Emma

10:Laura

Luke was extremely excited for his birthday - so much so that he was very difficult to get into bed. His energy seemed to rub off on Emma, as she too was not easy to settle. When the bedroom lights were finally out, I finished wrapping the last present (a teddy bear about half the size of Luke) and scattered the entirety of gifts across the living room carpet. Only then was I able to settle down in an armchair with a glass of wine.

I knew there was no point in staying up late, as I would be awoken bright and early in the morning. When excited, Luke was not one for sleeping in late. Or, for that matter, sleeping in until any reasonable time. Luckily, I was well prepared.

Surprisingly, the next day, the alarm woke me up before Luke could. When I went to check on him, he was still peacefully sleeping, probably worn out by the excitement of the day before. His late awakening gave me time to ensure that everything was in order for the "party", before he came bounding down the stairs, closely followed by Emma.

Present-opening was the first activity of the day. Emma sat happily on Simon's knee whilst I joined Luke on the floor. He had taken to gently shaking every present before opening it, and he and Emma set up a game of "guess what is inside". Obviously, Simon and I weren't allowed to play, as we had provided the presents.

"He's so big!" Luke exclaimed when he unwrapped the teddy bear, hugging him tightly. "Thank you mummy!"

He knew that I had bought the bear, because I always gave him a soft toy for his birthday. The teddy bear (who was later christened "Oliver") was said to be the favourite present this year, which made me feel quite pleased. A remote control car made it to second position.

It had worried me that Emma may have felt a bit left out or jealous of all the presents, but she seemed to take things very well. Luke said she could share Oliver, which made her very happy. They pretended to feed him breakfast at the table a while later.

Luke raced around the kitchen like an excited puppy whilst Emma "gave" Oliver a drink. When Luke's friend, Tyler, arrived, he rushed straight to the front door to let him in.

Simon had pumped the bouncy castle up to its full height in the back garden, so the three children went straight there, whilst Simon and I settled back in garden chairs to watch them play. Luke managed to bounce the highest, with Tyler in close second. Emma preferred to walk up and down the length of the bouncy castle, occasionally falling over when the boys jumped too near to her.

At lunch time, I brought out a selection of sandwiches and crisps, so the kids settled down on the grass to eat. When they had finished, Simon disappeared to light the cake and I summoned the three of them into the kitchen. Luke blew out the candles to a chorus of "Happy birthday to you", before I cut it into pieces and handed them out on paper plates.

Luke and Tyler went straight back to the bouncy castle, but Emma had lost interest in it, so asked Luke if she could play with Oliver the teddy bear. He nodded obligingly, so she skipped off into the living room.

"I'll be outside if you need me," I told her.

"Okay, mummy!" she called back.

I stopped in my tracks. Had she just said what I thought I heard? My heart pounded in my chest as I made my way back outside, not hearing a word anybody said to me, as if in a trance. Eventually, I snapped out of it, but a glowing warmth filled me from within as I sat in the gentle breeze.

At that very moment, I properly realised that I had a daughter. Emma belonged to me. I was her mother.

Luke and Tyler tried to get Barney onto the bouncy castle, unsuccessfully. I eventually had to tell them to leave him alone because he was looking a little frustrated, after which he came and settled down in a patch of sunlight by my feet. I scratched the fur behind his ears.