What a fun, but long day! We celebrated Thanksgiving at John's cousin Jose's house in Washington Township and had a wonderful time. I'm glad that Reagan and Jose's birthdays fell on Thanksgiving this year ... it was great to celebrate the birthdays while everyone was together and in festive holiday moods. Thanks to Doreen and Pepito for hosting Thanksgiving, as well as Reagan's birthday party!
Before we left, I tried to get a picture of the girls in their cute red & cream outfits. Debbie gave Avery this adorable sweater for her birthday ... if only I'd opened Reagan's gift from her sooner, I could have dressed Reagan in the coordinating sweater Debbie got for her too! Oh well, they still looked cute!
As you can see, getting them to both stand or sit down at the same time was impossible ... once Avery sat down, I asked Reagan to sit down too ...
Once Reagan was sitting, she was playing with her new shiny shoes, and Avery was ready to stand up again ... and notice how Avery's shoes didn't stay on long? Oh well.
By the time we got to Jose's, Avery was in dire need of a nap. Before putting her down, where I knew she would completely mess up her hair, I asked Jose to take our picture. My instructions were to just keep snapping photos, in hopes that at least ONE of them would turn out acceptable. The one above was the first one - so cute, if only Avery's hand hadn't been in her mouth!
Then Avery wouldn't stop looking at the fish tank that was to the side of us ...
Those fish were fascinating!
Almost there ... but Reagan's forced "Cheese" face isn't what I was goin' for.
I finally asked Jose to stand by the fish tank and we all turned a little to the side
And we got it! Yea, a family picture where everyone is smiling! It only took about 40 tries.The main purpose for this photo was so that my mother could use it in her Christmas card ... she's putting together a collage on Shutterfly and asked me for a picture of the 4 of us. It's scary how difficult it is to get ONE good picture!
Avery and Reagan checking out the fish tank
Nila, Avery and Nayda
Doreen, her mother Catherine, and her sister Dawn
Marcelo, Joaquin, and Maribel 
Reagan, Gabby and Catrina (Dawn's daughter, Gabby's cousin)
Jose, Doreen and their gorgeous turkey
Amanda and Maribel
Reagan had a great time playing downstairs in the basement
Just before dinner - Doreen and the turkey
The Thanksgiving Table - Just before we ate
John and his mother Nila
My honey and me!
After dinner, Avery went back to sleep and Reagan took up a new hobby: playing Jose's drums!
All day long, Reagan kept pointing to the Liter of Orange Fanta that was sitting on the counter, saying, "I want some orange drink!" We tried using it as a bargaining tool to get her to eat dinner, but it didn't work. Finally, we caved and gave her a small glass of it, only because it was her birthday :) A little orange soda once a year isn't so bad, right?
Present Time! Reagan was getting extremely tired from all the running around she was doing downstairs ... by the time we opened gifts, she was all business. She'd open one, push it aside and attack the next one - I need to teach her some manners!
Maribel gave her these dress-up items ... the ballet slippers are actually real shoes and they are simply adorable! I wish they sold them in my size.
Jesus ~ Ethan, on their way out
I made the cake for Jose and Reagan, along with many cupcakes
Jose's family gave him a Playstation 3!
Avery and Reagan checking out the fish tank
Nila, Avery and Nayda
Doreen, her mother Catherine, and her sister Dawn
Marcelo, Joaquin, and Maribel
Joaquin devouring the onion dip! ~ On the drums with his grandpa
Reagan, Gabby and Catrina (Dawn's daughter, Gabby's cousin)
Jose, Doreen and their gorgeous turkey
Amanda and Maribel
Reagan had a great time playing downstairs in the basement
Just before dinner - Doreen and the turkey
The Thanksgiving Table - Just before we ate
John and his mother Nila
My honey and me!Unfortunately, Avery only slept for 20 minutes ... when we strapped her into the high chair to eat her first Thanksgiving dinner, she was over-tired and not exactly happy. Of course, our other daughter Reagan wanted nothing to do with the food being served. So, John and I didn't really get to enjoy our Thanksgiving meal ... we were each dealing with one child or the other while everyone else was eating. The food that we did quickly eat was all delicious ~ I just wish I could have eaten more! Oh well, I'm sure next year will be better (easier!)!
After dinner, Avery went back to sleep and Reagan took up a new hobby: playing Jose's drums! Here's some video of Reagan's Jam Session!
All day long, Reagan kept pointing to the Liter of Orange Fanta that was sitting on the counter, saying, "I want some orange drink!" We tried using it as a bargaining tool to get her to eat dinner, but it didn't work. Finally, we caved and gave her a small glass of it, only because it was her birthday :) A little orange soda once a year isn't so bad, right?
Present Time! Reagan was getting extremely tired from all the running around she was doing downstairs ... by the time we opened gifts, she was all business. She'd open one, push it aside and attack the next one - I need to teach her some manners!
Maribel gave her these dress-up items ... the ballet slippers are actually real shoes and they are simply adorable! I wish they sold them in my size.
Jesus ~ Ethan, on their way out
Jesus and Debbie ate dinner with her family, then stopped by briefly for dessert
I made the cake for Jose and Reagan, along with many cupcakes
See how excited she was when she blew out the candles? Then she was determined to take them out as fast as possible and suck the frosting off!
Jose's family gave him a Playstation 3!We left around 9:00 PM and had to wake up Avery from her deep slumber in the Pack 'n Play. After about 5 minutes in the car, Reagan was OUT COLD. She played so hard and was SO tired! Of course, Avery was now wide awake and didn't end up going back to sleep until almost midnight! Thanksgiving ended up wreaking havoc on her schedule. Oh well. At least Reagan had a wonderful day!
