What a wonderful few days we've had.

You had six of your best friends over to celebrate with you. You played games and you designed your own pizzas for dinner.

You played conversations and pass the parcel (with questions not music).

You watched a Hannah Montana: the movie and made me cry when you all sang along to 'Butterfly'. You ran and played and ate and looked after each other when you were hurt. You cuddled your teddies to go to sleep and slept in a tight little huddle from 11pm to 8am.

You danced and sang and laughed and ate pancakes for breakfast.

You painted wooden symbols and calico bags and jumped and trapezed and flipped.

You lit your own candles and blew them out many, many times.

And when your girlies left you spent the day entertaining a constant stream of family and friends until you crashed into bed exhausted to listen to your new ipod.

At nine you seem so grown up but still so young. Nine seems like an age of contradictions; you know so much and are so aware but are still so naive with the world to experience.

I'm so proud of who you are Indi and wish for you all the happiness in the world and a little bit more.