-02-13T15:47:00.002-05:00

while i am waiting anxiously for my cousin to get here, i made myself some new friends in the meantime. and though it may look like my new friend is my shirt in the picture below (or anything else i can manage to grab and stick in my mouth), i am really talking about the guy and gal in the pictures at the bottom of this post...meet Ry Guy and Sammy Sweetheart. First though are some pics of me getting ready for the big meet and greet:

"mom, is this sweater the friend you were talking about? it's good!"

trying my hardest to look good, boy was i nervous:

"does the collar look okay? i want to look my best!"

and finally, my new pals:

we had so much fun! i hope to see them again soon :) maybe i'll be crawling by then...and more interested in them than in my sweater!!!

blogger wins!

2010-02-07T13:27:00.003-05:00

mom just had a race between blogger and shutterfly to see which one could upload 6 cute images of me faster...and blogger won!

so stay tuned and check both sites because mom's not sure right now which one she likes better. she says she thinks shutterfly's not all that it's cracked up to be, whatever that means!

and p.s., mom just taught dad how to upload to both sites...she knows how important it is to share pictures of me as i sprout up with our faraway loved ones and figured if dad knew how to do this too, you'll get more updates!

hello and goodbye...

2010-01-24T14:02:00.007-05:00

a lot has happened since my last post...i'll get to that in a minute. the most important thing that has happened...

happy birthday, papa! can't you tell he always has the most perfect nook in his arms for me? sorry i'm late wishing you a special day...

our internet has been acting up and dad finally manned up and called the cable company so we are up and at 'em again. BUT...

this is my last post.

i have some bad news to break to all of you, and i am sure it will come as a surprise:

i don't write this blog all by myself. my mom actually writes about 50% of it...

...alright, alright; she writes the whole thing. but i am obviously her inspiration!!!!

anyway, she's back to work now and when she's not at work, all she wants to do is be with me! she doesn't want to get on the internet and play anymore. but she found out another way to show you all how big i am getting! she has created a page on shutterfly; you can actually join too and be notified when she uploads new pictures! and no matter where you are in the universe, you can get those pictures developed if you want! and i am sure you will want to, because i am such a ham in front of the camera :)

http://joeyandolina.shutterfly.com/

when she told me she was not going to post on the blog anymore, i made the saddest face i could muster, so she said she'd keep it around for good stories and funny videos, since she can't do that on the other site. so check back every once in awhile and check the new site often!

i love you all! and please, don't miss me too much!

happy birthday, grandma tina!

2010-01-10T12:27:00.004-05:00

happy birthday, grandma tina! i feel so lucky to have spent the week leading up to it with you! sorry we can't play today; my mom says i have to play with her. but i'll be ready to play--and poop and spit up--all day tomorrow! i love you!

on another note...look how wicked small i was in this picture! i'm huge now!

me and my shadow...

2009-12-31T15:46:00.005-05:00

well, i guess i'm his shadow, huh? oh well, you get the gist.

happy holidays!

2009-12-27T15:22:00.001-05:00

not only do i dance, i talk a lot too!

2009-12-27T15:17:00.003-05:00

i'm too tired to be witty...

2009-12-20T19:21:00.002-05:00

these sundays just really get the best of me :) i am very tired...and apparently dad is too. he wanted to be comfy just like me:

but earlier in the day i was all snazzy in my button-down shirt and vest (still startled by the camera flash, by the way):

and what the pup is this (don't mind the pun...)?!?!? i thought they were called hand-me-downs, not hand-me-ups! does charley know he's 4 years older than me?

explode, ignite, the baby ando team is dynamite!

2009-12-17T10:42:00.002-05:00

i had the largest poop explosion to date today...i'd show you what i mean but the evidence is too gruesome to disclose...not to mention, it's soaking in a pale of soapy water right now. you'll just have to take my word for it...and hope that you never have to experience something like it yourself :)

lazy sunday...

2009-12-13T10:29:00.002-05:00

jazzercise joey

2009-12-10T13:28:00.001-05:00

will the 'fun' ever stop?

2009-12-08T08:35:00.003-05:00

here are some more ridiculous pictures my mommy took during her attempt to be Olan Mills the last few days. notice in the picture below the extra set of eyebrows that her camera automatically put on my face. well, i don't know if 'extra' is appropriate since i barely have any real eyebrows, but you catch my drift:

my early christmas present, the 'Chicago bear':

you can see below that i had HAD IT!:

mom, just stop:

finally, we are done!:

daddy-razzi...i mean, paparazzi.

2009-12-07T09:56:00.006-05:00

mommy and daddy spent a majority of their Sunday morning treating me like a celebrity while trying to take a good picture of me for our holiday greeting card (instead of going to church, papa disappointedly remarked)! here are some of the 'close seconds' and also some of the very-distant runners-up:

i'm still exhausted...

2009-11-30T12:48:00.003-05:00

i had a really big day yesterday...i was christened! my Baptism day was really special, with warm weather and bright blue sunny skies, and a whole bunch of family from near and far who joined together to celebrate my admission into the Catholic Church. i couldn't have asked for a better day.

auntie leelee said i look like p-diddy in my outfit...whoever that is!

standing in front of the St. Joseph statue outside our church. get it?

my godparents and parents, apparently from shortest to tallest. what, were they trying to teach me a math lesson or something?

daddy's parents, nana and gramps:

mommy's parents, grandma tina and papa. and another math lesson:

i really almost slept the whole time! getting water poured on your head is tiring!

my cake. wish i could have tried it! maybe they'll freeze some so i can try it one day. what?!? they froze the top of their wedding cake for a year, what's the big deal?

thank you to all my family who made my day so special. as you can see below, you all made me very happy! i love you!

happy birthday, daddy!

2009-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

my dad turns really old today. i love my daddy so much after 39 weeks in mommy's belly and 51 days in this world. i plan to smile from ear to ear when he comes home from work and holds me. kind of like the pictures below, but better. maybe i will even spit up all over him when he gives me my bottle tonight, just like i did last night, when he was wearing his lucky chicago bears jersey and i totally ruined it!

I LOVE YOU, DADDY! and mommy loves you too :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY! i am pretty sure i have single-handedly made this your best birthday ever...just sayin' :)

go cleveland!

2009-11-17T12:56:00.004-05:00

this week was full of sports...and butts (to be explained later). i got to watch a lot of sports on tv with dad while mom rolled her eyes and kept asking when she could change the channel. the only thing she likes about sports is dressing me in the appropriate fan gear.

this week was also full of lots of errands. never did mom think that she would put on a dress to go to a garden store but she was so excited to finally leave the house! mom and dad even took me on my first trip to target and giant eagle, two places they say i will soon become very family with.

mom also attempted to put me in the baby bjorn, and with auntie jenna's help, was eventually successful. except she has me in it right now and let me tell you, i am pretty darn uncomfortable (hence the brevity of this post).

i said i'd explain butt time...and here it is. mom read that prolonged exposure to air will help dry my butt and get rid of this rash. one night, she asked dad to do 'butt time' (they have silly names for everything) and he didn't quite know what to do, so he improvised (see picture below). mom knew very well what the end result could be but wanted to let dad try it out his way. sure enough, dad decided the new name for the activity should be 'human urinal'; you can guess why :)

go browns!

go cavs! don't laugh at my baby booties ;)

i did OWLot last week!

2009-11-10T12:03:00.005-05:00

last week i had lots of milestones! i drank from the bottle every night, i smiled a lot, i wore big boy clothes, i went to the mall (dad finally let me out in public!) and i weighed enough that when i sat in the bouncer it actually bounced! take a look...

here's a half-a-smile. mom's camera is a bit too delayed and missed all my big smiles!

here's another take on my smile. mom sure was trying really hard to get a good picture!

here you can see a visit from auntie leelee. she brought mom and dad's fave item from danny boys...pizza quesadillas! you may think this picture of me is horrible, but i actually wanted you to see my 'poop face'. it is a sure-thing that when i make this face, you can bet there could potentially be a poop emergency shortly thereafter!

auntie traci also visited that day. she did a good job taking care of me and charley at the same time. i am going to call her "t" just like her nephew gavin does!

here i wanted to give a shout out to all the other little boys out there wearing sweater rompers!

slowly but surely, charley and i are becoming real pals. i love watching him. he loves watching me too...umm, not so much.

auntie jenine and auntie krista bought me another really cool big boy outfit...something without owls! and if you look closely, you can see i am really enjoying my pacifier!

i bet next week i look a lot bigger in my pictures because i am eating all the time! i have a feeling a growth spurt is on the way...stay tuned!

uh oh!

2009-11-08T14:24:00.001-05:00

mom is sick! i will write this week's update when i am done taking care of her :)

happy hOWLoween!

2009-11-01T14:23:00.008-05:00

so there were lots of accomplishments this week. most notably, i started using a pacifier (i love it!) and i lost all the hair on the top of my head. literally, one day i had hair, the next day i didn't!

on top of these milestones, i had the fortune of visiting the doctor again...yippee!(sarcasm) only to find out a have diaper rash and mom and dad were asked to concoct some mixture of aquaphor and maalox...don't ask. the good thing was, we found out i weigh 8 lbs 6 oz, which is more than 2 lbs greater than what i weighed when i left the hospital at 6 lbs 2 oz!

oh yeah...and i was supposedly allowed to venture outside the house as of yesterday...but mom and dad are so scared of the swine flu that the farthest i got was the backseat of mom's car as mom and dad took turns going into different places to run errands!

they did, however, let me visit auntie jenna (who i plan to call auntie jean, though she doesn't know it yet) and uncle gary at their house. and we also visited grandma tina and papa at their house as they passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. i'm pretty sure i was the cutest trick-or-treater they saw though (pictures below)!

here are some pictures of the highlights of my week:

the first day i used a pacifier (note i still had some hair):

uncle andy visited me for the first time:

grandma tina and me:

papa and me (i know, mom dresses me funny):

more halloween clothes:

my halloween outfit, and i even posed for this picture..."up, up, and away!":

chillin' in my swing:

pumped to watch the bears play the browns...dad said it was the worst game of all time. me and mom couldn't care less!

dad playing school with me. mom does this everyday but dad has to work so he only gets to do it on the weekends...now if only i could get him to sing to me:

hopefully to come next week...my first bottle!!! stay tuned...

...but this was my favorite part of the weekend!

2009-10-25T16:53:00.003-04:00

i just wanted to share another picture of me and my doggie together. he is so happy to have me here that now he's sleeping on top of me!!!

this weekend was a HOOT!

2009-10-25T16:29:00.010-04:00

just thought i'd share a little bit about my third full weekend here in this world. it was jam-packed; we did so much that i slept for almost 5 hours straight two nights in a row (let's hope tonight goes just as well!). let's not talk about the night before that though...i thought mom and dad were going to go crazy because that night i cried for 5 hours straight!

anyway, yesterday we had a big pasta dinner with all my grandparents, mom and dad, and uncle eric. it looked and smelled really good but i just wanted to sleep through the whole thing!

today, i went for a walk with mom, dad, nana, gramps, and charley. again, i slept through the whole thing (notice a trend here?). we took some pics to capture the moment ;)

me, nana, and gramps...

me, mom, and dad...

after our walk, charley and i were tired, even though i slept through the whole walk...

good thing i woke up just in time for the bears to play the bengals, dad and uncle eric's favorite teams! dad told me to "look tough" for this picture...it's pretty hard to look tough though when you are wearing clothes that say "little pumpkin" on them!

happy birthday, nana!

2009-10-20T14:08:00.006-04:00

nana, i just wanted to wish you a special day from your favorite grandchild (oh wait, i am your only grandchild!). i am excited to see you this weekend! i love you!

just pretend i am in this picture with you...mom didn't have any with us together so i had to improvise.

OWL these pictures are of ME!

2009-10-19T14:47:00.011-04:00

for those of you whom i have yet to meet, i thought i'd post some pictures of me since my first day here.

unfortunately, mom and dad have been busy feeding me and changing diapers, and most of the pictures are at my grandma tina's house and in my auntie leelee's twitter account ;) but let me show you some of the pictures that mom and dad have had time to take of me!

my first minutes of life...

my comfy outfit in the hospital...

my first day home...mom and dad were being silly and wanted to see how small i looked in my new crib...

my first ride in my new stroller...they really bundled me up!

just yesterday...my mom made me show you this because it's her favorite outfit and my dad made me show you because i was wearing his favorite hat. go yankees! (turn your head, i am still learning how to work this blog thing.)

speaking of soft pretzels...

2009-10-18T20:46:00.006-04:00

so i played a trick on dad today. the smell of soft pretzels filled the air. literally! after i ate, dad changed my diaper...or at least attempted to, but i had something else in mind.

mom was upstairs with auntie leelee and heard dad scream and ask for help. when she came into my bedroom, she saw that i left 'soft pretzels' on the carpet, the diaper genie, the crib, the mattress, the crib skirt, the wall, and worst of all...the brand new personalized pictures that she bought to hang above my crib.

all dad could do was laugh. later i heard him telling mom that he will remember that moment forever. and good thing auntie leelee remembered to capture the scene on camera so we could share it with all of you too! notice that they had to take my entire crib apart to clean everything!

i love OWL this attention!

2009-10-18T15:01:00.000-04:00

hi, world!

it's me, joey. joey andolina.

nice to meet you!

my mom and dad told me to start this blog for all my friends and family who don't get to see me a lot. (i mean, i can't even talk yet and i'm writing a blog.)

i was a little guy when i was born (6 lbs., 11 oz., 18.25 in.), but i'm getting bigger and bigger every day. i'm already up to 7 lbs., 2 oz. and a whole inch longer after being home for only two weeks!

(btw, this place called "home" is pretty cool. we have a great view of downtown cleveland from our roof!)

dad's already got me cheering for the yankees and the bears (and something called a fantasy football league), and mommy is dressing me in owl outfits almost every day.

mom and dad are pretty funny too. so far, their best joke is when they say my poopy diapers smell like soft pretzels. maybe that's because mommy ate so many of them when i was in her belly!

daddy goes back to work tomorrow, so things are going to be interesting around here. come back soon for an update!

xoxo -
joey