May 4

Happy first birthday to my darling Daisy!

I can't say that this year has flown by - I've certainly felt every day of it. But it's been a great year. It's funny how different things are with Child #2, compared to the same stage with Child #1. Sometimes I feel like Daisy  is missing out, because I was a much more attentive mother to Caleb than I am with her. But then I think that Caleb missed out, because Daisy gets to have an adoring big brother who dotes on her every action.

Regardless, I think it's fair to say Daisy has flourished. She is a funny, loving, beautiful child. She's independent, and knows what she wants. She can be stubborn and willful at times, but more than anything she is a sweet, gentle little girl.

Over the past year, several people have commented that her name is particularly appropriate. Our girl is delicate, sunny, and the kind of person who brightens a room. We are so blessed. I am beyond thankful that this girl is ours, and I am so excited to watch her grow!

This morning, a beautiful thunderstorm snuck up on us. We all headed out to the front porch to enjoy it!

Daisy loved the thunder.

Caleb pulled up a chair and watched the rain overflow from the gutters. He called it a waterfall.

The storm was short-lived, though, and soon the sun was shining. When the grass dried off, we headed outside to take Daisy's one-year photos.

Sweet little girl.

Don't let the smile fool you. This girl hated that dress. I have literally thirty shots of her in it, and all of them involve her arms floating out to the sides like that. She refused to move, because she didn't like the feel of all of the poof. Oh well - at least it was just a $5 clearance find at Target.

She's also wearing jewelry, which never happens. But for her first birthday, we got out a little gold cross necklace given to her by her Great-Great Aunt Gladys, and a gold bracelet that my sisters and I wore as babies.

After a quick wardrobe change into a more Daisy-esque dress, we took some more pictures. That bracelet drove her to distraction, though. She kept tugging at it!

Finally I took the bracelet off, and the first thing Daisy did was try to put it back on. Silly girl!

I'm pretty sure Chris was standing behind me, jumping around like a fool.

She may not be smiling, but this photo is one that looks the most like the Daisy I see every day.

My sweet girl. Can you believe she's one? 

And then she was done, and scooted off the blanket. Overall, she was pretty darn cooperative!

Meanwhile, Caleb grabbed a stick and began slicing at a tree, shouting, "Peter, that is not the way!"

He's kind of obsessed with the story about the centurions coming to arrest Jesus in the garden and Peter slicing a guard's ear off. In his Bible Stories book, Jesus corrects Peter by saying, "Peter, that is not the way!" before he heals the guard's ear.

After a while I had to explain to Caleb that Jesus was telling Peter not to slice the guard's ear, and that Peter was doing a bad thing. After that, he wasn't so keen on swiping at the poor tree anymore!