From siesta to fiesta… After her epic nap yesterday, Lady Kitty was so done with sleeping; she was ready to party. We celebrated her half-birthday with a big hike and a showstopper two tier watermelon cake with strawberry accents. I’m calling it a Strawberry Tallcake, because I loved the character Strawberry Shortcake when I was about four and five years old. Lake loved the color of the Strawberry Tallcake, he said, and was generally very complimentary. It’s gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan, raw, no-bake, low calorie, and infinitely refreshing. The directions are simple; I dreamed them up on the hike. 1. Carve watermelon from rind in thick wide rounds. 2. Stack in layers. 3. Array cut strawberries attractively. 4. Chill and Enjoy!

This fiesta day served up Lady Kitty the best day of her life. It wasn’t when I was making her half-birthday cake. She would have preferred being held, or playing in the lake. I think she could tell she wasn’t going to profit from this tower of juicy watermelon. Her mama is dragging her feet on the baby-lead-weaning, so she’s surviving her six month milestone remaining a breast-milk bébé. It was later, during the party games, that she really lit up. Lake was playing ball with her and she was having the time of her life. She was sitting on my lap on the shore, where we had been intermittently dipping our toes in the lake. Suddenly Lake threw his new blue wet beach ball straight at us. I smacked it away with my free hand into the waves. Lady Kitty laughed uproariously as the water droplets showered all over us. Lake retrieved the ball, and threw it at us again. Smack! Shower! Giggle! Laugh! Again and again and again. Baby Beach Volleyball?

A perfect fiesta with the siblings: sweet and uncomplicated, just like Lady Kitty herself.