Catching up ... Labor Day

I'm SOOOOOO behind in my blog posts and it's making me CRAZY! I have many wonderful pictures and stories to share, yet no time to sit down and do it. You might be thinking, what's changed? The only things I can think of are these:

1. Avery is very mobile and into everything, therefore she now requires a lot of time and attention (I used to be able to set her down with some toys and I could blog - not anymore!) ... if I set her down across the room and I sit down at the computer, she's immediately standing at my chair, clawing at me to pick her up and play with her.
2. I'm proud to say that for about the last 3-4 weeks, we've been sitting down as a family for home-cooked, healthy dinners every single night! As most of you know, Reagan is a horrible eater. After talking to my friend Nicole (who is a trained behaviorist) about Reagan's eating issues, she told me the first and most important step is to make sure we have designated meal times each day. Ever since Avery came along and took the high chair, we've been letting Reagan eat her meals in front of the TV. Bad habits to get into! So, John and I are now making sure we eat dinner together as a family every single night in the dining room. I'm not seeing any immediate changes in Reagan's willingness to eat new foods, but it's been a good thing for all of us as a family. The one who has benefited the most is AVERY! I've been giving her EVERYTHING we've been eating (cut up into small pieces) and she's turned into the best little eater! Obviously, I'm determined to have one child who eats the same things John and I eat for dinner, so I'm doing things a little differently this time around ... I never cut up pieces of steak and pork chops for Reagan when she was 10 months old! But Avery seems to prefer feeding herself and it's also a lot easier for me, rather than spoon-feeding her pureed foods. The downfall to this new routine of ours is that I've had to spend lots of time cooking ... I actually don't mind cooking, but I don't feel like I'm very good at it. I feel like it takes so much time to plan meals, go shopping for all the right ingredients, and then the actual cooking takes me a lot of time too (especially since I end up preparing something separate for Reagan). It also becomes quite difficult when Avery is pulling at my legs and Reagan is at the peak of her "witching hour" since she's no longer taking naps. It's been nice to sit down together as a family and I'm happy about this new routine, but I feel like it consumes my entire evening. By the time we're done with dinner and the kitchen has been cleaned, it's time for baths and bedtime. I'm usually so tired by then that I just go to bed too. Oops, that's #3
3. I've been going to bed earlier! I used to put the girls to bed and then I'd have some time to blog at night ... but since I have a hard time making myself go to bed, I often stayed up into the wee hours of the morning. I feel miserable when I don't get enough sleep, so I've been trying to go to bed at the same time Reagan does (between 8-9). This doesn't always happen, but when it does, I always feel better the next day.

So there you have it... the reasons my blog has been seriously LACKING the last few weeks! Here are some pictures from our fun Labor Day ...

We went to the pool on Labor Day, since it was the last day it was open ... Reagan was doing her favorite thing there, "making a garden." I don't know where she came up with this idea, but she loves to pour water into the buckets, over and over. Then she'll ask, "Mommy, isn't my garden beautiful?"
Avery loves the water!

John got Reagan a popsicle and she was nice enough to share it with her sister. Avery goes nuts for popsicles!

That afternoon, Maribel invited us over for a barbecue. We came home briefly after the pool, changed into dry clothes, then went to Maribel's looking pretty disheveled!

The DeLeon Family: Marcelo, Joaquin, and Maribel

Maribel was excited to use her new umbrella

Reagan and her first lightning bug!!! I have to be honest, I think I was more excited about this than Reagan was. I've never caught a lightning bug (and I'd never seen one until I moved here 4 years ago). Reagan was holding it and it just sat there in her hands, lighting up. It was very cool!

Avery and Lauren ... can you see Avery's crazy hair? That's from all the sunscreen in her hair from the pool.