Here are just couple I was able to record, although these are not her "best work". The best ones, I've found, are never when the camera is close by. Sigh...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Live and in action
Since I posted my last Daisy Digest, I've been making a concerted effort to try and capture those fun or special moments on video.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Daisy Digest: Week of April 19, 2010
Lessons Mama has learned this week...
Don't bother dressing her nice
In a grassy space the size of a football field....
Daisy will always find the patch of dirt.
We all start off with two left feet
Daisy will always find the patch of dirt.
We all start off with two left feet
We won't be performing any ballet moves just yet but we're getting our groove-thang on, step by step.
Daisy is beginning to feel the beat now, marching in circles and swinging her arms until she falls over.
Yes, I know, video would be helpful here but the moment is always gone by the time I reach for the darn thing. I'll keep trying.
A little narcissism never hurt anyone
Using the bath crayons she got for her birthday, we wrote Daisy's name on the tiles around the bath about two weeks ago. And then we forgot about it.
Imagine our surprise when she pointed to the word during bath one night and said her name. Hubby and I looked at one another with that now all-too-familiar Did you just hear what I thought I heard? face and then immediately dismissed it as a fluke. Then she did it two more times. Then, just to be sure, we asked her where the word "Daisy" was and she pointed to it again.
That's either one hell of a fluke or she actually recognizes Mumma's rotten scribble as her name! Dang, this kid is smart.
We're also noticing that Daisy understands a lot more than she can say or, obviously, read. Our favorite example of this is after bath when she is running around her nursery right after we have put her PJs on. She looks down at whatever outfit I have chosen for the evening critically and then we say "Where is Daisy in the mirror?" and she will run off to the mirror behind her door to stare at herself. First she will look herself up-and-down and then she will smile a toothy grin. Then she will laugh, kiss herself and turn sideways to look at herself from all angles. Sometimes she even admires her round belly, smacking it with both hands, like a gorilla in the jungle.
Again, I need video of this. Seems I need to start moving on to moving pictures since the still ones just don't cut it sometimes.
Body parts are fun
This evening she pulled down her onesie to review her nipples, which resulted in a hilarious comparison between Daddy's hairy nipples and Daisy's. Then, of course, she noticed his belly button. Much top lifting ensued. Hopefully she won't be trying to flash everyone she meets from hereon out.
Just as she loves to pull at my big-ole nose as if it's a lever, she has now begun to do the same to herself, although she rightfully pulls faces whenever she accidentally scratches herself with those baby talons. Exactly! is my thought on that. Coupled with this, she has begun to crinkle her nose for no particular reason, resulting in amusing little faces like this...
Although I'm typically the kind of person who likes to be off doing things, adventuring, and pushing boundaries, every now and again I like to kick-back and enjoy a weekend just palling around with my two favorite peeps - Daisy and Daddy.
Since Daddy only gets one day off a week, we have to pack all our family time into Sunday. We've found the day is usually the best whenever we don't try too hard or make too many plans.
Today we got up and went to the park, came home and tidied the bedrooms while Daisy flew around, and then went up to Grammie's for the afternoon. Mummy also fit in a baby shower while Daddy and Daisy drank milkshakes at the Little League Field.
A good Sunday.
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Daisy Digest: Week of April 12, 2010
Daisy is a little girl now.
This occurred to me as I was looking at her from behind one evening this week. She was standing, looking out the front window with her hands clasped behind her back and saying "Caaa! Caaa! Caaa!" which, in Daisy speak, means any kind of automobile (trucks and SUVs included.)
Her hair has started to get longer now and there are whispy, curly bits around her ears and neckline. I think she's going to have hair like I did as a toddler - golden blonde and curly. I plan to not cut it for as long as I can. When my mum cut mind it went straight and mousy brown. Blech!
After watching her try to sit on all her toys this past week (and often falling and crying in frustration), I finally gave in and asked my mum for one of the brightly colored, leather, toddler armchairs that she has had sitting at her house since before Daisy was born. My dad took off the wooden rockers on the base of the yellow one and it now graces our living room. Of course, I love that it's yellow. Plus, Daisy can say "allow" for "yellow"... when she feels like it, of course.
In reality, like everything else, the chair is a 5 second wonder. She climbs on it, gets settled, pauses and climbs off. Then she walks away, turns back and does it all again. Sometimes the repetitive nature of child play is mind-numbing and sometimes it's plain cute. This falls into the plain cute department.
Bottles and formula are now history in our house. Hallelujah! I cut them out of her world on the Monday after she turned one and, although it hasn't been smooth sailing all the way, the transition hasn't been too tough. The hardest bottle to eliminate was the morning one, since she would wake up and guzzle down eight ounces without a break. We offer her a sippy cup of milk but, ultimately, it doesn't have the same soothing effect as her bottle: she ignores it for the first twenty minutes while she mourns the absence of what she really wants, and then finally gives in and drinks it anyway (although only about 3-4 ounces). It has nothing to do with the milk we've realized - we've done cold and warm and she does eventually drink it - it's really just about the nipple.
All of this has brought breakfast time forward. Without the extra 4 ounces of formula, she gets hungrier much earlier, so now I have to hustle pancakes at 7:15 vs. 7:30-7:45. That 15-30 minutes makes all the difference; time for the caffeine in my morning cup of Joe to register! Yet, I'll take this as a trade-off against washing, sterilizing, and drying bottles and nipples and paying the wopping $20 per can of formula (or $80-$100 a month.) This weekend I'm moving the nipple rack into the pile of items for our summer garage sale, which is sorely needed based upon all the clothes, toys, and other baby gear we've relegated to the garage in the last few months. As if our garage wasn't jam-packed enough as it was!
I was considering adding binkie elimination to our list of "big girl" transitions but I'm on the fence about that one. Although we only let her have the binkie during daytime naps and as a last resort in the car, there have been times in this last week where she was teething so bad that the only thing that would stop her from standing in the middle of the room and screaming, was the damned binkie.
It still amazes me how a baby's world can 180 based upon a piece of rubber in their mouth - I mean, nothing changed, right? - but I have come to accept that the thing has it's uses and that I'm not exactly ready to deal with the consequences of not having it as a crutch right now. Let's face it, even when we do eventually take it away, she will still get upset and cry, all that really changes is our ability to turn off the volume. So, the transition, I've come to the conclusion is really more for us adults and I'm not there yet.
I've heard good stories about moms that wait until their kids are older and can understand words, then they attach their kids' binkies to a helium balloon and have a big send-off ceremony for the binkies. I like the idea but am kind of worried about how long it will be before she will have the capacity to understand that kind of effort. When I was in Montego Bay airport recently, strolling through the zig-zaggy passport control line, I cringed at seeing a young girl, probably the age of 3 or 4, sitting in her stroller with a pacifier in her mouth. I don't want that to be Daisy. So, I'm still thinking about the timing on this one... all I know is, I don't think it's right now.
Of course, as a dose of reality, this time last year I was worrying about my breast-milk supply, how to get more than 2.5 hours of sleep at a time, TMJ, and the possibility that Daisy might be tongue-tied. So, all in all, I'm liking what this year brings much better and the decision on whether to postpone the binkie funeral is really not that big of a deal in contrast.
(As a further jolt of reality, this time in '08, I was dealing with my then-puppy, Maggie, eating everything in sight: http://britishrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/destructojaws-likes-hot-sauce.html. There goes another period in time I have no desire to re-live. Depressingly, however, I did find this post from April '07 which underscores just how much life has changed in 3 years: http://britishrants.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-weekend-dichotomy-of-days.html and makes me want to jump in the car and head off to the city this weekend - if only I had time!)
This occurred to me as I was looking at her from behind one evening this week. She was standing, looking out the front window with her hands clasped behind her back and saying "Caaa! Caaa! Caaa!" which, in Daisy speak, means any kind of automobile (trucks and SUVs included.)
Her hair has started to get longer now and there are whispy, curly bits around her ears and neckline. I think she's going to have hair like I did as a toddler - golden blonde and curly. I plan to not cut it for as long as I can. When my mum cut mind it went straight and mousy brown. Blech!
After watching her try to sit on all her toys this past week (and often falling and crying in frustration), I finally gave in and asked my mum for one of the brightly colored, leather, toddler armchairs that she has had sitting at her house since before Daisy was born. My dad took off the wooden rockers on the base of the yellow one and it now graces our living room. Of course, I love that it's yellow. Plus, Daisy can say "allow" for "yellow"... when she feels like it, of course.
In reality, like everything else, the chair is a 5 second wonder. She climbs on it, gets settled, pauses and climbs off. Then she walks away, turns back and does it all again. Sometimes the repetitive nature of child play is mind-numbing and sometimes it's plain cute. This falls into the plain cute department.
Bottles and formula are now history in our house. Hallelujah! I cut them out of her world on the Monday after she turned one and, although it hasn't been smooth sailing all the way, the transition hasn't been too tough. The hardest bottle to eliminate was the morning one, since she would wake up and guzzle down eight ounces without a break. We offer her a sippy cup of milk but, ultimately, it doesn't have the same soothing effect as her bottle: she ignores it for the first twenty minutes while she mourns the absence of what she really wants, and then finally gives in and drinks it anyway (although only about 3-4 ounces). It has nothing to do with the milk we've realized - we've done cold and warm and she does eventually drink it - it's really just about the nipple.
All of this has brought breakfast time forward. Without the extra 4 ounces of formula, she gets hungrier much earlier, so now I have to hustle pancakes at 7:15 vs. 7:30-7:45. That 15-30 minutes makes all the difference; time for the caffeine in my morning cup of Joe to register! Yet, I'll take this as a trade-off against washing, sterilizing, and drying bottles and nipples and paying the wopping $20 per can of formula (or $80-$100 a month.) This weekend I'm moving the nipple rack into the pile of items for our summer garage sale, which is sorely needed based upon all the clothes, toys, and other baby gear we've relegated to the garage in the last few months. As if our garage wasn't jam-packed enough as it was!
I was considering adding binkie elimination to our list of "big girl" transitions but I'm on the fence about that one. Although we only let her have the binkie during daytime naps and as a last resort in the car, there have been times in this last week where she was teething so bad that the only thing that would stop her from standing in the middle of the room and screaming, was the damned binkie.
It still amazes me how a baby's world can 180 based upon a piece of rubber in their mouth - I mean, nothing changed, right? - but I have come to accept that the thing has it's uses and that I'm not exactly ready to deal with the consequences of not having it as a crutch right now. Let's face it, even when we do eventually take it away, she will still get upset and cry, all that really changes is our ability to turn off the volume. So, the transition, I've come to the conclusion is really more for us adults and I'm not there yet.
I've heard good stories about moms that wait until their kids are older and can understand words, then they attach their kids' binkies to a helium balloon and have a big send-off ceremony for the binkies. I like the idea but am kind of worried about how long it will be before she will have the capacity to understand that kind of effort. When I was in Montego Bay airport recently, strolling through the zig-zaggy passport control line, I cringed at seeing a young girl, probably the age of 3 or 4, sitting in her stroller with a pacifier in her mouth. I don't want that to be Daisy. So, I'm still thinking about the timing on this one... all I know is, I don't think it's right now.
Of course, as a dose of reality, this time last year I was worrying about my breast-milk supply, how to get more than 2.5 hours of sleep at a time, TMJ, and the possibility that Daisy might be tongue-tied. So, all in all, I'm liking what this year brings much better and the decision on whether to postpone the binkie funeral is really not that big of a deal in contrast.
(As a further jolt of reality, this time in '08, I was dealing with my then-puppy, Maggie, eating everything in sight: http://britishrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/destructojaws-likes-hot-sauce.html. There goes another period in time I have no desire to re-live. Depressingly, however, I did find this post from April '07 which underscores just how much life has changed in 3 years: http://britishrants.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-weekend-dichotomy-of-days.html and makes me want to jump in the car and head off to the city this weekend - if only I had time!)
Monday, April 12, 2010
Daisy's first trip to the dentist
Today was Daisy's first trip to the dentist and, of course, because it's ME/us, there was drama.
I should begin by explaining that I, too, was looking for a new dentist. In the process, I found a lady dentist about five miles from my house, that treats both adults and children. I saw some great reviews for her online so, I thought, score!, a dentist for the whole family. I called, confirmed they would take a one year old and made our appointment for this afternoon.
I should have known things were not going to go well when she was ready for a nap right as I was due to put her in the car. Of course, just as we pulled into the parking lot of the medical center, I looked back to see the binkie falling out of her mouth as she disappeared into dreamland. Awesome.
This meant I had to wake her up and pull her into the cold, wet weather, balancing the diaper bag, an umbrella and a wriggly, tired one year old on my aching hip (which doesn't like the rain either.). Then, as I was standing in front of the schematic of the facility, trying to figure out which building the surgery was in, the heavens quite literally opened. It was if someone took the top off a salt shaker and just let the salt dump out in one big avalanche. I had no other choice but to run for some kind of shelter. Just getting to a covered area, the back of my jeans, from knee to ankle, got completely drenched, as did the diaper bag and everything in it. Even my cell phone, in my coat pocket, got wet as the rain drove down into it. That left me and my wriggly one year old in a deserted atrium area, with no clue where to go, waiting for a biblical torrent of rain to pass. I was seriously expecting to see Noah and his Ark float by, it was so bad. The worst rain downpour I can remember being out in for a long, long time. Sheesh.
Finally, after several minutes, lots of nursery rhyme singing, and several attempts to save the binkie from running down the drain, the rain started to let up and I was able to locate the right suite. I reached for the door handle and... it was locked! I looked at my watch. It was 1:55pm and my appointment was at 2pm. The receptionist had asked me to arrive fifteen minutes early to complete paperwork and so I was, by her standards, ten minutes late. Which left the question of why the door was locked and where the hell was everyone!? It was still raining, of course, and so I angrily pulled and pulled on the door until someone came to open it up. WTH!? Turns out they had been at lunch from 1pm to 2pm. So why schedule a new patient at 2pm when I needed to be there early to complete paperwork? Argh!
Things seemed to get better from there. Daisy happily played with the toy box while I filled out the endless clipboard of forms asking for the same information over and over again (what is up with that and medical forms!? The redundancy is maddening!) Then, ten minutes later, after the receptionist had managed to draaaaaag herself back to her position from her food coma and look-over what I had submitted, she asked me what I planned to do with my daughter while I had my x-rays taken because she couldn't be in the room at the same time.
Um.... excuse me?
Long story short, they had booked an appointment for both of us at the same time. Yup, that's right - they actually thought it would be possible for me to hold onto a one year old while I was getting x-rays and a dental exam! And these people treat kids routinely?!
I gravely informed them that (a) I had understood over the phone that the appointment would be for my daughter, even though I myself would be registering at the same time and (b) it was a complete and utter physical impossibility for my daughter to "hang out" while I layed back and let the dentist poke around my mouth. The food-coma receptionist seemed a little miffed and put out, as if the misunderstanding was my fault (I am in no doubt that it was not) and then seemed to get quiet and even sulk a little. Wow.
Meanwhile, Daisy had emptied out an entire tupperware of magnetic numbers and letters, had strewn them across the waiting room floor and had already moved onto the magazine rack (ack - germs!) where she was ripping apart a copy of People Magazine. Thank God the waiting room was empty, although I was constantly freaking out that someone would come through the front door right as she was racing blindly toward it at full pelt.
Trying to tidy up, my nose caught wiff of the dreaded stench of poo. Great. She'd pooped. Off to the restroom we went where there were no diaper changing facilities, leaving me to wrangle Ms. Back-Arching-Kick-Boxer and a rolling poop nugget on the floor. Delightful.
Back into the waiting room we went. It was now 2:20pm. Given that there was nobody else in the waiting room and everyone had just returned from lunch, I was beginning to wonder if we were on Jamaican time. (I wish.)
At 2:25pm we got called into the room by the nurse who told me to sit on the exam chair with Daisy, which I did while she fiddled with some monitor. Then she said, "The doctor will be with you in a few minutes."
Again, I say WTH!? You took me out of a large, open waiting room with toys and plonked me in a 10x10 space with tons of large equipment, expecting me to keep a one year old happily entertained on my lap? And you treat children regularly? Seriously!?
It's times like these that I am incredibly thankful for my smart phone. Pictures of Daisy, pictures of her friend, Mackenzie, the game Bubble Burst, and texts to Daddy are a saviour when you have to entertain your kid in a confined space for a few minutes.
Fortunately, the dentist came in only thirty seconds later. She was very nice, by the way, although that didn't stop Daisy from having a full-on, back-arching, fist waving, leg kicking fit on my lap as we tried to lay back together on the table for her examination. She managed to lift the entire bottom half of her body off of me in the process and clawed at the poor dentist's mask in protest.
Despite this, the dentist was able to determine that there was no calcification on her four existing teeth and that two new teeth were on their way through on either side of her top two. Hopefully this explains the somewhat increased crankiness over the last week, although this could also be a result of us completely eliminating her bottle. (We cold-turkeyed because mama doesn't know any other way to do things. All or nothing, baby!)
And thus ended our first dental visit. Twenty minutes there, ten minutes in a torrential downpour, ten minutes completing paperwork, a further fifteen minutes of waiting idly and, perhaps, 90 seconds in the chair. I was exhausted.
In case you're wondering, I was not able to pull-off a houdini trick with my smartphone and capture a picture of any of this. Next time I will be taking Nan, who will probably sing the whole way through it but, what the heck, if it means I don't break out in a cold sweat, it will be worth it.
I should begin by explaining that I, too, was looking for a new dentist. In the process, I found a lady dentist about five miles from my house, that treats both adults and children. I saw some great reviews for her online so, I thought, score!, a dentist for the whole family. I called, confirmed they would take a one year old and made our appointment for this afternoon.
I should have known things were not going to go well when she was ready for a nap right as I was due to put her in the car. Of course, just as we pulled into the parking lot of the medical center, I looked back to see the binkie falling out of her mouth as she disappeared into dreamland. Awesome.
This meant I had to wake her up and pull her into the cold, wet weather, balancing the diaper bag, an umbrella and a wriggly, tired one year old on my aching hip (which doesn't like the rain either.). Then, as I was standing in front of the schematic of the facility, trying to figure out which building the surgery was in, the heavens quite literally opened. It was if someone took the top off a salt shaker and just let the salt dump out in one big avalanche. I had no other choice but to run for some kind of shelter. Just getting to a covered area, the back of my jeans, from knee to ankle, got completely drenched, as did the diaper bag and everything in it. Even my cell phone, in my coat pocket, got wet as the rain drove down into it. That left me and my wriggly one year old in a deserted atrium area, with no clue where to go, waiting for a biblical torrent of rain to pass. I was seriously expecting to see Noah and his Ark float by, it was so bad. The worst rain downpour I can remember being out in for a long, long time. Sheesh.
Finally, after several minutes, lots of nursery rhyme singing, and several attempts to save the binkie from running down the drain, the rain started to let up and I was able to locate the right suite. I reached for the door handle and... it was locked! I looked at my watch. It was 1:55pm and my appointment was at 2pm. The receptionist had asked me to arrive fifteen minutes early to complete paperwork and so I was, by her standards, ten minutes late. Which left the question of why the door was locked and where the hell was everyone!? It was still raining, of course, and so I angrily pulled and pulled on the door until someone came to open it up. WTH!? Turns out they had been at lunch from 1pm to 2pm. So why schedule a new patient at 2pm when I needed to be there early to complete paperwork? Argh!
Things seemed to get better from there. Daisy happily played with the toy box while I filled out the endless clipboard of forms asking for the same information over and over again (what is up with that and medical forms!? The redundancy is maddening!) Then, ten minutes later, after the receptionist had managed to draaaaaag herself back to her position from her food coma and look-over what I had submitted, she asked me what I planned to do with my daughter while I had my x-rays taken because she couldn't be in the room at the same time.
Um.... excuse me?
Long story short, they had booked an appointment for both of us at the same time. Yup, that's right - they actually thought it would be possible for me to hold onto a one year old while I was getting x-rays and a dental exam! And these people treat kids routinely?!
I gravely informed them that (a) I had understood over the phone that the appointment would be for my daughter, even though I myself would be registering at the same time and (b) it was a complete and utter physical impossibility for my daughter to "hang out" while I layed back and let the dentist poke around my mouth. The food-coma receptionist seemed a little miffed and put out, as if the misunderstanding was my fault (I am in no doubt that it was not) and then seemed to get quiet and even sulk a little. Wow.
Meanwhile, Daisy had emptied out an entire tupperware of magnetic numbers and letters, had strewn them across the waiting room floor and had already moved onto the magazine rack (ack - germs!) where she was ripping apart a copy of People Magazine. Thank God the waiting room was empty, although I was constantly freaking out that someone would come through the front door right as she was racing blindly toward it at full pelt.
Trying to tidy up, my nose caught wiff of the dreaded stench of poo. Great. She'd pooped. Off to the restroom we went where there were no diaper changing facilities, leaving me to wrangle Ms. Back-Arching-Kick-Boxer and a rolling poop nugget on the floor. Delightful.
Back into the waiting room we went. It was now 2:20pm. Given that there was nobody else in the waiting room and everyone had just returned from lunch, I was beginning to wonder if we were on Jamaican time. (I wish.)
At 2:25pm we got called into the room by the nurse who told me to sit on the exam chair with Daisy, which I did while she fiddled with some monitor. Then she said, "The doctor will be with you in a few minutes."
Again, I say WTH!? You took me out of a large, open waiting room with toys and plonked me in a 10x10 space with tons of large equipment, expecting me to keep a one year old happily entertained on my lap? And you treat children regularly? Seriously!?
It's times like these that I am incredibly thankful for my smart phone. Pictures of Daisy, pictures of her friend, Mackenzie, the game Bubble Burst, and texts to Daddy are a saviour when you have to entertain your kid in a confined space for a few minutes.
Fortunately, the dentist came in only thirty seconds later. She was very nice, by the way, although that didn't stop Daisy from having a full-on, back-arching, fist waving, leg kicking fit on my lap as we tried to lay back together on the table for her examination. She managed to lift the entire bottom half of her body off of me in the process and clawed at the poor dentist's mask in protest.
Despite this, the dentist was able to determine that there was no calcification on her four existing teeth and that two new teeth were on their way through on either side of her top two. Hopefully this explains the somewhat increased crankiness over the last week, although this could also be a result of us completely eliminating her bottle. (We cold-turkeyed because mama doesn't know any other way to do things. All or nothing, baby!)
And thus ended our first dental visit. Twenty minutes there, ten minutes in a torrential downpour, ten minutes completing paperwork, a further fifteen minutes of waiting idly and, perhaps, 90 seconds in the chair. I was exhausted.
In case you're wondering, I was not able to pull-off a houdini trick with my smartphone and capture a picture of any of this. Next time I will be taking Nan, who will probably sing the whole way through it but, what the heck, if it means I don't break out in a cold sweat, it will be worth it.
Grandad got his wish.
Despite the dreary, rainy weather, we went for ice cream yesterday. As you can see, we didn't do it by halves. We took the pediatrician's advice quite literally - "she can eat anything you eat now!"
And no, we didn't just let her dive in, despite what this picture suggests.
Daisy's first ice cream experience was successful and fairly uneventful, although Hubby and I both left with incredibly grumbly tummies and cramps for the rest of the afternoon. The jury is still out on Daisy's reaction: she only had one short nap yesterday, which could explain yesterday evening and this morning's tiredness and crankiness OR it could be that she too had an upset stomach as a result of her first ice cream sundae.
This, by the way, was her initial reaction to her first spoonful.
She warmed up to it, however, greatly pleasing her Grandad who waited a whole year for that moment. Well, Dad, I hope you're happy. I, for one, will be returning to frozen yogurt this summer.
And no, we didn't just let her dive in, despite what this picture suggests.
Daisy's first ice cream experience was successful and fairly uneventful, although Hubby and I both left with incredibly grumbly tummies and cramps for the rest of the afternoon. The jury is still out on Daisy's reaction: she only had one short nap yesterday, which could explain yesterday evening and this morning's tiredness and crankiness OR it could be that she too had an upset stomach as a result of her first ice cream sundae.
This, by the way, was her initial reaction to her first spoonful.
She warmed up to it, however, greatly pleasing her Grandad who waited a whole year for that moment. Well, Dad, I hope you're happy. I, for one, will be returning to frozen yogurt this summer.
Friday, April 9, 2010
12 month stats
When Ms. Daisy was born, she was in the 75th percentile for pretty much everything - weight, height etc... Since then, she has sat squarely in the middle of average, keeping a steady 50th percentile in both measurements.
Until she started crawling...
Since Daisy became active she has barely gained more than a pound and is now only 25th percentile for weight. She was 18lbs at her 9 month check-up and only 19.3lbs at yesterday's 12 month physical. We just can't break that 20lb mark!
She measures 29 inches, which keeps her in the 50th percentile for height - and which just makes me shake my head because everything 12 months in clothing is waaaaay too long for her. I think she's all body and no legs like her mama, poor thing! Head circumference is also 50th percentile.
Does it seem fair to you that she was her heaviest when she was INSIDE ME? I think NOT!
Her physical and verbal development is slightly ahead based upon those nebulous averages they measure her against, all with the exception of her teeth: she only has four (two top and two bottom) and most kids her age are supposed to have four up and down with some molars on their way. The doctor suspects that she will have a massive tooth-growing attack and get a bunch at once. Yup, can't wait for that. Sounds fun.
We got the all-clear to move off of formula and onto whole milk, which we did start last week but I pulled back on because we had some redness during diaper changes. Aparently this is normal - diet adjustments and reactions. Daisy is now taking whole milk from a sippy cup but the bottle in the morning and before bed is going to be hard to kick; she sucks both down at lightening speed and won't do the same with a sippy cup. I guess we've just got to push through that.
This all makes my dad ludicrously happy because it means he can share some ice cream with her. Since the day she was born he has wanted to give her ice cream. Don't ask me why but he's convinced it's going to be the most exciting culinary experience of her short life. Still stuck in "old school", he was a bit miffed when I told him that she couldn't have anything made from cows milk in the first year (kind of like how he was miffed that we had to bring her home from the hospital in a car seat. Ahem.) So, tonight the whole family will be dining at Leatherby's, an infamous family ice cream joint, where we will all no doubt eat too much ice cream and pay for it tomorrow.
Stay tuned...
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Overwhelmed with joy and love and sugar and gifts!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAISY MCDAID!
Today was quite possibly one of the best (and definitely proudest) days of my life. What am I talking about? It was definitely one of the best days of my life. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had THIS MUCH FUN. And it was all at a one year old's birthday party! Whodathunkit? Well, it was MY one year old's birthday party...
Our day started early because we were on a mission to be done with our nap at a certain time. So, bad parents that we are, we didn't place Daisy's binkie in her special spot where she can get it in the morning. This meant that we all got up at 6am instead of 7am. We all suffered. I guess this makes it better. Haha!
Then the craziness began.
I showered, Hubby showered. Hubby took off for Nan and Grandads to set-up and receive vendors. Meanwhile I set about wearing out Ms. Daisy so she would happily go down for a morning nap (instead of a mid-day nap, which would have meant no birthday girl for the party - yikes!) After a thirty minute walk, dancing and singing to her favorite video, and chasing her around the house on hands and knees for almost an hour, I succeeded in getting her down at 9:45am. (I was tempted to nap myself at this point but I had make-up to put on, clothes to change, and hair to style. Oy vey!)
11am was the start of the party and it came and went. Ahem. (Maybe too good of a job in wearing her out on my behalf?) At 11:15am I had to go in and open the curtains to wake Missy up. I felt bad but, hey, you can't miss your own first birthday party, right!?
When I drew up to my parent's house at about 11:20, I almost cried. I have been planning and envisioning this day for soooo long and spent all week worrying that all manner of things would go pear-shaped. So, when I saw the cars already parked outside, the party sign in the driveway, the balloons lining the pathway, and the Happy Birthday sign on the door, the relief and excitement flooded over me.
People were there! The balloons looked great! Hubby had executed my vision to the tee! I love him. We make a GREAT TEAM.
Party party!
The birthday girl's throne
Mimosas near the door. I know my friends well! ;o)
Daisies, daisies everywhere!
Of course, the decorations only set the stage. There were still other elements to turn a good party into a great one. We already addressed the alcohol...
GOOD FOOD
(Thanks Mum & Dad!)
ENTERTAINMENT
From bounce houses to a fairy that painted faces, hosted puppet-shows and got even the grown-ups playing with a massive parachute, there was no shortage of fun to be had. Oh, and there was also a little Easter Egg hunting going on in the background!
Eh, screw the hip. (Incidentally I DID NOT pay the next day. Hmmm...)
Parachute play.
So cool to see kids having so much fun! They bring such unabandoned joy into your life!
Katie getting her face painted by our AWESOME fairy, Melody.
Hand painting for missy who isn't into having ANYONE mess with ANYTHING on her precious little head.
I LOVE this shot, just as I love Noelle. I still remember her in her mommy's tummy. Crazy!
Puppet shows! Bunnies and turtles and parrots.
GREAT FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Parties, just like just about everything else in life, are "made" by good people. We are fortunate that so many people who are so important to us, were able to make it to Daisy's special day. It was even more special because of each and every one of them. I loved hanging out with everyone, as did Daisy, Daddy, and our hosts, Nanny and Grandad! Thanks everyone for coming and having (what I hope was) a good time!
(Apologies if I did not specifically include you below - there's only so much space and 450 photos!)
The McDaids and Tings.
My favorite mamas. Great women all.
Grammie and Daisy sharing a sweet moment.
My good friend Vickie whose own son is all growed up and quite the catch!
Our swim buddy, Kate, and her mama Beth.
CJ and her precious blessing, Maclay. Aparently the finger thing he inherrited from his mother. Haha!
My friend, Joy, and her son Gabriel. They both bring so much joy into my life, if you pardon the pun!
Aunty Linh (expecting baby #2 in the summer) and Daisy.
The Waterburys. Aparently Daisy is modeling her growth and development on Micah and, aparently, I'm IN FOR IT!
My good friend, Mala, with whom I like to enjoy long walks, tall drinks and lengthy bitch sessions.
Aunty Farrah, cousin Adah (3), and cousin Ezra whose first birthday was one week before.
Precious Madelyne and her mommy, Renee, also expecting her second, Malik, in May.
LOTS OF GIFTS!
Thank you everyone for your generosity. Oh, and for the toys that sing. We really, really appreciate those. (Ahem)
CAKE!
Mama made Daisy's own personal cupcake. Not bad if I say so myself. The plate I had made by a pro and I hope to bring it out every year for her birthday.
40 people singing happy birthday are behind this camera, which may explain the dazed and confused look on the birthday girl's face!
Not her first piece of cake but definitely her first frosting. I think we paid for it later with a little bit of gas and irritability. Pah! It's only your first birthday once!
My little party animal. If this doesn't look lke a good time, I don't know what does!
... even the weather managed to behave for us. It had rained the day before and the forecast all week had not looked hopeful but the sun actually managed to grace us with it's presence on-and-off!
Never has a party I have thrown gone-off so well. Everything cooperated: birthday girl, weather, people, vendors... As someone who used to work in special events, I know that only happens once in a blue moon, so I sure appreciated it.
In fact, the only thing that didn't seem to cooperate was Daisy's size. She was just a tad too small for her birthday dress, which I purchased a couple of months ago in a size 12 months. Little miss peanut is just a hair off a 12 month dress size right now and a bit too big for a 9 month. The dress actually fit better than the sweater and, had the weather been warmer, the overall effect would have been much better but it was too cold to run around outside in a sleeveless summer dress.
More importantly than perfection or my enjoyment (or, perhaps, as a major part of it) the birthday girl had an absolute BLAST. We worried about tantrums and being overwhelmed but we needn't have bothered. Forget the Easter Bunny - this was, after all, Ms. Social Bunny herself. No sooner did we put her on the ground out in the back yard and she started running around like a crazy girl.
Daisy had no compunctions about hanging with the big kids, bouncing up-and-down in the bounce house, running under (and over) parachutes, petting hand-puppet bunnies, letting our fairy paint her hand, and generally being the life and soul of her own party. She let relative strangers pick her up and say hi, she didn't cry when fourty people gathered around her and sang Happy Birthday, and she sat happily in her high-chair thereafter, stuffing sugary frosting and cake in her mouth, while Mama and Dada saw some guests out.
I love her. She is everything this mama could possibly have hoped for in a little girl and it was so cool that we all had just as much fun as one another!
As the party started to wind down, Hubby and I got a last burst of energy and took to the bounce house in celebration.
Nothing better than a one year old and 20 other kids under the age of 5 to help you reconnect with your inner-child. I don't remember feeling that alive and full of energy in a long time.
Later, when everyone else left, I got to bounce around some more with my friend, Joy, and her two kids, Gabriel and Noelle, singing Ring-A-Ring-A-Rosie. Joy was the first non-family member to hold Daisy after she was born - she actually walked into the recovery room with our parents - and so it felt fitting that she was the last person to leave our party. In some ways we are the unlikeliest of friends and yet that only makes our connection sweeter. As an only child, my friends are my siblngs and Joy is definitely a member of my extended family.
Clearly, I could go on-and-on about everything (and everyone) I loved on this day but this post wouldn't be complete without a shout-out to my parents who hosted this mega bash.
Thanks Mum and Dad for agreeing to host so I wouldn't need to spend my week off with Daisy scrubbing floors and toilets in preparation. Thank you for letting us leave you with most of the clean-up while we went home and lounged like lizards. Thank you for not batting an eyelid when I told you than 43 adults and 28 children had RSVP'd. Thank you for coralling Daisy so Hubby and I could mingle with our guests and sip mimosas. Thank you for treating our friends and their children like family. Thank you, thank you, thank you for a perfect day. We are so lucky to have you in our lives and down the street.
And with that, we move on to year #2 of Lazy Crazy Daisy's life. The story continues...
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