Thanksgiving and More

It's been a while since we've posted pictures or news ... so here are several photos from Thanksgiving and the last few weeks.

Evie has a great time decorating the tree. Playing with the ornaments was her favorite! She also got a kick out of the reindeer antlers we used to force Ralph to wear:)

We also went to the Plaza lights. Evie got all dressed up for the big event in some of new Christmas clothes from her Cousin Reen. There's the Santa dress, Santa hat ... and check out the holiday Baby Legs Yiayia bought Evie - keeping her all warm and toasty outside at the Plaza lighting ceremony!

We all think Evie's going to be so much fun at her first Christmas! We'll be headed to St. Louis for five days, then spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in Kansas City and then off to Nixa. It'll be a busy two weeks, but we're looking forward to all the time with family and friends. Evie's first Christmas ... we can't believe it's already here!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch Take 1

Well, we tried. It's all we can say. Today, Mark had the day off school and my parents were in town, so I took a half day too - what a great opportunity to take Evie to her first pumpkin patch.

Ya, not so much.

The skies did look gray, and yes, there were a few drops of rain ... but I pushed everyone to go anyways.

"Put on a coat, you'll be fine," I said.


Fine until the skies opened up, that is. Even the ponies and pigs in the petting zoo ran for cover.

Without seeing or picking one pumpkin, we escaped to a barn with lots of hay in it and made do with what we had.

Of course, we still got some adorable pictures of Miss Evie. Can you see her two bottom teeth?! And can you see our teeth chattering?!

Spaghetti Mania

Our girl loves her pasta : ) Isn't Aunt Melina brave for letting this happen on her new dining room table ... and over white carpet?!

Our Beautiful Baby

Evie is now 7 months old and changing with each day. She laughs at everything. Her hand ... the dog ... of course our goofy faces. And it's not the same laugh as last month or even last week - it's almost a cackle. Getting in character for her Halloween costume perhaps? You guessed it ... a witch! She actually has two costumes - a pumpkin for day and a witch for night. Every good witch had a disguise for daytime activities, don't you know : )

She's also started waving. We're not quite sure if she knows "hello" and "goodbye" but she waves at Mark every time he walks in the room, and today she waved at fellow shoppers on the Plaza. Either way, it's super cute!

Here, Evie was playing with leaves, plants, whatever she could get her hands on and having so much fun. I may have taken 20 pictures of her out in the sun, enjoying this amazing fall weather we've been having. It was a perfect day ...


Honestly, every day is a perfect day with Evie. This girl is so drama free ... I have no idea where she came from! Just all smiles and cuddles - and the occasional dadada, yayaya and ... hopefully soon ... mamama!!

Cooking Greek

Two weeks ago, Melina, Evie and I drove down to Nixa for a fun weekend of cooking (or in our case, watching and eating) and spending time with Yiayia and Papou, the "Greats" and our cousins from St. Louis. Thanks for the aprons!

Before all the cooking though, we had time for a fall photo shoot on Yiayia and Papou's front porch. Evie, obviously dressed for the occasion, loved the pumpkins and the mums. Yes, she ate one. A mum, not a pumpkin : )

Also in Nixa, we also had a playdate with Dylan Mabe! (His parents Callie and Garrett too!)

First Wedding

Evie attended her first wedding earlier this month for our good friends Jason and Cara. While Mark was a groomsman, Evie and I sat in the pews and tried not to cause a scene! Evie was quite the chatterbox though, and I committed the biggest Mommy Sin of all - leaving the binky in the car!! She did great though and a was a big hit at the reception, where she shared her first dance with Daddy!

Evie also got to spend time with her good girlfriends, Lily and Brooke Butler. Who says she's too young for dress up?! Not Lily! We tried on shoes, tutus ... what a day!

Missed My Baby ...

I just returned home from a four-day trip to NYC with all the Cowie ladies. What fun we had! Although I barely had time to think (let alone sit or sleep!), I did miss little Evie so, so much! Today, I took some time off work to play ... cuddle ... dress up in several outfits ... and of course take pictures! This was after outfit change No. 2 - not because I wanted Evie to try on new clothes but because she decided to spit up sweet potatoes ... and then prunes. I think we'll stick to neutral colored foods like bananas and oatmeal from now on. But no matter how much we ladies love clothes, there's nothing like a naked baby to melt your heart. Enjoy!!

Videos ... Finally!

OK, so we'll see if this works. We've posted videos of Evie to youtube. Check out our page at http://www.youtube.com/user/KaraMCowie

There is one from the night of her bith, another of one of her first baths (not so happy about that one) and then two from the last week showing her laughing, rolling, scooting and babbling! Let us know what you think and we'll keep filming ...

Getting ready for Halloween!

On Friday, we had a surprise package from our cousin Reen in California! Evie now has her first Halloween costume - doesn't she make an adorable "pumpkin princess?" Thank you!

Celebrating Our Birthdays

While I turned 28 today, Miss Evie has her own milestone to celebrate - 6 months! We go to the doctor tomorrow and we'll see how much she's grown. Here Evie and I are together today before work.

Normally, I write mostly about Evie, but just because I'm a Mom now doesn't mean I lose all interest in myself!! And it IS my birthday after all : )

Already today, I've had lots of calls and emails from friends and family - thank you! Mark and Melina both brought me Chai tea lattes from Latte Land ... And my co-workers took me to a nice lunch (with cupcakes!) It's been a wonderful birthday so far.

On Saturday, Mary and I will once again celebrate our big days with chair dancing to PYT at the Peanut. More pictures to come on that one ...


And the celebrations really began days ago ... Over the weekend, we celebrated my birthday and the twins' 17th birthday with dinner (and mojitos) at Reverse. Here's a nice picture of Mom, Melina and me. I swear I'm looking more and more like my Mom each day. Evie slept through the entire meal and woke only for pictures at the end.

Imagine how much fun we'll have celebrating Evie's first birthday! Dress up party details to come in a few months ...

Welcome Home Aunt Melina!

Aunt Melina is home from Italy, and, boy, is Evie happy to have her "Anny" - aunt and nanny! Although Evie is cutting her first teeth and suffering a fever to go with it, she was very excited to cuddle with Aunt Melina.

Last weekend, for Evie's first Labor Day, we went to Nixa to spend time with Yiayia and Papou and the Mathews/Schwab/Baker family. Evie and Mindi had fun staring at the ceiling fan and playing with Logan, Peyton and Addison. Evie also ate her first veggies over the weekend ! Hmm, carrots!










Here's Evie sitting up (kind of) in one of her new outfits for school. Thanks Yiayia!

Fun with Friends

For such a little girl, Evie already has lots of great girlfriends. Taking after her Mommy already! Here she is with Ella and Natalie. Ella (far left) is 7 months old, while Natalie (middle) is 1 year. Evie has some catching up to do!

Evie and Ella also had lots of fun playing in the grass together as the Mommies gabbed. It won't be the last time ...

Baptism

Evie was baptised Aug. 16 at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church where my parents were married, Mark and I were married and I was also baptised. She did beautifully and only wimpered a bit when she was dunked : )

5 Months Already!

At 5 months, Evie is showing such a personality! All smiles, all the time and now lots of laughs too. As you can see, she's a big fan of the pool and being outside in general. No matter how fussy she may be, a little bit of sunshine and she's feeling like herself again. We seem to have a nature lover on our hands : )

She also seems to be quite the active little bee, always interested in what's going on, where her doggy Ralphie is, where Daddy's going, etc. It's amazing to watch her eyes light up when we walk in the room. Mornings - being the first person she sees (oh the smiles!) - and evenings when we come home from work are the highlights of our days.

Evie's New Toy

Thank you Yiayia and Papou! I love my new jumperoo! (Click on my photo to see me bigger!)

Evie's Play Date!

Evie's friend Ellie (whose Mommy I met in prenatal yoga) came over for a play date last weekend. The girls had fun playing together and even slept together for a while! Their peaceful sleep was eventually interrupted when Ellie woke up crying, which woke Evie up crying ... Still, it was a fun night for both babies who usually only see each in strollers while on walks with their Mommies!