Happy Birthday Paula!

The highlight of last week, (and boy did it fly by!) was a little celebration for Paula's birthday. The family went to La Hacienda, one of our favorite restaurants. Here is the birthday girl/mommy in the traditional La Hacienda photo opportunity. Also shown are Mike (aka Daddy) and Claire and Chloe. The girls were perfect and enjoyed refried beans and cheese among a few other tasty items.

Later in the week, Papa and I had the opportunity to watch the girls while Mike and Paula attended Mike's work Christmas party. It was so fun to play with them and get them ready for bed. Most of the evening involved Claire chattering non-stop to Papa. Most of the time she had her pointer finger in the air pointing and talking about something. Unfortunately whenever I tried to get the camera out, she would be distracted from her chatter. During that time she also discovered her shadow on the wall, and was fascinated by it. We laughed and laughed.

Chloe was very interested in her picture that hangs on the wall and repeatedly would look at it and tell Papa something about it. Chloe now has two very clear words which can be understood. Dog (pronounced "gog") and bye-bye. Often the bye-bye comes after the person has gone out the door. While the babies had their last bottle, we played their Christmas DVD which has beautiful Christmas music and Christmas scenes. Included in the DVD is even a piece from the Messiah, the girls love it. Chloe fell asleep quickly but Claire lingered listening to the music and smiling up at Papa. Eventually, she too, dozed off.

Here are a couple more shots of the girls from last week as well as the traditional Santa face cookies that our family has made for many years. I can't wait for Claire and Chloe to be able help with the decorating. Maybe even next year!