Eli and Ellie turned two yesterday! And on Monday their adoption was finalized. It’s a big week in their family!

A year ago we celebrated their first birthday with cupcakes and our neighbors.  Lily decorated the house with streamers and toilet paper.  We skyped with their family.  We enjoyed having our moms with us for their big event. Their half sister and Eli’s HIV care coordinator came and celebrated with us. It was simple but we had fun.

Yesterday, Eli and Ellie celebrated with their family.  They went out for a big pancake breakfast and then in the evening they had a picnic in the park, with pizza and banana cupcakes.

Ellie knew exactly what to do, and blew out her candles on her cupcake, and promptly smashed icing into her face, her mother’s face, and Mandie Joy’s face.

Eli looked bewildered and kept watching Ellie. He never quite grasped blowing out the candles, and similar to last year, was not too interested in his cupcake.

So much has changed in a year. Eli and Ellie are speaking almost intelligible sentences. They are as healthy as can be and are surrounded by an adoring family.

Mandie Joy, as usual, did a great job capturing the event and making me feel like I was there!  I got to celebrate with the twins right before they went to bed, with a quick Skype session. Ellie was happy to be the center of attention and kept yelling at Eli to stop, any time he tried to stick his face in front of the computer.

What a privilege it is to be still a part of their lives. I’m so thankful for our adoptive families, who make such an effort to keep me in the loop, even though I’m a couple states away.