"two" delicious

as most parents do, the hubby and i marvel over our baby, evia, everyday. constantly amazed by how much her little mind retains and the rate at which she is growing. we're in love with our baby girl and can't believe she has turned two and is about to be a "big" sister. 

between last year and this year, it's clear we like to celebrate her birthday in a big way. including family and friends, joining in the joy we feel for her little spirit - over food, drink, play and conversation.

this year when we asked her what she would like her party to be, she matter-of-factually told us "boats" on two separate occasions. so boats it was. i had a great time, pulling little nautical ideas together and gettin' crafty (handmade boat prop, pinata, garland, snack boats, etc). below are some photos of the party details. diegas had the food catered this year, which was so fun for me to not have him at the bbq (although that's where he likes to be, it's in his blood!). a few kind friends and family members brought beautiful salads to share. my mom made our family macaroni and cheese with shell pasta for the kids and our baker-in-residence, grandma lu, made a gorgeous cake. we hired stephanie santana to make the AMAZING cupakes (egg free for e!) - see how beautiful they are below.

here are some things that amaze us in year 2 of evia's world:

-she's musical! loves to sing in their entirety the abc's, twinkle twinkle (all while strumming the ukulele), row your boat, insy-winsy spider and sometimes rhianna with mama in the car!

-she has the memory of an elephant, recalling stories of experiences she had from months ago in so much detail that she sometimes will tell you what she was wearing (really little e?)

-she love books more than any other toy she has and will ask to read stories above all else.

-she's working on her teens up to 20 of counting, but right now after getting to 10 says "12, 17, 16" and back to "12."

-she's very independent, as we hear 2 year olds can be and wants to do most things by herself "no, evia do it." 

-she makes us laugh with some crazy comments like "mama, you finish that bite and then i'll give you another" after preggy-mama was generously helping herself to the family popcorn! "it's not a drum papa, it's a helmet" - refering to papa playing a beat on her while wearing her new trike helmet from gma t and gpa mikey!

-she loves her baby-sister so much that she constantly rubs, hugs and kisses mama's belly. reads baby sister stories "once upon a time..." and even sings her songs. her line is "baby sister comes out in a foo months and pay with evia." and every time we come up to a vista "see the ocean baby sister?"

-she tells us "i l-lovvvve my papa and my papa l-lovvves evia" complete with kisses and hugs.

-she's fascinated by horses, school buses, the moon "luna," birds, the mountains, ocean and pretty much anything mama and papa have an interest in.

-she can tell us the difference between the sound of a hawk, crow, dove and the spot various types of birds - yes she is taught by papa-audubon and brings her binoculars on walks.

-television is something that is in her life (this part she may get from mama!) and is a huge fan of olivia and diego!! luckily the 8 olivia books she got for her birthday, make her just as happy!

-eating food can sometimes be like pulling teeth for our two year old, but aside from an egg allergy she is a very well rounded eater - which makes this nutrition-conscience-mama, one happy camper.  

-she's in her big-girl-bed to fall asleep (as long as there is an arm in there too, of mama or papa's for her to snuggle against), but winds up in our bed every night to snuggle in close through the wee hours of the morning.

(these are a few highlights, to look back on when recalling this age and our lil'"stinky.")

actual birthday morning. cinnamon roll, like her papa and tio used to get!

mama's inspiration board, for creating her bday party craft projects

our baby birthday girl, enjoying her birthday song

boats filled with fishies, oyster crackers and mint lifesavers

gorgeous homemade carrot cake by grandma lu

captain beck and his deckhand e

captain nicolai at the helm

pinata collecting with auntie emi

favor bags, ready for kids to draw on

learning to fly a kite by paul and lindsey. she's got it!

tip-tap with a stick, getting instruction from papa on the art of pinata hitting

slugger roman, strong with a bat - watch out!

seagull chasing with cutie-patootie: naya

apple cider, dubbed "sailor cider" with "evia is 2" straws

sea creature cupcakes: brown sugar and carrot cake flavors by stephanie santana

nautical canvas totes and favor bags for pinata content collection!

garland made of old map: "happy b-day to our love boat" (wind didn't allow it true glory)

kids table: fabric markers to decorate their bags - or the table as evia did.

thank you to everyone that made the day so special! only time will tell what next year's birthday will bring....and perhaps two april birthdays for the zavala fam. :)