irie's 2nd birthday!

for irie's 2nd birthday, kevin & eboni decided to have a little party at papafilippou, an ice cream shop that also has a little indoor arcade area with children's rides and an outdoor playground.  the gathering was intended to be the same group that we had spent new year's eve with, all the couples with kids plus ben & i, but little baby nina had an earache, so we were one couple down.

benjamin and i know how much irie loves to copy everything her mommy does, so we thought it would be cute to get her a little kitchen play set so when eb was cooking, she could make her own meals, too.  we ran to the store to pick it up, and then headed over to papafilippou to meet up with them.

we spent the day playing with the kids on the playground, drinking coffee, and eating lots of cotton candy (or maybe that was just me).  irie was totally into this whole concept of the day being about her... it was her birthday, and everyone was going to know it.  she is already a girl who knows what she wants, but on this day, she was definitely miss diva... i loved it!

telling someone to stop doing something, i think..

eating globs of frosting off the top of her cake..

and opening the her gifts (this is the kitchen set we brought).

somewhere in conversation, kevin announced that they were going to be leaving cyprus.  he hadn't been too happy here since the coaching change, and i don't think the coach was too fond of him, or something like that, but they basically decided to part ways.


as happy as i was that they were going to be moving on to different things that would hopefully make them happier, i couldn't help but to be really really REALLY sad that i was losing my cyprus partner-in-crime.... and my irie :(  through the time we'd spent together, eb had grown to be someone i genuinely enjoyed spending time with.  i can imagine that in this lifestyle, there are probably women that spend a lot of time together because it's convenient, they both speak english, they're both basketball wives or girlfriends, or whatever it may be.  i honestly think, though, that if eboni and i met in a bar in the states, we would have become friends regardless.  plus, i am completely, totally, uncontrollably obsessed with her daughter!  (minor detail)


in any case, it was an amazing day with friends that i'm certain will be in our lives way longer than our time in cyprus will last, anyway.


guess she wont be needing her kitchen set, huh? ;)


xox k