Saturday with Catherine, Chuck and Josie

Catherine and Chuck went to NU with Drew and me; Josie is their adopted 4-year-old daughter with a penchant for tutus and fairy wings (two items Rachel has exhibited zero interest in). The live in Vancouver, BC but have a house in Portland and occasionally come down to visit. This weekend we set up a playdate for Saturday. I asked Rachel if she preferred a playdate during the day or if she wanted to get together with them for dinner.

"Playdate!" she replied.
"Do you prefer to have dinner with Mommy alone?" I said.
"Yes!" she answered.

So, Cat and Chuck and Josie came over with bagels and cream cheese and -- what a nice surprise -- two pieces of rugalach. I grabbed one and offered part of it to Rachel; she declined. But she actually ate 1/4 of a sesame bagel so I couldn't really complain. She insisted on sitting in her high chair, which was fine because that meant I didn't have to haul extra chairs to the dining room -- the kitchen was too crowded for all of us. It's a reminder that until Rachel is 3, we won't be taking down the high chair anytime soon.

Josie is usually shy, but this time she talked and talked and talked! She played with Rachel so nicely in the living room, and it was a real treat to be able to sit with Cat and Chuck and have a semblance of a conversation for, oh, 20 minutes at a stretch. They kept running over to Chuck with parts of the medical equipment box that Doug and Linda gave to Rachel for her 2nd birthday, and Chuck, who is a doctor, would correctly name the things that I usually refer to as "that thing that the doctor put in your ear to look when you had an ear infection -- remember, Rachel?"

Toward of the end of our visit, Josie tried to put the fairy wings on Rachel but she wasn't interested. Then they linked arms and sang an alternate version of "Row, row, row your boat," that Cat taught them which called for both girls to tumble into the "water." They fell down from their sitting positions to the floor, arms locked around each other, shrieking with laughter. I did get a few pictures which I will send along soon.

Then Rachel and I did our usual round of Saturday errands -- dry cleaners, bank, grocery store, home, snack, nap, dinner. As I put her down to bed, Rachel said, "That Josie -- she's my favorite!"

"I thought Lila was your favorite," I teased.
"Lila's my favorite and Josie's my favorite...I have lots of favorites," she concluded.

I smiled. She is the most loving little girl I know.