Rachel's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday to you ... miss Rachel! The other kids were sooooo excited for Rachie's birthday. They could barely wait for Daddy to get home that night to celebrate! Rachel celebrated all day by finally "taking off" with walking ... since she'd been trying a few steps here and there for a month.

Here they are first thing in the morning. The Cake. Mommy was a bit brain-dead for ideas ... so we went with Little People decorations. Rachel LOVED it and couldn't wait to grab them off! The dog is in honor of one of her first words, "dog-dog".

Opening presents. Rachel had LOTS of help to teach her the art of ripping paper.

Rachel was quite somber during all the present-opening until her final present ... the Pooh Bear Car. Finally the smiles emerged (just not for the camera, of course).

She enjoyed the Happy Birthday song! (she had been hearing it all day ... all week, actually!)

A small carrot cake, just for her to dig in personally!

Tasty!!!