7th Birthday

Today is Anna's birthday. How did that happen again so soon? I put a 6 year old to bed and now she is 7! Our day yesterday was spent having a party with friends. It was not my first choice and believe it or not I actually didn't want to have a party. As crazy as it sounds I have be battling some social anxiety in the past couple of months. Parties make me nervous, the thought of a party makes me a little nervous. I am hoping this will soon pass. Gerard thought it was funny until he realized I was serious. I have dealt with this in the past so I am sure I will deal with this again.

But on to the fun stuff. In the beginning of the year I asked Anna what she wanted for her birthday...a party with friends or to go to Rocking Horse Ranch for a weekend with us. She picked Rocking Horse Ranch. I was excited and honestly it is way more money then a party but I also thought she would have a ton of fun going. So I looked for a deal and found one. We leave for the ranch in 2 weeks for a long weekend of swimming and horse back riding.

While we were at JM's (Our niece who just turned 3) birthday party Anna quietly called me over looking a little sad. She said "Can I talk to you?" My response was of course. She told me that she was sad that she was not having a birthday party. My heart broke a little. So after talking it over with Gerard we decided on a party at the local gym. I sent out invitations and was thankful that we had a few people respond. Actually 11 of her friends were able to come. She was happy which makes me happy.

It was a horse theme of course. We had cowgirl hats and blow up stick horses. Her cake was decorated like Brave. The funny story behind that is when she asked the baker to decorate it like Brave his response was "The baseball team?" The whole party went off without a hitch. Gerard has warned me that he will be working late so Anna and I are on our own tonight. I am hoping to get a good picture of her today. Her two top teeth are almost completely grown in.

I love the person she is becoming. She has such a kind heart, big imagination and a real sparkle for life. Not a day goes by that I don't question why I was so fortunate to have been giving the gift of motherhood and her as my daughter.