Watermelon Cake!

After all my bragging, I can't believe I forgot a picture of the watermelon cake!

She's Juicy, Sweet & Loves to Eat!

We celebrated Nora's 1st birthday today with a watermelon-themed party! Here we are - all decked out in watermelon colors (bet you can guess whose idea that was!)

Here's Nora with Evie and her friends Reece and Ellie, enjoying a picnic in our completely empty "formal living room." I'm pretty sure our girls love the fact we haven't bought furniture yet - it's a perfect party space!

I attempted my first cake ever - finally using that lovely Kitchen-aid Mixer we received for our wedding nearly SIX years ago! I know, I know! Back to the baking - the cake, decorated to look like a watermelon (you can tell, right?!) turned out a bit lumpy but tasted good. The cake on the left is Nora's "smash" cake, another "creation by Cowie!" Send your orders in soon - my baking business is taking off!

Nora and I posed before the real "smashing" of the cake began ...

She's starting to dig in ...

Now she's really starting to like it ...

Evie and Great Yiayia are joining the fun too ...

Icing is flying ... little girls are laughing ...

And we're done - into our suits for fun in the pool and sprinkler before opening a few presents and then collapsing for a long nap! Not just Nora, all of us!

But not without a parting shot of Evie the dress-up diva who now sings "happy birthday - cha, cha, cha"  -  "really, really loud." Her words, not mine, but this is one time we definitely agree! Happy birthday Nora - we love you!

The Crazy Hair is Back!

Remember all that crazy hair Nora had when she was born?

IT'S BACK!!!

It's a lot lighter, but the "faux-hawk" is definitely making an encore appearance these days!

And I promise no hair gel was used to create the looks in either photo. My girl just has natural style!

Happy Father's Day

As we all know, being a parent isn't always the most glamorous or appreciated job in the world ... as evidenced by this lovely Father's Day photo of Mark and the girls. Nora is obviously pissed (she was in my arms just moments before) and Evie is simply annoyed we interrupted her kangaroo-watching.

The key is to catch them off-guard, truly enjoying themselves as seen here when Evie is riding on Mark's shoulders on our way to see the elephants.                                                                

Despite the everyday drama of two girls 2 and under, we had a wonderful Father's Day. Mark slept in past 9, woke up to blueberry pancakes, checked out Australia and parts of Africa at the zoo and ended the day with the pool and ... of course ... hot wings! We hope you enjoyed your day, Daddy! All your girls love you!

Evie's Big Girl Room!

Evie is a big girl now! We moved her to a real bed last week after she threatened to climb out of her crib on numerous occasions. Now she's loving her big girl bed - including the headboard Mark and I made ourselves and the pillow her Yiayias made.

Here she is before bed on her first night.

And here's the final addition to her big girl room - an antique vanity Mom and I found at a flea market for an awesome price. Isn't it adorable? Evie loves all the mirrors - a perfect place for dress up! Our girl is growing up! Right now she's wondering around without a diaper on so better go ... she's not that grown up!

This and That ...

Random photos from a random Mommy ...

Here are my two favorite "booties" at the pool last week. I took the girls BY MYSELF for the first time last Friday, and it was a success! I panicked only once when Evie said she had to poop. Knowing those stupid swim diapers, I worried about grossing out all the other swimmers, but we were in luck when she just had to toot. Don't you love my grown-up vocabulary?!

Now here's a cute one of Evie and her cousin Savanna. Surprisingly, she's actually smiling for the camera ... dare we say she's growing up?! Eeek! We're actually working on her big girl bed this week and should have photos of my very first DIY project - an upholstered headboard! Can you stand the anticipation?!

Funny story while I'm on these random topics - I got a speeding ticket yesterday. Bummer, I know, but why I'm sharing is after I received my ticket, Evie said: "Mommy in trouble. That's funny!" Hello? Whose side is she on?!!

On a happier note, last weekend we helped our good friend Maggie celebrate her graduation from grad school! Here's Nora on Maggie's lap, muching on something gooey and sweet - no surprise there!

Nora pretty much eats anything and everything these days, including dirt, flowers, etc.

Nora is also dancing quite a bit - following her big sister's lead - and chasing Evie around as fast as she can while Evie calls out: "Come on Nora, come on!" Nora is 11 months now - only a few more weeks till the big birthday!

OK, here we go with the most random photo of them all - my shining moment of the week - the playdoh version of Evie! We seriously spent 30 minutes working on this masterpiece so I had to take a picture. Can you see the resemblance?

Here's Evie adding a few accessories to her look. Typical - and not that we don't encourage her! Also part of the big girl bedroom reno is a vanity Mom and I found at a flea market last weekend. It is so perfect, and Evie loves it. I'll post photos as soon as we're finished - did you know foam was so expensive? Don't tell Mark, but my DIY headboard has turned out to be a tad more expensive than planned!


Have a great week! Love from the Cowies!