We meet the twins!

Yesterday we visited Ryan and Michelle in Rensselaer and met the 17-month-old twins they adopted from Russia in January. They are incredibly cute and adjusting well to their new life. Lily was excited to meet her new cousins, Alexander and Allison.

Michael introduces himself to Alex

Alli is completely at ease with her daddy

She is such a pretty little girl!

Lily is instantly enamored with Alex

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She reaches out and leans in, open mouthed, for a kiss...

But he evades her. She lets him know what he's missing.

It was a fun afternoon of play

Lily (Briefly) Stands for the First Time

Lily vs the Couch Cushion

Lily's First Birthday

Lily turned one a week ago...we can't believe how much she's grown up! She can stand up for a few moments without holding onto anything and likes to walk by pushing a toy or holding our hands. Her birthday party was lots of fun!

Grandma Amy made beautiful lemon cakes

At first Lily didn't know what to do with the cake, but her cousins helped her out and showed her it was, indeed, food.

Once she got the hang of it, she dug in and demolished the cake.

Pretty in her party dress

Lily opened presents and played with family

Fun at the Park

The first nice sunny day we had this week, Lily and I walked to Foster Park to play. Lily loved to get outside and try swinging for the first time. We're waiting out the rain, eager for another warm spring day!