Daisy Suzanne Allen

Born Sunday 6th March 2011

4¼ to 4½ years old

Her life:  4 to 4¼ years ♥ 4¼ to 4½ years ♥ 4½ to 4¾ years ♥ 4¾ to 5 years ♥ 5th birthday ♥ 5 to 5½ years ♥ 5½ to 6 years ♥ 6th birthday ♥ 6 to 6½ years ♥ 6½ to 7 years ♥ 7th birthday ♥ 7 to 7½ years ♥ 7½ to 8 years ♥ 8th birthday ♥ 8 to 8½ years ♥ 8½ to 9 years ♥ 9th birthday

In summary:  Index ♥ From birth to four years old ♥ Four years old to nine years old ♥ Nine years old onwards

Special features:  Golden Bear (reprise) ♥ More cookery

Having recently holidayed in South Lakeland, we got back to matters at hand, which was primarily to get drunk in the ball pool.  (For the record, we don't give our children any alcohol.  We haven't had cause to yet.  We just let them help themselves.)

So it's early June and there are some tentative signs of summer.  Daisy looks particularly summery as she leans out of the window for a pose, while Gregory looks on.

A week or so later and they look a bit frazzled in the warmth, or so it seems.  Daisy is ready for her next innings whilst Gregory has dutifully donned his whites.

The next day saw a trip to the Four Heatons Festival, where Daisy was one of not many joining in with some dancing.

But here she shared the pom-pom dancing with a number of other eager youngsters, as the diddi dance crew put on a show.

This was sent to me by Lynne whilst I was at work.  Daisy had managed to climb all the way up this climbing wall but was unable to get down.  With Lynne not quite tall enough to get her, it fell to the girls from next door, Alex and Tabby, who happened to be at the park too, to help her down, slowly but surely.  Tense times, I'm sure!

So it was no surprise to see Daisy downgrade to less scary rides...

...although in reality she was best suited to assisting, and encouraging, Gregory.

Early July saw a trip to Connor's birthday BBQ, but Daisy wasn't quite yet her normal self as she sulked in the corner of the bouncy castle.

But later she took the opportunity to take her frustrations out on a pinata.

Inside, she shuffled up to a boy on the sofa, interested in what he was doing.  Unfortunately, he was extremely preoccupied with the game he was playing.

Back to our own garden the next day, where daredevil Daisy leapt into the paddling pool.

Later in the week, we were lucky enough to have a (re)visit from local celebrity and general philanthropist, Golden Bear.

At the weekend, Daisy went for her first sleepover, at Waterdale Close.  I dropped her off and left her in the capable hands of Aunty Katie and Nana Sue.

They had set up the bed full of Disney toys, ready for her visit.  This would be her room for the night, although in the end I think Aunty Katie had to "sleep" next to her for much of the night.  It wasn't a settled one and they were tired the next morning.

For a brief period during mid-July, I made Daisy quite a few ice-cream sundaes, and this was an example, jazzed up with colourful sugary bits, chocolate and strawberry sauce.

I wouldn't say that the floor is clean enough to eat your dinner off, which is why the children have placed a picnic blanket down.  Also, the food is plastic.  But it's nice that they are playing.  It's before 8am and Gregory is dressed, which suggests nappy accident.  Daisy is in her fairy princess bedwear.  Or something like that.

One of Daisy's favourite pastimes during these months is to hurtle across the hallway, leg it into the lounge and leap into the ball pool.  Here is one of those times.  Really, though, with Daisy's health and safety record, it's not something we encourage.  Recipe for disaster and all that.

Daisy is clearly a natural with the rockstar look.

This is a typical pre-school breakfast scene (before crumb-giving foodstuffs got BANNED from the sofa by Lynne), as Daisy munches some sweet bread product (pancake or brioche or, later in the year, waffle).  The usual routine is that I get up at (approx) 7am (warning: can vary) with the two of them, given them warmed-up milk and something to eat for breakfast, change G's nappy, perhaps some tidying up of the night before's mess in the kitchen, and have my own breakfast (when I remember, although I never forget), before Lynne comes down having showered and dressed to enter the combat phase, i.e. where we get the kids ready for the school run.  There then follows a flurry of activity as they ready to leave the house, which may be preceded or sometimes followed by me finally managing to get off to work.

So this is the day when Daisy performed in her evening dance show, the culmination of Saturday morning dance lessons.  The theme was, er, creatures of the world (probably) and Daisy was dressed as a bee.  The show, featuring a number of different classes all performing different sections, was actually filmed (with multiple angles) by someone who vaguely knew what they were doing and there is a DVD of the action (available on request!).

Early August and it's Annabel's party, where the children all engaged in making their own pizza (and helping themselves to their own crisps), which gave some haphazard results but was a cracking idea to get them engaged.

Later that day, we headed down to Rookery Hall near Nantwich, for an anniversary and birthday extravaganza, as the Barlows celebrated the completion of 40 years of marriage in the year that they reached 60 and 65.  All very satisfying for lovers of round numbers and/or simple sums.  Daisy, pictured here looking absolutely ready for the occasion, Gregory and I were first to the bar (as much as anything else to give Lynne chance to get ready without being frequently disturbed, but the opportunity to get an early drink in is almost never turned down by yours truly).

Having been up to Scotland for our third and final (domestic family) holiday of the year, which involved driving around dusty farm lanes a lot, our car was definitely in need of a good clean.  Daisy was keen to blast it with water on a sunny day.

And later that day was clearly in her element as she ran round the garden, pushing a baby round in a pushchair.  Although the baby doesn't look to be in the comfiest, safest position.

Lynne headed out to meet a friend (Jessica) for lunch so I entertained Daisy (presumably while Gregory was asleep) with some fairy cake making.  Creating your own toppings (and occasionally helping yourself to those toppings) always beats the rest of the process - even eating the finished product.

A truly summery occasion, with the requisite slide, paddling pool, sunshade and, of course, swimming costumes.

The next day we headed down to Congleton for Imogen's 18th birthday party (how time flies, etc).  Daisy and Lily took a brief break from eating cake to check out Uncle Matt's pictures, although Matt looks a bit shifty in this one.  (Y'know, more so then usual.)

Talking of time flying, we end the fourth-and-a-half year of young Daisy Allen with a picture of her on the first morning of school proper.  Having spent a school year doing two and a half days a week at the nursery section of Broadstone Hall school, it's time for her to move up to the Reception level, which means five days a week, a different classroom and a brand new uniform, which she parades here.

Of course, the young rascal that she is, there's always a good chance of a cheeky pose.  (Here, as she teapots for our benefit, she holds her book bag, ready for the day's action.)

And after all that, it's time for a change of page: either the next in the sequence or back to the Secret Portal.