Happy 7, my love!

      It's said motherhood makes you selfless, to the point that you don't even see it. For me, I can see it. I love myself a good deal, I loved my birthdays as long as I can remember. But the second Cati came into my arms nothing else mattered. Her birthday became the most anticipated day of the year. I would spend nights thinking how I can make it more memorable, more fun for her, more known to the world that the greatest happiness of all was bestowed upon me. Catalina had all sorts of birthday parties: At home, for her first, second and 4th birthdays, big, loud parties at various venues for her 3rd and 5th, a fancy trip to Switzerland for her 5th (on top of the venue one) and a home, decent one for her 6th.

      I wanted again a big party, but I knew Catalina does not enjoy them so we asked her what she wants. And my sweet baby told me she does not want a party, she just wants the 4 of us to play together with play dough. My heart was broken, I had nothing to plan, no outlet for my bursting with love heart. I knew I wanted something special for her, so we decided we'll surprise her.
So we planned a whole trip away, to the sweetest place on Earth: Herhsey! We said nothing to her, we booked the Hershey Lodge and we picked her up early from school that Friday. She was surprised and so happy when we told her we're going away. After the first bout of happiness passed she told us: " you know guys, you didn't have to do this, I would have been ok with just staying home". And this is when I knew that we DID have to do this. Because we have an amazing, smart, sweet like no other 7 year old daughter!

Waiting for her to come from her class I saw this big on their school wall:

We got there, Cati was in her PJs as they had pajama day in school. Perfect start for a weekend of relaxed, sweet, cozy fun! We were greeted by a Hershey Kiss which seemed perfectly in sink with our state of heart.

There were a lot of smiles around! We walked around the lodge while Marius took upstairs all the luggage and prepared the room for a party mood.

We had some presents with us for Catalina. Play dough and all sorts of clay one can think of!

Happy birthday, my love!

Hershey lodge has a pretty sweet pool, and both Cati and Ami enjoyed themselves quite a bit that night. A lot of splashing, running, laughter. We all had such great fun, and we were only anticipating the next day with all the fun activities around!

We started the second day with a trip to Chocolate world. A 4D movie experience was a perfect way to start. I was able to text a number that we celebrate Catalina's birthday, and all throughout the movie Catalina's name was mentioned over and over again. She got such a kick out of it!

We then went on to make our own chocolate. All dressed as chocolate cooks, we picked whatever our sweet tooth told us is the tastiest!

By this time we were all a little tired and we headed back to the lodge. Catalina and Marius went once more to the pool, but our energy level was getting low. We went back and stayed in the lobby for a while and then we attempted a fancy dinner. Ami was very tired and cranky so that did not go well at all. Back in the hotel room we hoped we'll rest and maybe get some more energy for the second day.

Look, ma! I can stand on my own!

Last day in the morning it was obvious no more fun events will take place. Ami had a fever the whole night, I was coming down with something as well. So, we packed up and headed back home, decided to take Catalina and one of her friends for a cute dinner on her real birthday, the 9th.

And this is my baby girl, on her 7th birthday. At home, with high fever, barely able to open her presents and enjoy her day off. We were all terribly sick. We had to cancel the dinner and all day long I felt a knot in my heart for not being able to give my daughter all that I wanted: undivided attention, an amazing day with fun events, the dinner we promised, and why not, the moon if she asked for it.

Daddy cooked some chicken wings, we had a cheese cake from Cheesecake Factory. We sang to our daughter and our hearts were filled with a love that cannot be measured or contained. The celebration lacked in glamour, but was filled with feeling.

Catalina was very good about it. She did not complain, she did not asked for anything. But my mommy heart was broken that 7 years later I could not play for my daughter the magic of that miraculous day. I was still soft inside, my thoughts were for her alone, and I still felt like I was given the most precious gift of all. And this is how I will always feel every and each March 9 for the rest of my life.

We promised Catalina that we'll take her and her good friend Cami for a birthday lunch. Catalina (and mommy) love Olive Garden so we decided to go there. It was 10 days after her birthday, but we did have a little celebration there as well. And Catalina was so proud to have her friend with us. Also, she loved that the waiters sang to her "Happy Birthday" when they came with her dessert. My heart melted a little again :)

Happy birthday, beautiful, magnificent child!