Fun with Cousins

The primary reason Ellie and I went to St. Petersburg as early as we did was to attend a birthday party for my cousin's daughter Zazi at my aunt's house on Saturday, December 14. Zazi turned two years old just two days prior, and that weekend both she and her parents as well as my cousin Molly and her son Santiago were all going to be in town visiting their mother in Venice. Hence, a party for Zazi!

The party was beach-themed and Aunt Debbie did a great job with decorations, food, and of course, the awesome beach ball cake and matching beach-themed cupcakes, not to mention the rather cute beach ball party invitations. There were all the Goldfish the kiddos could eat and Ellie also particularly enjoyed the chocolate seashells that adorned the cake plate.

The cake table!

We had a great time at the party, and it was so nice to watch the kids playing...well, near each other. They're still a little young to play together, but they interacted with each other far more at this meeting than they had at previous meetings, which was cool to see. It's so nice that we can get them together as regularly as we do, despite the fact that we live all over the country! The three of them were all born within six months, so if we can keep getting them together, they'll have built in family friends.

Cousins! Zazi, Ellie and Santiago

Coloring and playing with beads

Santiago loves just about anything with wheels!

Sweet Zazi as we sang "Happy Birthday" to her - she has the greatest smile!

The aftermath of chocolate seashells

Gifts for Zazi

Bookworms

Playing "Ring Around The Rosie" with Aunt Molly and Santiago

My lovely cousin and her sweet baby boy!

The girls feeding Pooh Bear

My Aunt Debbie's friend Joyce also agreed to trim up Ellie's uneven bangs while we were over - Ellie's first haircut! Mind you, there was so little to cut I couldn't even save any, so I'm not sure it really counts, but Ellie's bangs looked much neater afterwards!

Bye, cousins!

My cousin Jacob and his family were only in town for the weekend, but Molly and Santiago stayed on for a while into the following week. So, Ellie and I just had to head back down to Venice again for another visit with "Aunt Wally and Gago." We spent the day and had a great time playing, eating and catching up. The grown-ups even had some time to chat child-free while both kids napped at the same time. Glorious! And when the kids woke up, we took them to the playground in a rather festive wagon, which was a big hit. Good times!

Ellie helping Santiago eat his lunch. Ellie: "Mmmmm, Gago!" Santiago: "Merci, Ellie!" (Santiago is tri-lingual. Fancy!)

Santiago and Ellie, ready for a wagon adventure

Weeeeee!

Santiago rocking his new lion hoodie

Slide time!

Ellie isn't so great at the slide thing yet.

Peek-a-boo!

Cuties!

Both visits with our cousins were great fun, and I'm glad we got this extra time with them! We hope they come visit again soon!