My Daughter, Daisy

Today I am writing about Daisy, and this is where things get complicated. How to I find the words to adequately describe this child?

Daisy is a big spirit trapped in a tiny body. My life with her is equal parts beautiful and terrifying. She scares me and amazes me all at once.

 

{Peace, Love, and Cheerios}

Daisy just turned four years old. She started preschool and dance class this year. She loathes preschool but can't give me a clear explanation of why. I suspect that it is because she isn't the center of attention there. Daisy has always needed to be in control, and when she isn't, she becomes hostile. I remember when she was a year old and my cousin came to a family party with a newborn daughter. Daisy seethed with jealousy at the attention the baby was getting. I had never seen that in a child so young.

Daisy is stubborn and strong-willed. Everything needs to be done on her terms or there will be a steep price to pay. She wants everyone to obey her every command and worship the ground she walks on. She can be very sweet at times, but she can equally sour. There is opposition in all things - Daisy is no exception.

Oh, but she is beautiful. She has the kind of hair every woman dreams of. It is thick, long, and healthy. It has perfect, natural highlights and is a shade of blonde that people pay good money to have. But she won't let me near it with a comb, so it hangs down her back in matted knots, often hosting broken bits of lollipop or globs of syrup from breakfast.

Her little nose has a very slight spattering of freckles. They are so light that you would likely never notice them, but they are there, and I love them.

She is solid. Not overweight, but not fragile like a bird, either. She is pigeon-toed and trips over her feet at least three times a day.

The things she says are baffling. Sometimes she is so funny that I'm afraid I'll pull a muscle from laughing. But she can also be very cruel. She knows how to hurt others with words, and that is something I need to help her tame. She can also be very loud. We say she got her voice from Grandma Jackie (Scotty's mom, who can definitely project). Daisy is a yeller - happy or sad. All of her emotions are deafening.

Daisy loves most of the things that are common among little girls. Princesses, Dora, dress-up clothes, Barbies, and the like, but she has saved room in her heart for super heroes and Lego. She loves watching sports with her dad and will often be heard saying, "Come on, Daddy. Let's go watch football!" She has been known to run around the house dressed as Spiderman or Wolverine one minute and as Ariel or a fairy the next.

Daisy has a junk food problem. When we do our "family store" on Monday nights, she will always spend her marbles on candy or treats (I've been keeping the selection limited for this reason). She needs immediate gratification and will always eat all of her treats right away. She is this way with everything, she is a child who does not wait.

Daisy's favorite song is "What Makes You Beautiful," by One Direction. She always asks for me to turn on "the boys with the curly hair" so she can dance. There are some other songs she likes, but none as much as "the boys with the curly hair." She loves "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons and "True Love" by Pink and Lily Allen. It is hilarious to listen to her sing because she makes up her own words. Here's a little clip of her serenading us from the shower:

A lot of people have a hard time understanding Daisy when she talks. She has some interesting voice inflections, and she makes some sounds that are unique to her, so unique, that to spell her pronunciations phonetically is beyond my ability. Grandpa is something like, "Kwawmpa."

Like her brother, Daisy loves her blankies. Her favorite one is blue and yellow with ducks on it. She calls it her "duckie blankie," and let's keep this between us, it's actually Nicky's blanket. Somehow Daisy got attached to it a couple years ago, but as long as neither of them know the truth, things are good.

Daisy has never been a good sleeper. When we put her to bed at night, she will often sit up in her bed for an hour talking to herself. She wakes up very early, and she refuses to be alone, so when Daisy wakes up, the first thing she does is march around the house waking up everyone else. She has caused many "Angry Momma Mornings." It has been really hard trying to help Daisy and a baby coexist.

Daisy is not at all the daughter I imagined. I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just a matter of fact that Daisy has thrown me for a loop. I am continually baffled by her, and I'm not really sure how to raise her. I always thought my first baby would be the Pancake Child (you know how you always mess up the first pancake?), but for now, I feel like my second child is a lot more experimental. I dare say that I will learn a lot from being Daisy's mother - I only hope that she will forgive me for years of errors.