this could take all day

the video version

Week of Daisy ends today, on the BIG BIRTHDAY, with a video montage of her first year. It was fun having the video feature on our little camera this year. I'm no video editor, so there's no fancy transitions, fade-outs, or cool music to this one, but it is pretty fun to see her face in motion and hear her sweet little voice grow up this year.

Grab your kids, a bag of popcorn, and enjoy these 7 minutes. Daisy and I cuddled up together yesterday to watch and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

the slideshow

Tune in tomorrow for the video version!

12 fun Daisy facts

The Week of Daisy continues!

1. She knows how to sign "more," "milk," "all done," and "eat." But since we taught her "please," that's all she ever says anymore. Oh well, at least she's polite.

2. She loves to push her little tray table around the room like it's a walker. But hold her hands and try to help her take steps and she wants none of it.

3. When we play with blocks my job is to build towers for Daisy to tear down. That's all we ever do.

4. She loves to visit the animals around camp and will reach out to horses, goats, or the great dane with no fear.

5. Her favorite foods are most definitely grapes and bananas.

6. Her favorite activity is still pulling things off of shelves or out of cupboards and throwing them on the floor.

7. When she "dances" she bounces her legs and raises one arm up. It is hilarious.

8. When we say "let's pray" before dinner she clasps her hands together. And she's even been trying to say "amen" lately too.

9. She has started to hug her stuffed animals, and pat them a lot too.

10. She tries to "pounce" on TJ. She'll lay her head down on him, but he quickly hops away. She doesn't seem to care as she will lay on her stomach for a few seconds and happily kick her legs. And then she's off to try again.

11. She doesn't cry very often, but can really pour on the drama queen. Lately she cries when we try to change her diaper. I think it's mostly because she doesn't want to stop what she is doing and just lay there. And last night she cried in the dining hall when I told her no. The whole room turned around to offer their sympathy to her. Big, big girl tears. Drah-ma.

12. She is learning how to give us hugs and kisses. She'll make a kissing sound when you ask for a kiss, and has slowly come around to putting her lips on yours. Although most often a kiss from her is wide-open-mouthed. It gets a little slimey.

She is growing more and more delightful every day.

Week By Week

So my intention when I started taking weekly photos of Daisy was to make a mini-book with those shots and the notes I wrote about her development week to week. And then I started sharing them here, and that was fun. And then I thought I should make a little video so you can see in 1 minute how much she's grown this year.

Darin asked me why I had to put it to sad music. It wasn't intentional, but it does make it a little more bittersweet.

Enjoy today's celebration!

remembering how it all began

If you're all nostlagic like I am, you are welcome to take some time today and read through our birth story.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Down "belly" lane

A few weeks ago I was hanging out with my sister when she asked me about the experience of being pregnant. "Honestly," I told her. "It was hard. But I really had no idea how big I was."

"Yeah," she said. "You were huge. But we weren't going to tell you."

That family of mine was pretty smart.

Truthfully, I didn't know how big I'd grown until after I gave birth and saw pictures. There were a lot of things that should have clued me in: the cankles, the numb fingers, the back pain, the (what? no!) number on the scale. I guess I just thought all pregnant women got this big.

Being pregnant was full of ups and downs. But it is an experience I am so thankful for.

Here's some journaling from a page I made during my maternity leave. I wrote this to Daisy in hopes of explaining it all.

"Waiting to meet you was so hard. The first trimester I was nauseous all the time and couldn't handle the smell of garlic or anything frying. I practically lived on toast and orange juice. The second trimester I was tired all the time and feeling chubby. I was battling a pain in my back every time I sat down. By the third trimester I could only fit into size large maternity shirts and two pairs of my shoes. I felt like an elephant and walked like a penguin. I couldn't sleep at night and I couldn't feel my fingers. Those 9 months went by so slowly.

"Waiting to meet you was such a joy. The first trimester I was thrilled as I watched my body start to change and loved sharing our news with family and friends. Darin doted on me and loved on my growing belly. The second trimester I had strong hair and clean skin and got a chance to explore a whole new wardrobe. I felt you kick for the first time and got a glimpse of you. By the third trimester I was feeling you move all the time and dreaming about what you would look like and how it would feel to hold you in my arms. Those 9 months went by way too fast."

 

Funny, though. The other day I had a thought about my pregnancy while making lunch. "Darin," I commented. "Remember how when I was pregnant I wanted you to make me grilled cheese sandwiches with real cheese?"

"Yes," he smiled watching me dole out my beloved velveeta onto the bread. "That was the strangest part."

Week of Daisy ahead

My baby turns 1 on Friday. Unbelieveable!

So we've got a week's worth of celebrating to do on this here blog. (Just don't expect this much love next year, kiddo.)

Monday: Down Belly Lane

Tuesday: Weekly Photo roll

Wednesday: 12 things about Daisy on the occasion of her twelfth month

Thursday: More fun with slideshows!

Friday: Video reel (you'll wanna plan some time for this one)

Fun times ahead!