Caroline turned nine yesterday.

It was last year at this time that she physically changed from a playful little girl into the gorgeous big girl she is now.

It wasn’t until this summer though that she began to seem big, mature almost.

She sits and reads for long, quiet periods of time.

She has grown up conversations at restaurants as she waits for her food, no longer ordered off the kids menu.

She acted calmly for the whole day leading  up to her first sleepover party. “I want to have another one so I’m behaving well.”, she told me, as she thought proactively.

She expresses her worries and concerns with appropriate words instead of mixed up and confused actions.

And among all that ‘grownup-ness’, she still runs and laughs and plays without hesitation.

Nine is a good age to be.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl…