Pink and Purple and a Tres Leches Cake

On Saturday, Beli turned 3! She was so excited for her "birthday cake." She told her cousins, "it's my birthday party!" 

She loves Dora and Minnie Mouse, and I didn't know which to pick as the theme for the cake. I left it up to the local bakery when I placed my order for a tres leches cake, and this what they came up with. Beli loved it!

Besos for our princesa.

Already wearing some of her gifts. Dora socks and Minnie Mouse bathing suit.

We had originally planned to celebrate Beli's birthday at the zoo with all her cousins, but weather didn't cooperate and after a few suggestions, we decided to stay at home and eat cake and ice cream.

I should mention that earlier in the day we stopped by our friends house for homemade scones and tea.

 Afterwards, we attended our friend's birthday. 

 Then we went  home and hosted Beli's own party. I was exhausted! Then my sister and brother-in-law surprised us with a dinner reservation that same evening to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary ( I will post about that another day) but we had eaten so much all day that we just didn't know if we could eat more! We

It was a wonderful day of celebrations. We love you Beli. 

Fotos and words

Yesterday I spent the day outdoors.

 I took various photos and instead of telling you what a beautiful sunny day it was and how much fun Beli had,  I thought I would do something a little different. What's your first thought when you see these photos?   

It'll be interesting to see if we agree!

1. Innocence~ Inocencia

2. Devotion~ Devocion

3. Learning~ Aprendiendo

4. Curiosity~Curiosidad

5. Growth~ El Crecimiento

6. Trust~Confianza

7. Wisdom~Sabiduria

8. Love~Amor

9. Serenity~ Serenidad

10. Youthful~Juvenil

11. Perseverance~ Perseverancia

12. Searching~ Buscando

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When one is young

"When one is young it's easy to think that all kinds of things about the world are fixed, that they have always been there. With adulthood, though, comes the realization that very little is fixed, that things change all the time..."- -excerpt from "Another Fool in the Balkans" by Tony White.

Qué tan ciertas son estas palabras! Siento una cierta melancolía al recordar mi infancia. Cuando vivíamos en México, mis hermanas y yo pasamos todos los veranos en el rancho de nuestros abuelos, pero un día eso cambió cuando nos mudamos a los Estados Unidos. A la edad de 8 años me di cuenta de que mi mundo no era fijó y me enfrente con cambio a mi alrededor. Ahora que vivo en Croacia tengo la oportunidad de revivir esos recuerdos a través de mi hija.Sus bisabuelos tienen un pequeno rancho con gallinas y muchos árboles frutales. Me siento como en casa y cuánto desearía que Beli recuerde estos momentos cuando sea mayor. Supongo que estoy haciendo mi parte atraves de fotografías que tomo cada vez que visitamos el rancho.
How true these words are. I feel nostalgic when I remember my childhood. When we lived in Mexico my sisters and I spent every summer at my grandparents farm, but one day that changed when we moved to America. I was eight years old when I realized that the world was not fixed and I was faced with change all around me. Now living in Croatia I have the opportunity to relive those memories through my daughter.

Beli's great grandparents have a farm with chickens and plenty of fruit trees. I feel right at home and I hope that she will have the same sweet childhood memories that I had when I spent my summers at my grandparents farm.

I guess you can say I'm doing my part by taking plenty of photographs! Now what to do with all these grapes?

I Love...

I love how kids can't fake joy, sadness or anger, their emotions are real and vibrant.

I love how Beli is absolutely delighted to hug and kiss.

And I love that I can't help but smile when I take walks along the beach, it's difficult to foster a bad mood in her presence.

Have a wonderful weekend. We are preparing our home to welcome our friends who are visiting from Denver, Colorado this upcoming week. What are your plans?

To be a kid again

Earlier this week I went to purchase some groceries to prepare a picnic with Beli and when I was walking towards the store I heard giggles in the distance, I looked around and saw a group of kids nearby playing on a small grassy hill. I took a closer look and noticed they were sliding down the hill all five or six of them, with large pieces of cardboard.
I saw in amazement as another kid went skating down the same hill. I was so surprised and happy, I guess I'm not used to seeing children playing outdoors, using their imagination and having fun.

This brought back memories from my own childhood when my Mom would tell my sisters and I "go play outside with the other kids in the neighborhood." I guess we were too noisy and she couldn't watch her soap opera. But in all honesty, I prefer being outdoors than sitting indoors playing video games.

What about you, do you have special memories playing with the neighborhood kids?