More catchup

The week got away from me. Here's what's new in Rachel-land:

Yesterday we went to a birthday at a fantastic kids' play place called Pump It Up. Basically it's a giant warehouse space with a bunch of separate play areas filled with inflatables! Bouncing houses, steep slides...it's a treasure trove for kids (and I had a lot of fun on the slide myself because it was REALLY steep and fast!). Drew took Rachel up the steep slide first and she went down with him, oh, maybe twice before she wanted to do it HERSELF. I took a couple of pictures of the look on her face as she came speeding down. Rachel was the youngest child at the party (it was in honor of a 4-year-old boy) and the boy's grandfather remarked several times how impressed he was that Rachel was able to go down by herself with no fear. "Little daredevil!" he called her, and I was secretly pleased.

The 90-minute party flew by and ended with cake, juice and party favor bags. When we got back into the car Rachel said, "I wanna go to ANOTHER birthday party!" and we had to explain to her several times that this was a special occasion and she may be invited to many birthday parties in the future, just not today. She did not like that AT ALL.

Then Drew and I went to dinner and a movie. Rachel barely looked up when we left; she was so absorbed playing with Angela, our favorite (and so far, only) babysitter. Hard to believe she's growing up enough not to be freaked out when we leave!

Tonight we made dinner for our friends Melissa and Steve and their two kids, Natalie (9) and Jeremy (11). Rachel shocked me when Steve asked when her birthday is and she answered matter-of-factly, "July." How does she KNOW that? I remarked.

"There's a lot more going on inside there than you think," Drew reminded me, and of course he is right.

Rachel also surprised us by eating roasted potatoes. Less shocking was her delight in the dessert I made -- chocolate almond raspberry tart. It's definitely a keeper -- very easy to make and fantastically delicious -- and of course she wanted some. This morning while I was making it, she expressed interest in wanting to help. So I instructed her how to crush the chocolate wafers that made up the crust, and she helped me press it into the pan, and I snuck some crumbs to her and nibbled some myself...and the whole time I was flashing back to when I was a little girl and all I wanted to do was help Mom in the kitchen and become the same excellent cook and hostess that she was.

If tonight is any gauge, then I have succeeded. Thanks Mom!