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

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

Daisy is becoming more and more aware of her body parts. This week she became familiar with her nose, her tongue, and her belly button. This means that she will run around the living room with her tongue out and with her top lifted up to expose her belly. (I'm tempted to buy beads!)

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...

Family time is best when you keep it simple

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.