Raquel is now a big two-year old! She started her day with her favorite breakfast of potato patties and peaches. She was delighted when we went to the grocery store. She ran in the store and went straight for the fresh fruit. She picked out an apple but we put it back in favor of the nectarines which she loves to eat while we walk through the store and shop. Then she got to get her favorite snack...Cheetos. She loaded up her arms with the small snack size bags and would not let them go until we got to the car! Later in the day we opened her presents, sang happy birthday and had cake. Then after the cake we had dinner, her favorite curly noodles with pasta sauce. I think her favorite gift was the "Elmo's Restaurant" that she got from her sitter Melissa. It has an oven, stovetop and fridge and it makes noises and talks! What's not to love? She also got a grocery cart, Rockin' Elmo, singing Dora, an Elmo backpack and a Polly Pocket among other things. Of course, when bedtime came around she wanted to stay up and play with her toys and look at her new books. It was a good day!

Today was the first anniversary of Raquel's liver transplant. We are happy to say that the year has been relatively uneventful. She spent only a few days in the hospital to treat an episode of rejection. She is still battling the EBV, but she is showing no symptoms. She has tolerated the decreases in her anti-rejection meds well and we hope that at her next visit we will see that her immune system is fighting the EBV.

We have been amazingly blessed with our Katie's willingness and ability to donate part of her liver to Raquel. There are so many more babies who are not as fortunate. It is very important for everyone to take the time and make the decision to be an organ donor. Donating organs simply saves lives. We had the opportunity this weekend to hang out with Katie during the WTTW walk in Lincoln Park. Raquel also got the chance to meet her favorite monster, Elmo. It has been a great year and we have hope that the years will just continue to get better. Thank you all for your support.