Mom Time

Lauren and I have been spending a ton of quality time together lately, since Jeremy is out of town for work. He was gone last week and now this week and then also next. Then, he'll be home for two weeks and then gone again. Luckily, Miss Lauren has been super cooperative and just a good girl in general, so it's not been too hard.

One cute thing was yesterday when we were watching a replay of So You Think You Can Dance. We've watched and rewatched the same episodes again and again and she's beginning to request them by her own little names. Yesterday, she was sitting on my lap and said, "Mommy, tie your shoes." I was barefoot, and so had no idea what she was talking about. She said it two more times after that and I just didn't know what she meant. Finally, she said, "My-my-my-my-my tie my shoes!" The lightbulb came on and I realized she was talking about a dance to "Boogie Shoes" by KC and The Sunshine Band. It's one of her favorites. I love that she figured out how to tell me what she wanted!

We did have a scare on Tuesday, when she had another of her febrile seizures. This was her third and came out of nowhere. She wasn't coming out of it very well and had pretty blue lips and so I called 911. We ended up going to the hospital and getting her checked out. Other than a high fever, she was fine in just a couple of hours. It was actually a little funny: she went from totally zonked out sleeping to being very irritated with the whole hospital thing. She really wanted to take off the monitor on her finger and kept asking to get down. Typical Lauren: ready to be busy and do her own independent thing!

I don't know if it's because of that scare or being home with me, but she's been really affectionate. She keeps giving me hugs and saying, "I missed you!" She's also been giving lots of kisses and hugs and being very sweet. Today, she gave me the biggest hug and said, "I love you soooo much!" It really feels like she's doing more than mimicking too; it seems she really means it! I love it.

Narrator of her own story

Lauren's newest little speech quirk is that she likes to add "says" to sentences as she talks. For example, she'll say, "Let's go outside says Mommy." It's a little like she's narrating a story for me. It doesn't always make sense, but it's cute.

She also loves to add "new" to nouns. This started after my friend Laura had a baby and Lauren got to see pictures of the new baby. Now it's "Do you like my new shirt?" and "Here's my new cat." Again, it doesn't always make sense, but it's adorable.

Lauren's split personalities

One of Lauren's favorite things is to tell us, "You be the mom, I'll be the baby!" in this little sing-songy voice. She changes it up often, sometimes with me being the dad and her being the brother... you get the idea.

The other night as I was tucking her in bed, Lauren was trying to stall by talking to me. She started up the, "You be the..." and changed her mind several times over. First I was the dad and she was the baby, then we were frogs, then we were kitties, and finally we were horses. I love her imagination, but it can be a little hard to keep up with!

My Little Mockingbird!

Today when we got home, Lauren wanted to stay outside and pick flowers. I told her no, that I needed her to come inside. She said, "I'll be outside if you need me."

She's really starting to mimic so many of the things we say. It's adorable, but also a little weird to hear our words coming from her!

Lauren's trip to the beach

I've been MIA lately because we took a lovely family vacation to Seaside, Oregon, and we left all laptops behind. It was wonderful!

Lauren, of course, had a brilliant time in Seaside. Besides the fact that it's on the beach, it's just made for kids with a long promenade to run on and lots of fun shops to look in. They have amazing ice cream and candy shops and a beautiful carousel. Lauren had never been on one, and she ended up getting to ride three times over the course of our trip. The first time, she chose a regular brown horse. The second time, she chose a black cat with a gold fish in its mouth, and the final time she chose a "reindeer" that I think was just a regular deer. She loved every second!

She also had a great time on the beach. The water was frigid, though you'd never know it watching Lauren. She loved running in and out of the surf and flopping down in the little pools that were created as the time went out. Digging in the sand was another favorite, and on our last full day, we made a sandcastle. Jeremy and I were in charge of the major engineering, of course, but she really helped.

Another highlight is that two of college couple friends joined us down there and brought their children, so Lauren had year-old Joel and six-month-old Addie to play with. She had the best time helping the moms and entertaining the babies. I know I've said it before, but she's really great with kids. She's an enthusiastic, loving little helper.

A couple of Lauren funnies from the week:

-In the bath tub, when Jeremy said he was getting the shampoo: "No, Daddy! It's shamTIGGER!" Get it?

-As I put her plate down in front of her: "Eating is my favorite game!"

-I was getting her into her bathing suit and told her she was cute. "No, Mommy," she said, "I'm GREAT!"

All By Myself!

For the Fourth of July today, we took Lauren to a friend's house with a pool. Despite the 65 degree weather with sprinkling rain, she got a little swim in. Jeremy went in with her, but it immediately became evident that that wasn't okay. She kept trying to push him away, telling him to get out and that he was done. She really just wanted to swim by herself, even though she's really not capable of that yet! Finally, she agreed to "swim" to him, which was really just her jumping into his arms from the steps. She seems determined to swim, though, so it may not be far off.

At one point, he started singing "Pop Goes The Weasel" with the intent of tossing her in the air when he got to the "Pop!" She shushed him, though, saying, "Daddy, stop singing. You don't sing very well."

Yes, He Would

Lauren's new thing in the last couple of days: when she finishes a puzzle or drawing, she sits back and says, "Uncle Jason would love this!" No idea where she got that from, but it's so cute!

Today I took her to sign her up for pre-ballet lessons to and to buy the leotard, tights, and shoes. We got a little tour of the studio so that she could see the mirror and the barre. I specifically showed her the barre since I knew she hadn't seen one and said, "This is where you will dance." Later when I got her out of the car she said, "I'll dance in the bar, Mommy?" Not quite, kiddo.