Happy Birthday!

Today Clara and Elena turned one year old. It's tremendously unbelievable that last year these were the girls we knew:


and today these are the girls they have grown into:


Amazing. On our minds today were all the people who have made them who they are, like their birth parents and their families, like our families, our wonderful friends, and all who have been with them on the path of this first year. We are so grateful that they are happy and healthy and heading into toddlerhood in one piece. We all made it!

We started the day with songs, a pancake birthday breakfast, and gifts. So many people sent so many lovely gifts - thank you all. Christina stayed up the past few nights finishing Raggedy Ann dolls (picture to come later) that are exactly their height. Her mother made each of her daughters one, and Christina wanted to carry on the tradition - but those dolls are a lot of work! It was nice to have them done, and the girls seemed to really like them, especially touching their faces.

This afternoon we had a party for the girls at a local park with a sprayground (little water park). We had flowers all around - even the cupcakes were supposed to look like flowers:


Both girls skipped their afternoon nap, and that made the party a little touch and go at times. We've been waiting all year for the smushing of cupcakes in their little faces, but Elena cried as soon as we sat her down with one.

Here's Clara offering some of what she decided was delicious cupcake:


And here's a close up of the sugar rush. Can you spot our birthday surprise? Clara woke up with two top teeth! No crying, no notice - just two teeth overnight.


As we said, Elena was more tentative about the cupcakes, but she accepted one of the lollipops off the top:

And eventually she warmed up to some cupcake, although this is the best shot we got:

The girls stuck with the party long enough to open gifts and spend a little time in the water, but everyone was nice enough to understand that one year old girls without naps aren't always the best hosts, and we soon adjourned to have a birthday dinner and then baths and bed.

One year. Unbelievable. We wonder what the next year will bring.