Rayna Alice turns Two!!

Wow! We just got back from a jam packed and full of fun weekend! Our baby girl turned two and I still can't believe it. We arrived in Houston Friday night after a long, rainy, and traffic filled trip. But we made it and were ready to start our adventures. Friday night Stephen, Shelley, Chris, and I all went to see Anderson in Les Miserables. Mimi and Pops made it possible by staying in the hotel with the girls and entertaining until 11:00pm!

Mimi and Pops said Rayna loved the Jack-in-the-box. They said she must have closed it and wound it at least 100 times. She thought it was so funny when Jack popped out of his box. It must be a special grandparent talent to be able to turn a hotel room into an action packed fun filled adventure but they did it with flying colors!

Here we are ready for our big night! We had an amazing time. We had appetizers before the show at the restaurant in the theatre. It was delicious and so much fun to be out at night with each other and two of our favorite people, Chris and Shelley. Anderson was amazing in the show. We laughed and cried and loved every minute of it. My only problem was not telling everyone I saw that my brother was Marius. I was so proud!

The next morning we all met at a Tex-Mex restaurant for brunch and Rayna's second birthday party! Rayna has been eating Tex-Mex since she was a fetus so it was a great way to celebrate her birthday. Here she is having a great time eating chips and dip, one of her favorites, and wearing all of the bracelets Stella got her for her birthday!

We were so busy, and ran out of room on the camera, so we didn't have time to get a lot of group shots. But here we all are (and don't forget our amazing camera man ;) watching Rayna open her birthday presents.

Of course, Stella was happy to help open presents. It is hard for a three year old to hand over the spotlight for the day but I think Stella did a good job. Although, she did make sure to confirm that her day would come too:)!

Rayna loved all of her presents. It is amazing how many she got for not having a traditional birthday party. Here she is with a mouse puppet from Aunt Shelley. Aunt Melissa and Janan came with a truck full of gifts from them and from Granny and Papas. But by the time we got those our camera was all full! She loved those too.

Here she is opening gifts. She had a system down. She would say, "Pull, pull, pull." as she opened all of her packages.

Here we are singing happy birthday to our sweet girl.

She got very serious during the birthday song. It was like she knew she had a job to do. Stephen got this picture right before it was time for her to blow out the candles. It looks like she is making a sad face but she was just getting ready for her big performance.

She took her job very seriously and got those candles blown out!

As much as you want to see your children grow up and learn new things and experience all of the wonderful things life has to offer it is bitter sweet. I just wanted to soak her up that day and remember her soft baby skin and sweet baby voice. It would be okay if you knew later you could experience it all again but you can't. She is changing every day and growing into the beautiful person she will be. I'm just so thankful I get to witness it all. I really couldn't love you more my Rayna-roo. Words can't describe the joy you bring to my life.

After brunch we headed to the Houston zoo. This is about as good as the family portraits can get at this moment in our life. It was a beautiful day and the Houston zoo was great!

Aunt Melissa, Janan, Aunt Chris, and Aunt Shelley all came with us. The girls had a great time with such an attentive and supportive audience:)

Mimi took Stella on the carousel. This is always a favorite and I just love this picture! Stella had such a great weekend too. She loved being with people that love her so much. I wish we had a picture of every moment so we could try and hold on to it all. But even pictures can't capture it all. Our hearts are a little sad but so full of love. Weekends like this are what life is all about. Watching my brother fulfill his dreams and show his amazing talents, watching my parents love our girls and us with all their hearts, being with family and friends in gorgeous weather, and celebrating another year of life with my precious girls. It just doesn't get better than that. Thank you God for showing us your love through each other. We are blessed beyond measure. Thank you everyone for loving us from near and far. We love you all so much!