The Dyas Family

Here’s a few quick-hits about what Lauren’s been up to lately:

• Somewhere she picked up “Waaaaaiiiiiiiit a minute!”
• If she does something goofy she’ll go, “Silly Lauren!”
• If Lauren does something wrong and we say something to her about it, she’ll sometimes reply with a rapidly stated, “WhatttidIdo?”
• She knows all of her letters and is getting into the habit of calling out the letters in many of the signs she sees such as the stop signs on the way to school in the morning.
• She’s a professional at her tricycle and loves riding it up and down the street and around the kitchen.  Sigh…
• We start soccer today and swimming in a few weeks!
• She’s fully potty trained (though her wiping could use some work), and she can almost entirely undress and dress herself
• We’re in a very big “Why?” phase to which Mommy and Daddy do their best to be patient before pulling out the “Just because!”
• Bed time is going very smoothly these days, particularly when Daddy is the one to put her bed.  Lauren and I agree that there’s something about Mommy that’s too exciting to want to leave!
• Lauren is also very into babies – moreso real ones than dolls these days… which hopefully she will keep up until September!

Hi Everyone,

As the holiday season concludes, we thought it would be a good time to update you all on what Lauren has been up to.  You’d think with all the friends and family she’s seen lately, all the presents she opened, and all the sugar she’s consumed she’d be one exhausted kiddo, but instead she has apparently decided naps are a thing of the past – much to mommy and daddy’s dismay.  With the absence of naps, bed time has become slightly more “dramatic” – but nothing a little book reading and back rubbing doesn’t usually cure.

Lauren had a fantastic time seeing MomMom, PopPop, Grandma, Grandpa and all the other family as we hosted Christmas at our house.  Lauren’s GreatPopPop and Maria got her a singing and dancing frog that plays “Blue Moon” and Lauren loves to dance around the living room like a crazy woman every time it comes on.  However, her coordination still needs some refinement, so she’s prone to bumping into tables, spilling drinks and knocking over bowls of beads – to which she has begun immediately responding to with a “Whattid-I-do?” accompanied by a guilty face.

Lauren’s also continued to develop her own unique personality which Daddy affectionately refers to as “goofball”.  She will take a common question you’ve asked her such as “Lauren, do you want breakfast?” and will repeat it back to you with a silly scrunched up face and at quarter speed “Mah-meeee dooooo yoooooouuuu wahhhhhhnt breaaaaakfaaaaast?” Quite adorable.  One of her favorites (and a consistent crowd pleaser) is “Wiiiiiiillllll yooooouuuuu wiiiiiiiipe myyyyyyy bahhhhhhhtummmmmm?” Dear lord.

Lauren has also enjoyed inventing some of her own games.  In one of them, she blows air at Daddy and Daddy pretends to be knocked over by the sheer power of her lungs, which elicits a ton of laughter from her.  She has also started to pick up the basics of hide and seek.  We’re pretty good at the hiding part, but all it takes is for the seeker to say “Where’s Lauren?” for her to respond, “I’M OVER HERE!”  And, during our attempts to teach her some of the common Penn State cheers such as “We are!  Penn State!” Lauren has customized her own cheers like “Oh! Milk!” performed where one person shouts “Oh!” and the other responds “Milk!” – We see a dairy commercial in her future.

At school, Lauren continues to have a great time and is learning so much.  She’s begun to recognize letters and the sounds that different letters make.  Socially, she’s started to make some “friends” and has even had a few playdates with her friend Andrew, who lives up the road from us.  She even attended Andrew’s 3rd birthday party at the House of Bounce (Mommy and Daddy got to bounce too and possibly had more fun than Lauren did!).

Our whole family is looking forward to a wonderful 2009.  We have no doubt that it will be full of surprises, and can’t wait to see what Lauren has in store for us.  Hopefully we’ll get to see you, and you’ll get to see Lauren very soon!

Take Care,

The Dyas Family

So, what’s Lauren been up to lately you may be wondering?  Well, let’s see:

• Somehow she has picked up the word “Um” and now uses it whenever she’s considering a response.  For example: Daddy says, “Lauren, would you like water or milk with dinner?” Lauren replies, “Ummmmmmm….Milk!”
• She has gotten very into the Little People.  We have a DVD with a few 5 minute videos centered around each of the characters that Lauren would watch about 800 times in a row if she had her druthers.  Sarah Lynn is her favorite character.
• I guess following the string of August birthdays in the family, Lauren has taken to wrapping up anything she can find (pens, crayons, toys, etc.) in anything she can find (newspaper, tissues, blankets, etc.) and giving them as “presents” to mommy and daddy.  She then looks on in eager anticipation of us to open the present to see what we have received.  With the economy what it is today, I hope she’s just as excited to receive ramen noodles and pencils wrapped in aluminum foil for Christmas this year!
• She is just about 100% potty trained.  Very rarely she’ll have an accident in the middle of the night or at school while she’s trying to make it into the bathroom to go.
• She’s learned that there’s something called “having to throw up” and now thinks that what she has to do everytime her tummy doesn’t feel quite right.  More often than not, “Mommy, I have to throw up” translates to “Mommy I have to go poopy”.  However, it’s terribly cute in a weird sort of way to see her walk over to the potty, lift the lid and prop herself up on her hands like she’s going to hurl.
• Lauren has gotten much more independent lately.  She has definite ideas in her head about what she wants, which has proven both pleasing and frustrating for Mommy and Daddy.  If we don’t specifically ask her what she wants and give her choices, we run the risk of giving her water when she wanted milk, putting on the wrong video, putting her left shoe on first instead of her right, etc.  We choose our battles with her carefully.  Sometimes it’s just not worth it.
• I’m not sure what we did or what happened to her, but Lauren has gone back to loving bathtime.  In fact, one time recently after Daddy had given her a bath and was drying her off, Lauren launched into a fullscale meltdown because wanted to take 2 BATHS!
• Her word repetition has gotten much better.  She really only needs to hear things one time before she’ll say them right back to you.  She’s got some of her little people videos practically memorized.  She’ll pick up something in a conversation Melissa and I are having that we didn’t even know she was listening to and will say it back to us.
• We’re not quite sure what Lauren is going to be for Halloween yet, and we’re running out of time.  Mommy is lobbying for princess.  Daddy thinks princesses are boring and typical.  Mommy will probably win.
• Recently we’ve been to Cox Farms for fall festival, the Fall for Fairfax Festival, and the National Zoo in DC.  This weekend we’re headed to PSU for homecoming and soon we’ll be in PA and NJ for Melissa’s Grandfather’s 88th birthday and Thanksgiving.  Before you know it, it’ll be Christmas!

Until next time…

Everyone who doesn’t get to see Lauren as often as we do is always curious as to what she’s up to these days, so I thought I’d make note of a few things…

1. When we go on family walks, which we do just about every night, Lauren walks on her own now, leaving the stroller behind in the dust.  She’s not the fastest walker, but one day those legs will get longer.

2. While we’re out on those walks, Mommy and Daddy will offer the occasional “How are you doing” to other passers-by, to which Lauren will then pause for a second or two before offering her own smile and “How you doing?” often to the amusement and laughter of the strangers.

3. Lauren’s almost completely potty trained now, averaging maybe 1-2 accidents per week.  She hasn’t quite mastered the taking off or putting on of clothes either, but she’s getting close.

4. She’s become much more independent and expressive with her yes’s and no’s.  She’s not afraid to tell you what she wants.  And then tell you again, and again, and again, and again…

5. Lauren’s picked up on some of Mommy and Daddy’s expressions and phrases such as “I’ll be RIGHT back”

As summer wraps up, it seems like a good time to post some recent pictures of Lauren.  This set includes her sleeping in the car on a road trip, playing with her new stuffed frog and eating Daddy’s yummy chicken parmigiana creation.

Click here for the gallery which can also be found off of Lauren’s page.

Lauren being goofy at dinner