Wonderful Nixa Weekend

 We visited my parents in Nixa last weekend and celebrated the beginning of fall with a neighborhood party (involving a band and bonfire) and brunch at Big Cedar Lodge - one of our favorite traditions! Here are a few of my favorite pics from the beautiful weekend. On the docket for this week - lots of work for Mommy, Evie's final art class of the session, a much-awaited playdate with Miss Natalie and the pumpkin patch with Aunt Melina, Uncle Matthew and the other Blands - Mike, Ashley and Mabel. Thanks for a great weekend Yiayia and Papou - we love you!


The girls with their Yiayia and Papou



Evie hanging out at the neighborhood party



Nora kissing Max ... over and over again



My 30th and Dora

Yes, I shared my 30th birthday with Dora. What more can I say? I have definitely entered a new decade. Here are the girls and me (plus baby Henry) at Zest near our house last weekend. The rain stopped just in time for us to claim the patio, and we all had a great time. There were boys there too, they just didn't make the picture.

See, here's a boy - my boy. Mark met me when I was 22. Now I'm 30 and so much more mature (ha!)

Here's my friend Mary who shares my birthday weekend. I missed her big party when we were in Chicago, but we still managed to celebrate together.

Of course Melina and Matthew were there too. Here are the sisters (and a little cleavage - sorry about that family members!)

And finally, my two good gal pals - Maggie and Ashley. Maggie turns 30 tomorrow (the 23rd) so we'll all be 30-somethings in just a few hours!

Now here's when the weekend got really exciting - Storytime Live with Dora and all the Nick Jr. gang! Mom and I took Evie, and she loved every moment. She literally did not move the entire show. It was great seeing her face light up as the show began.

Thanks Yiayia for treating us to a wonderful day of Dora!

The Zoo Part 2

We visited the zoo for the second time in two weeks and decided to become members. That polar bear is too darn cute - as are my girls as they explore all the animals that don't live in barns. (We were pretty limited to cows and goats for a while!)

Here they are with the other kids checking out the otters.

And me and Miss Nora (with her new hairdo) at the polar bear exhibit.

Both my girls and me ... will they ever look at the camera and smile at the exact same time?! Doubtful!

Today we went with our good friends Ashley and Reece ...

And Laura and new baby Henry. He had a poop explosion right before this picture, but Laura was an extremely cool and collected first-time Mommy - bravo!

Here the girls have found a place to relax before the next animal adventure.

Both fell asleep in the car on our way home and had a wonderful afternoon. The zoo is such a great way to start a beautiful fall day!

Off to the Deanna Rose apple fest tomorrow (yes, more cows and goats!)

Our Little Artist

Evie started art classes this week and loved every 60 minutes of painting with Miss Marina. I took a million pictures - here are a few ...

She had paint in her hair, on her nose and all over her arms.

See all her masterpieces!

Here's the little artist outside of class showing off the mess she made and singing "I'm an artist, I'm an artist ..."

Next week we're working with glue!

Back to School

Evie literally ran to the front doors of her school today! She was so excited and made sure to remind me several times that Nora and I couldn't stay with her - only "kids" not "babies" or "Mommies!"

Nora wasn't so happy about that - she was out of my arms in a second once we got to Evie's new classroom, playing with the toys and kids, following her big sister around. Evie, too, was off without even a glance back at poor me. Nora even cried when I picked her to leave.

My girls seem to really love school - that's good, right?!

Here are Evie and Nora outside of school this morning. I know, I know, Nora isn't wearing shoes ... again!!!

Hope you're having a wonderful first day back at school, Miss Evie! We miss you and love you!

- Mommy and (sleeping) Nora

Animal Lovers

The girls and I went to the zoo today to meet the new polar bear, and we couldn't have had more fun! This polar bear was such an entertainer - he kept swimming right up to the window. I felt like I was the kid today - so much fun! Here's Evie nearly nose-to-nose with Nakita.

We've also been to Deanna Rose farm three times in the last week. Here are the girls after a near pond catastrophe.

I think I took this right before the near pond catastrophe. You can imagine two children 2 and under with lots of water around!

On another visit, this time with Yiayia and Papou, Evie caught her first fish! We forgot the camera in the car but Mom may have one on her phone ...

Just a sidenote, in addition to our animal adventures, Nora has started chatting up a storm. New words include "ta da" with arms over her head, "doggy," "cheese" and "Papou."

Skinny Jeans?!

Seriously, I'm so emotional and nostalgic today. My girls are really, truly growing up. No, that doesn't mean I want another ... yet, but it does make me stop and appreciate the little "baby" things they still do/say. Do I really want them growing up? I mean, look at Evie in her skinny jeans - doesn't she look like she makes more money than I do?! Can you not imagine her with a boyfriend and a career and an apartment on the Plaza?! And Evie has started telling me,  "Mommy, trees don't talk." Of course they don't, but isn't it fun to make believe? Hello! How did you get so mature all of a sudden? I say this after a day of temper tantrums and constant calls for "Mommy," but still ... she is growing up. No doubt about it. Proof? No more binky. That's right, we packaged up all our binkies and gave them to baby Charlie. We're going on 6 days now without a binky and no one (me) has lost her mind. See, Plaza living is just around the corner ...

OK, OK, I'm being dramatic ... again! Where do my girls get it from?! So, yes, Evie is only 2 and Nora just 1 - plenty of time to be little girls, like today on the carousel at the mall (thanks rain for ruining out outdoor play date!) Notice Nora's oh-so-attractive scab on her nose. Lovely, just lovely.

Oh my girls, I love you to pieces!