Rachel turns 4!! Pt. 1

Happy 4th Birthday Rachel Jane!

Look at what Bradley got for Rachel!

Bradley decided to test the package for durability

Rachel even loved her new panties!

Thank you, Braddy, for my present!

Happy Birthday to you...sweet girl!

Make a wish!!

Our sweet Big girl!

Yummy...strawberry icing!

I like strawberry icing too!

Rachel "cooking" her first batch of cupcakes...

they look so delicious!

Hard to believe, but the day has finally arrived...Rachel turned 4 years old at 10:33am!! Our lives have been so blessed by this sweet, precious, loving, beautiful daughter. I can't even begin to describe how much joy she brings to our lives with her beautiful smile, thoughtful and caring ways and her sensitivity to others' needs. She's just so precious.

Anyway, Rachel woke up around 7:15 this morning. She said she "membered it was her birthday" when she saw the sun shining through her curtains. We let her go ahead and open her presents from us when she woke up. It was precious watching her excitement with each thing she opened. She really made us feel like we had picked just the exact right thing. We went to church too...we didn't want to break our positive streak of going every Sunday. Rachel didn't think she wanted to go to church (since she was having so much fun playing with her new toys), but she eventually decided it would be fun. Jen and Micah even gave her a birthday present at church...a darling Strawberry Shortcake bag with chapstick, pens and lotion. Rachel loved it all!

When we got home, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Rachel and she blew out a candle on her cupcake...it had strawberry icing. (She's on a real strawberry kick right now!) Then, Rachel decided she wanted to try out her new Disney: Cool Bake Oven. (It's the 3 year old version of an Easy Bake Oven, with no lightbulb.) I'm not sure how the "cooking" process works, because all you do is put ice cubes in a tray and put your cakes in the oven. So, it's more like a gelatin mush, I guess. But, Rachel thought it was cool and loved cooking her own food with her "own kitchen". I can only imagine how yummy it tastes...we haven't sampled it yet. We just let Rachel enjoy her treat.