Daisy Suzanne Allen
Born Sunday 6th March 2011
12 to 15 months old
Her life: Birth ♥ Week 1 ♥ Weeks 2-3 ♥ Weeks 4-7 ♥ Weeks 8-13 ♥ Weeks 14-22 ♥ 5-7 months ♥ 7-8 months ♥ 8-10 months ♥ 1st Christmas ♥ 10-12 months ♥ 1st birthday party ♥ 12-15 months ♥ 15-18 months ♥ 18-21 months ♥ 21-24 months ♥ 2nd birthday ♥ 2-2½ years ♥ 2½-3 years ♥ 3rd birthday ♥ 3-3¼ years ♥ 3¼-3½ years ♥ 3½-3¾ years ♥ 3¾-4 years ♥ 4th birthday
In summary: Index ♥ From birth to four years old ♥ Four years old onwards
Special features: Daisy translator ♥ Daisy cookery ♥ Daisy phrases ♥ Golden Bear
Well, there we were, minding our own business in March, when summer came and said a brief hello, seemingly missing out spring for a time. Glorious sunny weather befell the entire country and everyone headed out doors, seemingly all to B&Q, which is where I got the tarpaulin in the picture below. On the left, a mini shelter for Daisy, a present from Nana Sue; on the right, the ball pool, a present from James and Katy, now filled with 400 balls.
Previously, Daisy had had her lunch in just her vest, treating us to her Freddie Mercury look. She puzzled over the Mr Men jigsaw to little avail.
One minute, you're sat in your ball pool, reading a book...
...and then suddenly there is a five-year old beside you (six this summer). Meet Alex, one of our next door neighbours.
Here is Alex's sister, Tabatha, currently three but four in the summer. She has found something immensely amusing, although when she first came round she was extremely reticent, happy to call me names from across the fence, but less bold when actually setting foot in our garden.
Worth a shot of Tabby's crazy static hair.
Tabby and Alex were no different from other visitors in being rapt by Daisy
Soon they had to go, which left Daisy free to do her ball pool stunts. In fact, this is the way that she gets out and I was fortuitous (not cruel) to be in the right position when she launched herself out head first.
This is just to demonstrate a successful landing. It's all part of her method!
A deliberate shot of Lynne in the background with Daisy looking intently at the wildlife in the foreground.
We persuaded her to stay briefly in the shelter for a photo. That will come in extremely useful when it gets hotter - it's simply then a matter of keeping her in there.
A couple of days later and the weather remained, so I took the afternoon off (lots of holidays left to take). We were of course back outside as soon as possible, ball pool included.
She soon threw herself back for a lie down in the balls in the sun.
So I obliged by covering her up - Daisy helped out too.
The static electricity takes hold of Daisy's increasingly long hair, making her look a little like John Higgins the snooker player.
Whilst taking photos, I am stalked by a predator in the grass who has a predilection for electronic gizmos, even at a young age.
"Where's Mummy? There she is!" Yep, indoors, marking assignments.
Her second go on the rocker was a little braver (she did not like it the first time) and her balance is sufficient to keep he on there despite sticking her feet in the air (they're not touching the ground in the shot below) - so much so that Lynne can barely watch. She even had the confidence to rock it by bobbing up and down. In one of those 'why didn't we test it in the shop before buying it for her' moments, the vocals are a gratingly loud upper class gentleman barking such statements as "let's go on a learning journey".
And today (last day in March) it's the latest instalment of Daddy & Daisy day, with the little one pretty in blue (my outfit not featured).
Like her mother, Daisy shares a penchant for a catalogue, especially those featuring babies.
That brings you up-to-date with Daisyworld.
Evidently I missed this from my phone a few days earlier - Daisy with a cracking quiff. She's getting quite big for the duck bath now, but it's still the best solution since she still has a tendency to throw herself backwards when she is being taken out of there.
Right then, two weeks later and I can't resist capturing Daisy's stunt actor exit from the ball pool.
Later that day, I took Daisy round to Waterdale Close with a selection of toys, including the finger puppets.
Aunty Katie put the turtle finger puppet on the head of Daisy, who looks at me as if to say "I know it's there, you know".
And then: "Oh yes, well done."
The next day and it was time for the one year reunion of the NCT girls (less Vicky, plus Lucy), not to mention babies and other halves. Daisy got all dressed up, but still chose to look at people suspiciously. Daisy, that's not much of a welcome.
Sometimes Mummy was called in for some comforting.
Meanwhile, my (much relished) role was manning the BBQ. Everyone was very generous in bringing copious amounts of food - so much so that we had to send some back since otherwise we would never have eaten it all. Anyway, as I commented on Facebook, this photo makes it look like I'm an exhibit at the zoo. Either that or Elise, Daisy and Eva are taking mime artistry to the next level.
A week later it's time to "celebrate" the next year passing for Nana Sue. Daisy proved she was a big grown up by sitting in a high chair (I say high chair, but it looked like some kind of medieval torture contraption). She was on good form, sitting there for a good couple of hours, helping me out with my unwanted peas, as well as munching on bread and blueberries (not together). The mere presence of the phone camera prompted this response.
She looks at Nana Sue and obediently points out the remote control.
That's it for now.
Well, I owe you lot somewhat of an update. During bank holiday weekend in early May, Daisy went for her third weekend pub visit in succession, this time in the Toby Carvery (to add to the Waterside in Boothstown and the Metropolitan in Didsbury). Whilst some of us went for the King Size carvery option, with its Alan Partridge-style plate, Daisy was happy to show her healthy tendencies by munching on blueberries. (Well, munching some, ditching some over the side. In fact, I recall that one of her small books got thrown onto the shelf behind, narrowly avoiding landing on the eating party on the other side.) She just likes to play with the frog container as much as anything else, though.
Daisy and Uncle Matt had a bit of fun on returning home, the former munching on her plastic cheese sandwich, the latter crawling manically around the living room and sitting in the ball pool. (Yes, I got that right.)
There was mild panic in the Allen-Schofield household as the Hello Kitty toy, a crucial bedtime addition, went missing. As with most of Daisy's toys, the key is not to panic - it will turn up eventually; it's probably just been filed inventively. This time, it had somehow gotten behind the kitchen bin; presumably as a result of Daisy lobbing it over there in a fit of pique.
Daddy & Daisy day in mid-May, and we decide to get the crayons out. The handiwork visible is not of Daisy, alas - she doesn't quite know what to do with them on the initial go (or indeed the first few goes), not least because she seems to be distracted by the TV (in this instance - er, it's not usually on... cough).
She is a little bit distressed when Lynne leaves for Zumba, apparently going through a bit of a needy phase right now, so I decide to turn breakfast into a picnic, which does work to calm her down (and get her to eat things). Cream cheese on toast and blueberries is the order of the day. (Yes, they get everywhere.)
Again, Daisy finds it ultimately more enticing to play with the green food box.
My birthday gets all too much for Daisy as she shows her ballet-like flexibility. It's extremely safe to say that I cannot replicate this manoeuvre for love nor money. A trip to Chester Zoo had clearly tired her out.
The next morning, I take a photo of Daisy reading to get me through the first day back after a three-day weekend. In this photo, I do see a bit of me when I was younger. In the eyes mainly - I didn't have the Schofield pout.
Spotting dad through the landing railings before he (er, I) heads for work.
Uncle Matt pops round on the way to Prague (home of the stag don't, photos for which are still being, er, developed) and needs no persuading to show us his artistic skills. Daisy looks on (as yet unable to take notes).
Whilst I'm in Prague, Granddad Graham is on pram duties, with both parties all wrapped up. (It seems odd to write this just a week later when the country is experiencing temperatures in the mid-20s.)
Whilst I was away in Prague, this was sent to me so I knew what I was missing (unfortunately, it didn't arrive until I returned - presumably because multimedia messages weren't enabled for pan-European sending, er maybe). Lynne somehow also managed to get her to do a bit of a sad face ("miss you, Daddy" or something - apparently she was saying "dada" a lot, although it is one of roughly 'only' four words she can say - "mama", "hi" and "bye" being the others).
Late addition for this picture of Daisy donning my shades.
A joyous picture for quite late in the evening. Man, she can do some impossible looking poses.
I decided to take the day off the next day since (a) Lynne was ill with a heavy cold and (b) it was ruddy glorious outside. Daisy, like her mum, is not a sun lover and loved the cooling effect of a bit of fine water mist spray, as is demonstrated here. Sometimes the weather is such that a vest is all that's needed. (And a nappy. Always a nappy.)
When it's summer it's time to get out the summer dresses. And the crayons again. Just a week later and she is getting better at using them. She can now draw the odd curve, hopefully not ending up on the carpet, and she seems less insistent on trying to chew the crayons. (The benefit of her eating anything has its drawbacks.)
In fact, the last couple of weeks or so have seen a spurt in her development. She's added another couple of words ("den" meaning again and, ominously, "no" with the added bonus of a shake of her head). She has suddenly started nailing her puzzles with not particularly much further guidance. Previously she would get one or two by trial and error, but now she can complete the numbers puzzle quite quickly, although she is best at the Disney one (naturally). (I can tell in this shot that the 8 is upside down, but she soon rectifies it.) We're not sure whether she recognises the shapes or has memorised the order. Presumably the former. Nine and six are the main trouble causers here (who invented those numbers!?).
She has also started drinking properly out of her beaker, and not just sipping gently but draining it (a sign of the thirst-making weather on top of her developed skills). Until recently, she would just fling it on the floor. (Annoyingly, I managed to accidentally delete a good photo of drinking from her beaker during today's visit of Heaton Park - I will get another.) Here is some more puzzle action - in goes the tractor.
But, on top of all that, the best thing that she has done is to ... [wait for it]
...stand up! At the grand old age of nearly 15 months, and having previously shown no interest whatsoever, she decided yesterday (26th May) to stand up, pretty much unprompted. (Lynne's hand is protection rather than help.) Because she just felt like it. She was possibly sick of people asking whether she was standing or walking yet and thought she should get a move on to shut them up.
Daisy's tactic is to heave herself up, stand in an uneven fashion (she's not yet managed to plant her legs sturdily), look really pleased with herself, then fall back down onto her nappied backside and applaud. Rinse and repeat. She has started to do it quite a lot, with the requisite assistance provided by a settee. When her legs are fully stretched, she is actually quite tall. We're so used to seeing her high speed crawl (and it is very fast now) that we don't have an accurate feel for her true height.
Well, that's the end of this bumper pack. I'm going to need a new page soon.
Ok, there's just about enough room to finish off the rest of this segment of her life (12 to 15 months). Daisy's diet puts ours to shame - she loves fruit and veg, here munching on some well-lined-up raspberries.
She has now got the hang of crayoning. This is the first drawing that is all her own work (initially, we had to take the lead; latterly, she insists that we contribute with each crayon she uses), so Lynne decided to put it up on the fridge. Just a week later and she is able to do quite tight spirals.
After I got back from taking part in the Great Manchester Cycle with Matt, the twins came round to visit and it was a nice enough day (amidst a period of awful weather) to head out into the garden. Here, Ellie and Daisy look on as Suze and Lynne blow them bubbles.
By now, the twins are potty trained (unless protesting), so it may be that Ellie is heading for some potty usage; or else she is throwing a strop because she hasn't got a working bubble thrower. Either way, Daisy and Evie seem like they don't know where to look. Ellie's mood later improved due to some cathartic plant watering, which Evie joined in with. Some say I was employing child labour, but in fact it was quite an effort to maintain filled watering jugs for them, especially after 30 miles in the saddle.
Evie and Daisy put on their bestest camera poses - Evie's taut grin being the pick; Daisy is content to let her MC Hammer pants do the talking.
Some more fun in the garden, but this photo is most notable for the "we are the management" stances of Lynne and Suze.
Of course, once you've blown a load of bubbles, you have to pop them all. They are, simply, the rules.
I messed up getting a photo of Daisy drinking in Heaton Park so this is to make up for it. When she's thirsty, she really goes for it. You can tell when she wants no more water as she flings it with a flick of the right hand, although we're gradually trying to get her to hand it over to one of us instead. She already has a bit of a determined streak (no idea where she could have got it from - neither Lynne or I are likely candidates...) and booming "naughty girl!" at her just results in a defiant stare in return.
And finally, some more ball pool action, which the twins loved (I think that's Evie's backside since she was the one carrying the life-sized dog around). At one point, all three were in there and we had a job making sure that there weren't any accidents as they all clambered over each other. (Well, the twins can look after themselves; we just had to make sure Daisy didn't get stood on, basically.)
Well, that's it. The last three months have flown by and have seen some real development in Daisy. She is clearly soaking a lot up and has great recognition of a number of animals, body parts, numbers, foodstuffs and household items. She probably has a whole raft of words in her waiting to get out - she has most of the sounds - but she hasn't yet strung it together yet and is still operating with a mere handful. And she has expressed no further interest in standing, let alone walking. The message is clear: it's not for her. Or rather, she'll do it when she wants to and not a moment sooner.
Here's to the next chapter.