Cora and Kai's Birthday Bash Under the Sea

Cora and Kai's birthday weekend was brought to us by the signs "celebrate" and "rhinoceros."

"Celebrate" was obvious, since we celebrated the second birthdays that took place a couple of weeks ago.  And we celebrated the simple ability to reunite, since Erin and her family live all the way in Vermont.  It was a blast of sleep deprivation and way too much laughter.

"Rhino" may seem a bit less obvious, but it quickly became Cora's new obsession, as she couldn't pry herself away from the life-sized fiberglass rhino bust mounted on an exterior wall of my parents' house. Don't ask...  But it's actually really cool.

Instead of too many words, here is a photo blast from the past few days.

Not usually the type to get too into the decor... we broke our rules and created a little oasis under the sea.  The balloons and streamers were appreciated by the guests of honor.

We got a little silly with the food...

The most fun was putting together the fishy cupcakes the night before.  They didn't look quite as immaculate as the ones in the cupcake book... but made up for their lack of perfection in creativity.

Not surprisingly, Cora did not want to touch or eat her cupcake.  She did have a couple of icing-free M&Ms and some raw red bell pepper.

Kai gingerly took his fishy apart after 24 hours of eager anticipation.  He woke up Saturday morning yelling, "It's my Birthday party! Leah's cupcakes!  Downstairs!  Now!"  Anyone that knows Kai will know that these were the utterings of a crazed cupcake coveting boy and not his typical articulate and fully grammatical sentences.  Not like his earlier musings after being told that Cora is a toddler just like he is.  "Actually, Cora is a baby, not a toddler, Mira."

Cora the Bookworm was very excited for me to read her card to her.

The cousins actually played together, especially once Cora opened her new play kitchen.  This was quite the accomplishment, since Miss Cora is pretty shy and generally wary of small people that make fast movements and loud noises. You know, like toddlers.  

Cora and Auntie Mira signing "rhino."  What good signers!

Cora and her favorite Auntie Eri.

There are way too many photos and moments to share, but suffice it to say that it was a wonderful time.  Makes me wish Cora's birthdays rolled around more often.  Okay, not really.  Guess it's never too hard to come up with a reason for a good party, though.