Hey missy girl,

When you saw that I’d written an open letter to your big brother on his ninth birthday, you were insistent I do the same for you when you turn nine.

That’s you in a nutshell, isn’t it, kid? You know what you want and you go for it. Even as we’re at the halfway point of raising you, there’s one thing I’m convinced of: that spunk, that determination, that persistence is going to take you places.

Of course, for now, it leaves me a little bedraggled and more-than-a-little snappy – I let you know that often enough, don’t I?

But what I don’t say enough is that I’m bursting with pride when I see the woman that you’re growing into.

I love your determination. I love that you’re nothing like me in that department. This mama of yours – she is prone to throwing in the towel when the going gets tough. But not you. I remember those chopsticks you brought home from a dinner out at a Chinese restaurant – you even ate your cereal with them till you became a pro. Some things you try don’t come easy. But you just keep on keepin’ on.

I love that you can pour yourself into intricate adult colouring books and your Rainbow Loom and quilling sets, but at the same time you effortlessly cartwheel on the lawn, hold a plank for the longest time and create little shoebox homes for the worms you and your brother collect.

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