Daisy Suzanne Allen
Born Sunday 6th March 2011
5½ to 6 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
We start the next instalment with a part-lament, part-pop ditty, seemingly called 'good times'. I particularly like the 'ooh ooh' finale.
A fairly familiar scene: Daisy on her tablet, although she is using an uncommon way of charging - through my portable charger. This was presumably to keep her happy upon discovering that it was out of battery.
A trip to the nearby Woodbank Park to give Daisy an opportunity to open up the, er, throttle on her bike and Gregory a chance to run around chasing a football.
Anyway, as Daisy is 5 and a half, we're in September and that means starting her next year (Year 1) at school, to be taught by Mrs Healy. This is from her second week and she was perhaps posing because she had fancy pigtails ready for her school photo. Her actual first day at school was a bit too stressful to record for posterity - she is smiling sweetly here so let's go with this as her back to school look.
This, however, is her 'look what I just made, Dad' pose. This is actually the afternoon of the same day. I had returned early to work at home.
A trip to Waterdale the following weekend saw Daisy get ensconced with her Aunty Katie's Polly Pockets, which featured lots of very small characters, so right up her street basically.
They were both being quite grown-up at the dinner table, eating pasta for their tea.
Aha, here are those school pictures. Her hair has become ever so slightly more dishevelled since the earlier pose, but otherwise that's some reasonably natural smiling, just about showing off her missing tooth.
Whilst I was spending my Sunday morning battling with some Bolton hills whilst on my bike, Lynne took Daisy (and presumably Gregory, although my mum and sister did come round at some point so they may have looked after him) to Harriet's birthday party, which seemed to be some sort of sports day. When first seeing the picture on the left, I had assumed that this was some sort of three-legged race, but they are very much separate in the second photo. But still difficult to tell exactly what they are doing.
We move into October now and a Saturday lunchtime trip to the park, which currently features at least one gymnastics-style lift-up onto the high bar for Daisy to swing back and forth for a bit before dropping down, and then moving on to the obstacle course.
Whilst there, we bumped into one of Daisy's friends (Maeve) and her dad, who was riding this amazing vehicle, named Bullitt, in which Daisy was remarkably happy to jump and take a ride.
A creative way to produce a picture from our resident artist. My, ahem, beady eye spotted this and took a photo.
Some more creativity with an "into books we go" drawing. I'm not really sure what it is meant to represent, though (I shall have to ask her - in fact, she can't remember).
A moment of high drama but little action on the trampoline.
A trip to the cinema in mid-October to see Finding Dory.
The next weekend, we headed over to Suze and Rick's for the twins' 7th (7th!) birthday celebration. Daisy made sure she was close to the action. Y'know, in case any candles needed blowing out or cake needed eating. She's very helpful like that. We also see the first appearance of Daisy's bat wings.
The next day, the rest of the family headed up to Haddington during the half-term break for Jessica's first birthday and, on the Monday, they appeared to engage in some sort of scaring competition. We see Daisy's bat wings surface here too.
This is a great photo of the Allen-Schofield-Rowllings juniors: Gregory (2), Daisy (5), Becky (3) and Jessica (1).
This was from, as you might have guessed it, Hallowe'en. It was in fact at Rainbows, which Daisy had started a few weeks before. I'll have to be honest: it doesn't look like she has made a massive effort with the costume (which, as we can see, features yet another appearance of the bat wings), but then in the first few visits she didn't have the Rainbows uniform, so it's sort of in-keeping with that. She is actually, along with one of her well-hatted friends (Lucie, maybe?), receiving her Rainbow Promise certificate (which I can just about make out on the original photo as "I promise that I will do my best to think about my beliefs and to be kind and helpful". Doing ones best to think about ones beliefs is a bit of an odd concept really. I mean it's not even asking you to think about them - just to do your best to - and I can't imagine it's that clear for a child what their beliefs actually are, nor why it's better to think about them rather than, say, act in accordance with them. Maybe they set the beliefs out in a separate document for extra clarity, I don't know. But I totally support the other bit of the statement).
Daisy's maths skills are clearly improving, and she seems happy to think about sums of numbers which are bigger than she normally deals with. She's also clearly still obsessed with the Olympics given the GB reference.
It's Bonfire, er, Day and I'm not exactly clear why Daisy is dressing like a cat and stood in the leaves. Aunty Katie and Nana Sue were coming round for lunch so I don't know why we weren't inside eating it, but there you go. Daisy then went on to make Chocolate Rice Krispie Cake with Nana Sue but I will put that in the new Daisy cookery page.
And of course it was very soon Bonfire Night, as Daisy demonstrates with her poster.
The twins and entourage came round, which prompted Daisy to run faster than the camera could manage, whilst Gregory looks on. We had planned to go to the Hinds Head pub at the end of the road but beforehand we had some sparkler fun in the back garden...
...and I did a spread of hot dogs and burgers to fill up with. Plus there was beer and prosecco more or less on tap.
After a very patient wait for the fireworks as usual (this photo was taken at 8.30pm) - although to be fair they don't require any payment for attendance or entry (we did buy some drinks there but also brought our own) - but they didn't disappoint.
For her school homework, Daisy was required to write a poem about Bonfire Night with heavy use of the adjective, and here is her impressive effort.
An autumnal trip walk back from school with standard tomfoolery, accompanied by Matthew.
Lynne obviously felt happy enough with this double plaiting to take a photo of it. It's certainly way past my hairstyling skill level.
We're nearing the end of November and Daisy is proud to announce the wearing of the magical golden sweatshirt, something which apparently is worn each year at Broadstone Hall Primary School.
On Sunday, Daisy and Lynne headed into Manchester for a trip to the Christmas markets. Here, Daisy and Rosanna pose on a Metrolink tram.
Early in December and we inspect the greenhouse for any remaining life. It does like I have left the tomato plants in the greenhouse for a bit too long.
A week later and we head to Anna Newton's 2nd birthday party at the Heaton Moor Tennis Club. Daisy is moving too fast for the camera as Anna tries to climb aboard a ... well, not sure what exactly that animal is. Looks like a mixture between a pig and a horse, bizarrely. Probably meant to be a horse, though.
Here was the big cake moment for young Anna, watched on by parents Kerry and Dan. In the background, you can see the copious number of sausage rolls, something that all parties should feature.
We're approaching Christmas now and we have the fairly unusual situation of Daisy trying to be like me, wearing my coat and shoes. They are almost a perfect fit. Almost.
Later that day, Daisy and I were playing Mario Kart Wii and there were distinct signs of improvement from Daisy. This was her highest ever finish - 2nd behind me - and therefore worthy of note.
The next day, Lynne, Daisy and Gregory headed to Wilmslow garden centre with one of the NCT mums, Jo, with Eva and Finlay. It looks like there are donkeys in the background.
This was Daisy's last day at school before Christmas, unofficially anyway. I say unofficially because their last day at school was, ridiculously, the day before Christmas Eve this year. Since we were heading up to Haddington for Christmas, and did not fancy doing that on Christmas Eve (which was also a Saturday), we decided to make Daisy's last day in school for the year the 22nd. Luckily, and this was perhaps the school anticipating this sort of situation, it was party day on the 23rd, hence Daisy's party outfit.
We skip past Christmas to the day before New Year's Eve, and Daisy has been playing with one of her Christmas presents from Uncle Matt.
Daisy's Mario Kart Wii skills continued to grow. She now managed an overall 2nd finish (behind me again, but I have played it lots and lots). We decided that she should pose next to the TV this time.
On New Year's Eve, Daisy was happily playing with, and showcasing, another Christmas present, one where you draw in felt tip on a wipe-clean screen which can then light up. It tends to result in piles of used wet wipes and kitchen roll.
Out with the old and with the new as we move into 2017. I think I had sacrificed myself somewhat here - either that or I was severely hungover (I don't think I was) - but Daisy emerged the overall champion of a 3-race 50cc grand prix. It was her first overall win and another proud moment captured. Yet more improvement, and she was to get better still in the next few weeks. It wasn't long before she was winning every race, and not just on the Luigi Circuit, which she played to death at first because it's the easiest, but also on a number of other circuits. Now I just need to train up Gregory, who tends to drive into the wall then get bored and just watch, preferring to be a spectator.
From Daisy's perspective, though, it was not a good day overall: "ask my mum to play a game - worst new year's day ever". Daisy later saw this and protested that I shouldn't be reading such things (let alone publishing them on a website). Well, she shouldn't leave them lying around...
We decided that it might be a good idea to get some fresh air, so we headed down to Woodbank Park for some helmeted scooter action, although Gregory dragging it around rather than actually, y'know, scooting.
After a long Christmas break, the cold reality of returning to school was starting to hit home. Having officially broken up on Christmas Eve, they were going back on the ridiculously late date of Monday 9th January.
How to spend Saturday morning looking like a rock star in their pyjamas.
A random trip to Bella Italia in late January saw Daisy tucking into some ice-cream...
...and take a picture of me enjoying a sundae of some description (with a gigantic finger in the way and Gregory wearing a vest whilst watching (probably) Peppa Pig or Blaze And The Monster Machines on Lynne's phone).
The next day was Sophia's party at Run Of The Mill, a good default place for a party (we've been there for a few, including for Daisy's) since I can come along with Gregory (paying for his entry separately, although here he has been welcomed into the fold). Sophia sits on the standard party throne. The volume in RotM is somewhat ramped up, but it is just about manageable. Just try to avoid it when you have a hangover.
It's obviously look-a-bit-crazy-with-a-headband-on evening at Rainbows, or so it seems based on Daisy's and Maeve's poses. Gregory's mind is suitably boggled.
That will do for now.
And we're back, just in time for a visit to the Build-A-Bear workshop in the Trafford Centre in late January 2017, as a Christmas present from Nana Sue to both Daisy and Gregory. The display on the left shows just how many different options you have. I hovered back, mildly horrified.
She could perhaps show a bit more happiness having just got the pony (or whatever) of her dreams (possibly)...
...ah that's a bit better: happier now it's been stuffed.
Here's where the pony was given its, er, finishing touches by a member of staff as Nana Sue, Lynne and Aunty Katie looked on, and Gregory looked at his feet.
Early February and some neat character drawing from Daisy.
Here we have Lucas' birthday party at Run of the Mill (a popular location, as I'm sure you're picking up by now). Lucas is Gregory's friend but Daisy also had an invite.
Daisy is very happy to have the Olivia doll from Rainbows and is reading her a story. This definitely seems to be a thing: each child at school, Rainbows, nursery, etc. periodically gets a child to look after, perhaps to demonstrate their ability to, er, look after something (and show them a good time, since you are encouraged to keep an interesting diary).
Time for a ride around the block with Daisy leaning on one of her stabilisers.
We're mid-February and at the cinema. Lynne has brought Daisy (with Olivia) and Gregory to watch the film Trolls again (since they liked it so much). Apparently there was a long wait for the start of the film due to technical issues. But the children waited patiently.
A Mario Kart Wii scene here. What we can ascertain is that Daisy has (perhaps long since) completed the requisite three laps and is watching intently as Avis and Gregory slowly bump their way round the same course. A clear victory for Daisy then.
Slightly randomly, we were at Decathlon for Lynne to purchase some boxing gloves so Daisy and Gregory had a go on the running machines (thankfully not operational)...
...whilst Daisy then moved to one of the weight machines.
Cheeky chappess Daisy has presumably commandeered Jordan's flat cap, the ruddy northerner.
Seemingly proving the presence of Jordan above, here is a short vignette of Daisy's life, focussing on pizza toppings and (of course) her birthday.
Some exciting swing action, although hopefully not too exciting as it can oh-so-swiftly turn from excitement to fear.
Daisy as Tabby McTat (a musical cat invented, one presumes anyway, by the prolific Julia Donaldson) for World Book Day at school...
...including a tail. Impressive commitment to the cause.
And that's the end of her sixth year. Of course, it wouldn't be the end of a year without a birthday, so here that is for you to enjoy.
Back to the Secret Portal.