There are so many things my girls do on a daily basis that are so incredibly precious and it kills me that I'll never remember all of them. So this post is my attempt at recording a few of them so I can look back and laugh or get that warm & fuzzy feeling in my heart. I'll admit right now that Reagan is the one giving me these warm & fuzzies lately, since she's the one with the vocabulary and Avery is only 18 months old, struggling for the words to communicate. But I'm sure I'll be saying the same things about Avery 2 years from now!
I'll start with these cute pictures of both of them, together on this very small ride-on toy that Reagan calls her car.
I'm not completely sure how this came about, whether Reagan told Avery to join her or if John put Avery on the back, but it was a cute moment nonetheless. I kept snapping pictures, hoping to catch them both looking at me and smiling, since they were both having a great time!
Of course, Avery wound up falling off (several times) since the seat was just so small.
Now for Avery:
Avery LOVES books, just as Reagan did at this age and still does. I took the above picture after I watched Avery climb into this box so she could be right there with the books. She had no idea I was watching her, since I was at the computer with my back to her (but I was looking over my shoulder as she did this). Then she sat there for a good 30 minutes, just flipping through pages, perfectly content to be in the wonderful world of books.
Avery also loves to play dress-up just like her big sister. If Reagan puts on a dress, Avery grabs one too and brings it to us so we'll put it on her.
Avery is a snugglebug and it's the best feeling when she hugs me tightly. She also has a huge grin that can light up any room. This is truly a gift since she's going through a very difficult stage right now ... I hate to admit that my child is anything but happy and loving all the time, but since this blog is a recording of the happenings of my family through ALL the different stages (good and bad), I feel obligated to record the truth. Avery is having a hard time learning how to control her emotions right now. She's at that stage where she's like the Tasmanian Devil, constantly causing little tornadoes around the house. We can't take our eyes off her for a minute because she will have gotten into some kind of trouble. She can be very destructive and seems to find it fun to dump out one box/bag of toys after another (never to actually play with that particular toy, but just to create a big mess). She loves throwing things on the floor when she gets upset, including herself sometimes. Her tantrums are priceless! I wish my video camera was working because I could post some seriously dramatic outbursts!
We've been using "Time-Out" for over a month now and it's working most of the time. She's pretty good at sitting there (on a small stool we've placed in the corner of the living room), but sometimes she protests!
She's incredibly stubborn and it's frustrating that she doesn't have the language yet for me to reason with her. It's great that we've taught her many signs so that she can communicate her needs through sign language. But when we have to take something away from her and she's furious about it, the signs just don't help. John and I are having to use a great deal of patience with her and it's frustrating at times. I know she'll be saying more words and understanding more very soon, so this phase will pass, but it's hard while we're in it.
There are times when Reagan and Avery are SO cute together ... honestly, they play quite well together most of the time. But then Reagan will see that Avery has something she wants and she'll just take it from her. Avery gets upset and sometimes lashes out physically (pulls Reagan's hair or scratches her). The picture on the right is from one of Avery's scratches :( We put Avery in time out because of it, and at the end of time out, we told Avery to give Reagan "loves":
She's used to giving the dogs "loves" by leaning over and resting her head on their backs, so she does the same thing with Reagan :)
Then they gave each other kisses ~ so sweet
Reagan is at such a fun age! The things that come out of her mouth are hysterical! She has John and I laughing each and every day. She is so incredibly sweet that John and I wonder how we ever deserved such a wonderful soul to grace our family. Reagan loves to pretend to talk on the phone and her conversations are hilarious. The other day, she was talking to Sleeping Beauty, and then Cinderella joined the conversation. She asked both of her friends if they'd talked to Snow White lately.
Reagan has inherited my funny trait of talking in her sleep. She often speaks so clearly that you'd think she's awake. She mentions everyone from Mama & Papa, Avery, the dogs (individually), and her friends. A few weeks ago, we had her in our bed because she'd been sick with a high fever and we wanted to monitor her throughout the night. I didn't hear it, but John said she started saying "Cheese!" over and over again, smiling the entire time! He said she must have said it at least 20 times. He made fun of me, saying I had ruined her by my obsessive picture taking and I responded that I had her very well trained!
Ms. Lisa is so great to email me with sweet stories about Reagan. At preschool last week, she told me how they were pretending to be caterpillars who would go into their cocoons (under a blanket) and then come out as butterflies. Here's what Ms. Lisa said about it:
We were pretending to be cocoons and I put a blanket over them while they were laying on the floor. I then lifted the blanket and they became beautiful butterflies fluttering around the room. Reagan enjoyed sitting on the couch and watching the whole thing. She was smiling, laughing, and would say do it again. I asked her many times to join the caterpillars and she said that she couldn't because she would get her hair all messed up. Too funny.
The funny thing about this is that she is ALWAYS hiding under the blanket with Papa and NEVER cares that it messes up her hair! Just goes to show how different kids can be at school vs. at home :) Anyway, she also mixed up the words and told John and me they pretended to be "raccoons" at preschool!
Here's another preschool story: they have music time each day and sometimes Ms. Lisa lets them each pick a song to sing. After hearing the other students choose the standard kid songs (ABC's, Wheels on the Bus, etc), Reagan chose "Guantanamera" and sang the whole song in Spanish! John has taught her this song and it's adorable. I decided to record her singing it on my iPhone, but I'm having issues downloading it so I can post it. Once I get it downloaded, I'll make a new post about it, so check back.
A few weeks ago, she was playing on my bed and her pink purse was on the floor. She then said to me, "Mama, will you please hand me my pocketbook?" Appalled, I said, "Pocketbook? Excuse me? Who taught you that?" She replied, "Ms. Lisa calls it a pocketbook!" So I said, "Well, I call it a purse and that's what it's called!" This is one of those NJ things that has always bugged me. It's SO bizarre to me when I hear people refer to their purse as a 'pocketbook,' but that's what almost everyone here calls it. It was weird to think that my daughter would pick up one of these words that comes from this side of the country. Now it's our family joke and we debate about whether it's a pocketbook or a purse!
Last preschool story (quoted from Ms. Lisa's email):
Today's story....Reagan first didn't want to do the hand prints, she said that her hands would get all messy. I told her that I would help her wash her hands, of course. She still wasn't convinced. Then I pulled out the red paint and a huge smile came across her face....it was a done deal then :) I love how she tries very hard on the crafts and doesn't rush them, even though every one else is finished. I always tell her not to worry, don't rush, and take your time. My next comment is usually that mommy or Papa will love it because she tried so hard. I am proud of her for not being influenced by others. And on another note...I think your girl has a shoe fettish....she very frequently wants to wear a specific pair of shoes from the dress up box. She recently is into the yellow sparkle Minnie Mouse shoes.
Yes Ms. Lisa, Reagan certainly has a shoe fettish! Another trait she has picked up from her mother, I guess! Every day I come home from work and take off my heels ... within minutes, they are on Reagan's feet and she is click-clacking around the house. She loves wearing my shoes and although I'm sure most little girls do this, I think she's into shoes a little more than most.
Here she is in my knee-high boots, which are thigh-highs for her!
You see this head tilt? I need to swipe and scan some pictures from my mom's photo books to show that this is yet another quality she's inherited from me. I used to tilt my head in almost every picture when I was a little girl.
Last Reagan story (once again, I apologize for favoring Reagan in this post, but it's only because she's old enough to talk and Avery isn't!): About a month or two ago, Reagan started saying the most bizarre thing: "When I was a ________, I used to do that too!" I guess we can classify this as her "pretend play" but sometimes it's so 'out there'! I think it originated from us saying things like, "you used to do that when you were a baby" whenever we've tried to explain why Avery does certain things. But then she expanded it to all sorts of roles and she says stuff like, "When I was a mommy, I cooked dinner too." She's also said, "When I was an Abuela, I went to heaven too." John and I always look at each other when she says stuff like this ~ it's amazing how her little mind works!
So there you go ... a very long post about my sweet girls. I love them so much!
Today was Reagan's field trip to Closter Nature Center with Ms. Lisa's preschool. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip last year, so I decided to make it a family morning, as all 4 of us attended. Avery certainly had just as much fun as Reagan did! It was a special treat for me, since I got to see many of my friends :)
Jen's son Sawyer had been sick the whole previous week (throwing up, and then in the ER due to dehydration), so he wasn't quite himself ... but still cute as ever!
The kids loved "Cookie" the turtle
Then it was "Cupcake" the toad
Avery was dying to touch each creature, but she had a difficult time being gentle
"Spaghetti" the snake
Ms. Lisa with Jen & Sawyer
Corey & Jamison with Sandy & Julia
Mark played his ukulele and sang "Big Fat Frog" while the kids all danced
After Mark's presentation of pond life, we went on a nature walk, searching for the ducks with their baby ducklings
Papa with his girls
John and Avery
Checking out a ladybug
After the walk, we had a delicious snack (courtesy of Ms. Lisa) and then the kids did a craft. My battery died, so I didn't get any other pictures of the picnic :(
Just before bedtime, I took Reagan outside (wearing her favorite Dora nightgown) to see her blooming plants. She was so excited to see the 'fruits of her labor' and I loved talking about it with her.
