Baby What a Big Surprise

Mom's First Ever Birthday Party!

It was a really special evening tonight!  Mom's friend Ruth organized a surprise party for her birthday.  She remembered Mom telling her that she had never had a birthday party, so she wanted to make it special!  It was a small gathering of friends, and it was so nice.  

Mom was, without a doubt, surprised!  Ruth is such a wonderful friend!

Rachel was busting at the seams, waiting not very patiently to give Nana her present!  We gave her a framed portrait of Rachel, of course!

Rachel got to spend a lot of time on Nana's lap.  That is one of her favorite places to be!

Happy Birthday, Nana!!

Best of Friends

 Ok, so I looked at this picture and wondered who switched my toddler with this young lady!!! 
She was enjoying her salmon & asparagus so much she insisted on eating with BOTH hands! lol

Oh, and in case you were wondering, no, she is NOT enjoying her own martini! LOL

 Her new favorite position.  She keeps climbing up on the chair with Penny, snuggling into her, and then asking me to take their picture!

 I get the feeling these 2 are friends for life... Especially since Penny tolerates SO much from
Rach... her daily routine now includes climbing onto Penny's back while we are all laying in bed... she has fallen asleep on top of her several times now!

What an incredible pair... these two are inseparable! We are beyond lucky with both of our girls!!!  Adoption is by far, the best way to make the perfect family! :-)

Bicycle Race

 So now that the holidays are over, it's time to really get into playing with all those presents!  Naturally, Rachel's first choice is her brand new bicycle. 
She's having a great time with it, even if she is having a bit of a hard time with peddling.  And Daddy is actually having fun teaching her how to ride!

Don't worry... it only took me till her 2nd lesson to go out and get her a helmet!  Oh, and it came with a cool bell too!  So now she has a great addition to her handlebars!