Viva La Lambertopia!

Lovely photos of our lovely family

2011-09-30T00:09:00.000-06:00

Another group of family photos for our family. These were some of my favorites from the shoot. Erin from EKB photography did a great job!

Grrrr!

2011-09-03T22:19:00.001-06:00

Calvin's version of a scary face.

Party in my tummy!

2011-08-27T22:24:00.003-06:00

Recently we told Calvin that when he ate the food had a party in his tummy (Yo Gabba Gabba anyone?) He thought that was great, but then he looked at us and said something like, "My food has a party in my tummy, and then my food has a party in my poop!"

Basic biology from the mouth of a three-year-old.

Keep it up kid! I'm cracking up just remembering.

Maddie's First Shower

2011-08-27T21:20:00.002-06:00

Please excuse the lewd butt shot in this one.

Yesterday (or was it the day before - wow, my memory is wimpy sometimes!) Calvin was taking a shower and I stepped out of the room for a bit. When I walked back in I was surprised to see that someone else had just jumped in! That was one happy girl enjoying her first hot shower with her big brother.

Calvin's famous (infamous?) sayings ...

2011-08-23T22:20:00.005-06:00

So, I keep hearing things from Calvin that I want to post, but I have been terrible about posting. I also have pictures and stories to tell, but it just hasn't happened. Sorry my handful of readers! So, here is a bit from the mouth of Calvin:

Me: Calvin, how can you tell that Maddie is a girl?
Calvin: Because she has a big tummy.
Me: Is Mommy a girl?
Calvin: Yes.
Me: Does Mommy have a big tummy too?
Calvin: No, your tummy is getting smaller - you need to eat more breakfast.

I will consider that!

Uncle Rick: See Calvin, there is a Magic Wall and Scout (their big german shepherd that Calvin was afraid of) can't go past it.
Calvin: Mommy, I want that Magic Wall to kill that doggy.

Violent tendencies!

Calvin: My knees are getting huge, gigantic.
Me: Your knees?
Calvin: Yes, I is growing big, big like Daddy.

You would notice knee growth.

That is all that is coming to me tonight, but I will try to get some more of these out.

Swimming Lessons 2011

2011-07-13T22:05:00.000-06:00

This summer I put Calvin in swimming lessons. I am happy to report that it was great. Calvin took to the water like a fish and passed with flying colors. It helps that he was totally willing to stick his face right in the water. He loved putting his face in and talking to Nemo through the water. He still does that in the bathtub. We were lucky with our class. Usually the class is two teachers per five kids, but Calvin's class only had two kids in it, so he was able to get a lot of one on one with his teachers. I am excited for the next round of swimming lessons to start, but we will probably wait until next summer.Here Calvin is learning to make "ice cream scoops" with his hands to tread the water.

I was never quite sure what they were having him do with this pose. It didn't seem to mean dive down like I would expect. Maybe it was for kicking on his back? I could never tell exactly what was going on with this one, but he got pretty good at sticking hands up in the air!
This summer I put Calvin in swimming lessons.

Happy Birthday Maddie!

2011-06-25T21:43:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Here is one happy one year old! Maddie zoomed through this last year and she is definitely a wonderful part of our family. I feel like this year went by much quicker than it did when it was Calvin's first year. I can see why people call out to treasure these times that go by so quickly. I hope that we have because Maddie is quickly moving toward toddlerhood, and I am loving it! I love how interactive and intelligent she is, and I love that she is always on the move checking things out. The picture above shows how much she loves strawberries and getting her picture taken. We definitely have a little girl here, and with our slightly bigger little boy I think our family is pretty great. It has been a fun year with Miss Maddie joining the ranks and I look forward to many more.

We had a birthday party for Maddie with lots of strawberries and a stupendously ugly but very tasty daisy cake - a la me!

Bella and Calvin were kind enough to help Maddie open her presents. She wasn't all that interested in the process, but I think that she will enjoy what was under all of that paper!

First time at the beach

2011-06-25T21:28:00.003-06:00

Two weeks ago we went to Southern California to attend Gommie's funeral. The event was somber, but we did have a bit of fun on the last day of our trip. We took the kids for their first visit to the beach. I did get into a bathing suit, but thankfully no one thought to take a picture of that sight.

Maddie didn't like that we kept forcing her into her hat.

Maddie liked the beach as long as we kept her far from the water and in our arms.

Calvin wasn't all that into the water either. The waves and such were scary for the little guy. He did have some fun outrunning the waves, but he wouldn't let them anywhere near him. The best part of the beach for Calvin was the sand. He dug, and built and had a great old time burrowing around. Goodtimes.

The Flash!

2011-06-24T14:10:00.002-06:00

I was trying to take a picture of Calvin and he wouldn't stop moving. They all came out like this, but I thought it was a great demonstration of Calvin's boundless energy!

Touché!

2011-06-24T14:06:00.001-06:00

Calvin pulled out some popsicle freezing sticks and taught Maddie how to sword fight! They loved it.

Fun Times in Cali

2011-06-21T20:56:00.003-06:00

We had some fun hanging out with the family when we visited last month. Calvin especially enjoyed his Grandpa at the park. Thanks for making it fun for us!

Traveling By Train

2011-06-21T20:35:00.004-06:00

Just thought I would post some pictures of the train trip that the kids and I took to California about a month ago. We were going to say goodbye to Gommie. We rode out in Coach, but when we came back we got a sleeper. That was awesome! I would consider doing that for vacation in the future.

Games with friends

2011-06-18T22:23:00.001-06:00

Today Zander and Aunya came over to play. Right away they got the controllers out and started playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - very old school style. It was fun to watch them playing the same game that Chris and I both remember from the pizza parlor arcades. Awesome!The boys were very engrossed in their game, the girls were just happy to have controllers! They weren't actually playing.

SuperKids Preschool Graduation!

2011-06-16T14:14:00.002-06:00

Super Calvin! What a cool kid!

Why did I stand to the side for these pictures? Oh well.

Calvin graduated from Preschool today (to another year of preschool) and we had a fun celebration for the kids at the park. The kids were so excited to get their SuperKid capes and certificates and they loved decorating graduation caps. The best part for me was watching a crowd of awesome kids race around the park in capes. Good times!

Want some?!

2011-06-15T22:17:00.000-06:00

Car trips make for some awesome messes, but this red vines one was so cute!

Yummy Food

2011-05-16T21:41:00.003-06:00

Recently Calvin came to me and said something like, "I don't like it when you make yucky food for dinner, I like yummy food for dinner."

Well well!

So, I asked him what yummy food he liked for dinner. His answer - "CANDY!!"

Right, we'll see what we can do about that.

Father and Son's Outing

2011-05-13T14:02:00.002-06:00

Calvin and Chris went on their first Father and Son's Campout this weekend. Calvin was so excited. He was practically waiting at the door when Chris came home. They had a lot of fun, but didn't quite make it through the night. Calvin didn't like how noisy the older kids were when he was trying to get some sleep. I don't blame him, I like my sleep too!

Cantaloupe

2011-05-08T19:39:00.005-06:00

Stay away from my Cantaloupe!

Maddie found a new love today! We thought this was so funny. She stuck her head into this half a cantaloupe and just started going! Without teeth to help she was basically just pulling the juice out and drinking it. She had just finished dinner so she must have really loved the melon flavor to go at it like she did. Its a healthy choice for dessert - I'm glad she liked it!

What a cute little piggy she was acting.

A New Camera!

2011-05-08T16:36:00.004-06:00

Happy Mother's Day Friends and Family!

Today we are all home sick, but it works out because I will be using the downtime to post! For Mother's Day this year we decided to replace our broken camera. Nice, huh?! That meant that I got to choose what I wanted in a camera. We couldn't go super-expensive so that left me with the sale priced point and shoots. I knew that I wanted something that would give me clear pictures both inside and outside and I wanted it to be fairly compact. We went with the Canon PowerShot SX130 IS (you really wanted that much info didn't you = )) because it was highly reviewed and, more importantly, because it was $100 off at Target this week - putting it just into our price range.

I am loving it.

It has all of these weird functions that I probably won't use that often, but they are fun to play with. For instance, I can exchange one color for another in a picture, or hold down the shutter key for continuous picture taking (I will use that one with my "I won't sit still for you!" kids). My favorite is the smile recognition setting. You set it there and it automatically takes pictures when people smile. Pretty fun. Hopefully this means a lot more posting; I understand that my loyal fans are getting a bit annoyed at my lack of communication (sorry beloved family.)

So, here are some of my pictures with the new camera. Enjoy!

Just Between Friends (i.e. Consignment Heaven)

2011-05-06T17:15:00.000-06:00

These were my cool finds for this year's sale. Blogger messed me up, photo-wise, but at least I got the photos in! Man, this dress and shirt were cool!

This weekend was one of the biannual Utah County JBF Sales. It is a consignment sale that I love! Twice a year I can buy and sell great stuff for the kids. I am sure that it saves me a lot of money on clothes, and I find some of the cutest things. I am excited enough that I even took pictures of my last two hauls!
The first three pictures are of my pick-up at the fall JBF. The red and blue dress is waiting for the 4th of July - hooray! Maddie has already outgrown the green dress, but I loved it while it lasted! I definitely do the best with Maddie clothes at these sales, but Calvin gets some good stuff too. I really loved the pink outfit here, the top is easily wrinkled, but it is still cute.
Here is everything from the sale on Friday. I got a lot of PJs for Maddie to wear in the fall and winter and a couple of sweaters too. I got a set of bibs for Maddie too. She finally has girl-flavored bibs! Calvin did pretty well too. I loved the little button-up shirts for summer.
Calvin picked out this Little People's Amusement Park that fits well with our Little People toy collection ($3!). I loved watching the animals from Noah's Ark playing on the slide with Mary and the Wisemen (Calvin said the baby couldn't go down the slide - that saves us from sacrilege, right?!) Maybe the religious figures weren't meant to mix in with the other characters = ).
I thought this book was so cool. I splurged $5 on it. It is nice to have all of these stories in one place.

For my beloved Mother

2011-04-16T16:34:00.003-06:00

I am writing this because my mom did not like that my last post was titled "Slacker" and then never updated. I need to explain that. My camera broke and I like to post around pictures. However, I should give an update on Project Simplify. I actually did not get into it as I had hoped because the projects were actually, with the exception of the first day, the things that I had been working on around the house. Who new they had such good taste?! So, I took some pictures of my horrendously messy closet and someday I will replace the camera and post pictures of my immaculate closet (it hasn't arrived yet.)

So, for my own version of Project Simplify I have chosen to make a larger effort to remove extraneous junk around the house and garage and further build, organize and create solutions for a better functioning home. That sounded kind of stupendous, huh? So, here is what that means. First, today we had a garage sale that really cleared the house out. Most of the leftovers went to charity or neighbors. The few other pieces will be sold in the classifieds. I used the money from the garage sale to purchase shelves for the garage. That is where I will be working next. The garage needs a mass reorganization and probably further purging. Yay next week! I think the shelves will largely do the trick, but I will probably have to put in some hanging devices for the strollers and so forth. Once the garage functions for us I will begin to move some of our supplies out there so that I can better utilize our indoor storage. Once things are located where I want them I plan to upgrade some of my systems inside. Since some of these things will cost money it will take a little bit of time and shopping.

That was probably not very exciting to read, but I am excited to say that after three years in this house things are coming together. I am excited for the day when it is just upkeep. Okay, so I like change too much to expect that time to come any soon!

Now, just because I love some good pics, I am posting some randomness from before the camera's fateful fall.

Slacker

2011-03-13T22:11:00.001-06:00

Last week was challenging at our house. I actually got a fair amount done, but not what was planned. I hardly touched my closet, and that was the trouble spot for Project Simplify. Hopefully I can handle two trouble spots next week!

Lyrics

2011-03-02T15:55:00.003-07:00

The other day I asked Calvin to sing to Maddie. He started by singing that he didn't want to sing, but he was soon into his song and he really got into it. Chris and I busted up when we realized that what he was crooning (with a lot of passion) was, "game ooooooverrrrrrr!" - over and over = ). Time to cut back on the video games.

Project Simplify

2011-02-18T13:24:00.003-07:00

I have decided to try to keep up with Project Simplify on SimpleMom. They will be posting a trouble spot every Monday for people to work on during the week. On Friday Before and After pictures are to be posted. We'll give it a try. I am raring to organize and reorganize (did I ever stop nesting?), and the upcoming spring and this challenge are a good excuse. It doesn't start until March 7, so, I will see what I can get done on my own before then = ).

Hale Freezes Over

2011-01-29T22:13:00.001-07:00

Here we are after the Hale Freezes over 5k. It was a lot of fun. We aren't very fast, but we are happy to be out enjoying the race. It reminds us how much we want to be in shape!

Monkey Island!

2011-01-26T18:10:00.002-07:00

For our preschool activity this month we went to Monkey Island and I have to say - it was awesome! Especially for only $5! This place is a little kid's playplace full of fun blow up toys for the kids to play on. Look how strong Calvin is = ). He was having a blast!

These things made me want to jump in and play too!

Christmas - at last!

2010-12-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Did it take me long enough to post the Christmas thing? I had some weirdness going on with the Blog for awhile (thanks Calvin for changing my fonts to arabic!), and then I was just too far behind. So, here is the beginning of the catch-up.

I didn't make Maddie sit with Santa, she was a little bit too young to care. Calvin was a big fan of the gentleman though! This picture came out so cute (thanks Melissa!) Notice the pants halfway up the calf - I think it is time to retire that particular pair = ).

Christmas day was a lot of fun. Calvin was actually excited to go to bed the night before, and that was fortunate because Santa had a big job ahead of him to prepare for Christmas morning at our house! Calvin was totally excited with all of the presents and he loved helping Maddie open her stuff too. She loved rolling around all of the paper, packages and toys. I was actually really impressed with her mobility on Christmas morning.

The pictures are all out of order. I kind of hate the way that blogger uploads sometimes. Oh well, bear with me, I don't think that I am going to change my wording for the screwy picture order. The greatest, most awesomely cool present of the morning was ... Super Mario Brothers! Wow!

Supposedly Calvin got that for Chris, but in the end it was really Calvin's present. He was instantly enthralled by that game. I think he would have been perfectly happy to have played that for the rest of the Christmas break (with a steady stream of treats brought by mom, of course!) Fortunately, there were a few other festivities planned.

We had a nice leisurely morning in our pajamas and later in the day we went to Grandma and Grandpa Lambert's house to spend some time with the greater Lambert family. Calvin, once again, had a ball with all of his cousins. Christmas was good times for this kid. The rest of us had a nice time as well, hanging with the fam and enjoying the holiday cheer.

So, this post is late in coming, but I still want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday and a happy new year! Merry Christmas!

(I love post dating - No one knows how late this really was!)

Creative Wordplay

2010-11-30T09:40:00.002-07:00

Last Friday Kyra made us some tasty turkey and dumpling soup before we left on our way back to Utah. We asked Calvin if the soup was good and he immediately answered, "its 'licious!" Then he thought about it and said, "its nummy - its nummilicious!" Pretty expressive - I love it! And, just for the record - Kyra, it WAS nummilicious = )

Gommie and Maddie

2010-11-25T18:21:00.002-07:00

This is a late post. The pictures are cute, but poor quality. This was the first time that Maddie and Gommie met. Two lovely ladies spending time together.

2010-10-31T16:59:00.000-06:00

Happy 'Ween!

2010-10-31T10:18:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!

And Calvin said ...

2010-10-23T21:11:00.002-06:00

Calvin likes to say the Darndest Things and I thought I had better start sharing some of them. We'll start with today. I was singing along to the The Lion King and Calvin covered his ears and said, "hurts ears mommy!" Am I really that bad?! I'll try to remember to keep updating this = ).

Smiles

2010-10-15T23:36:00.002-06:00

You have got to love the way that babies smile. There is no restraint, they just beam! I am loving my little goofy smiler and all of her grins. She makes me smile too.

A little lovin'

2010-10-15T23:25:00.002-06:00

I really wish these hadn't come out so grainy. I guess my point and shoot can't handle the low light with it teeny lens. Remind me to somehow qualify for a free Digital SLR (maybe a Nikon?) Until that happens you will just have to take my word for it that this was a super cute moment that I was just glad to catch a bit of.

Can you tell that Maddie hero worships her older brother? She lights up when he plays with her. Better yet, Calvin loves to make Maddie happy. He shows her toys, pushes her in her swing (that's a little scary), tries to teach her what he thinks is important, and gives her kisses and hugs. Just the other day he put some of his dinner on a fork and took it to show her how to eat. It was quite the demonstration and so cute! I am so happy that they are doing so well together. I just hope that they can keep it up. I like the sibling lovin' better than the sibling rivalry!

First Day of Preschool

2010-10-15T23:13:00.002-06:00

Would you believe that these are the best shots I got from Calvin's first day in Preschool? He thought it was pretty funny to hide from the camera - and it worked. We are doing a neighborhood co-op preschool and it has been great for Mr. Calvin. He LOVES going to hang out with his friends a couple of times a week, and every time I come to pick him up he comes flying out yelling, "Mommy!" waving his work at me and waiting for my praise. He gets it.

I am actually really impressed with how these last few weeks of Preschool have been helpful to the little guy. His language skills are improving, he suddenly wants to sing along with me or to CDs (I had been struggling with that one for awhile), and he runs around saying things like, "B, buh, buh, buh!" Kudos to his fine teachers - awesome job! I am so glad that we decided to be part of this.

The Dinosaur Museum

2010-10-15T23:01:00.002-06:00

That was quite a hiatus to catch up on (or to begin catching up on!) In August we finally made it to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was $2 Tuesday so we only paid $4 to get in! We were lucky enough to get to meet up with Jen, Rick and the lovely ladies for fun-times. Calvin loved it! Between dinosaurs and cousins this was a great day. And lets not forget the $0.50 cones afterward. Goodtimes!

Kookie Kid

2010-08-15T09:06:00.003-06:00

When I went to check on Maddie, during a nap, I found her in this comfortable position blissfully sleeping. I had to snap a picture before I fixed her.

Cute kids = Cute Photos

2010-07-24T12:21:00.003-06:00

Last week we took the kids to get their pictures taken. It was kind of scary to take such a little girl to the photographer, but she did a great job. Calvin had so much fun! We were able to get a CD of the whole shoot, so we have a lot of fun photos to keep. I need to figure out lay out better on these posts, but this will do for now!

I love this kid's kooky smile = ).

Madelyn Elaine Lambert

2010-07-15T20:29:00.004-06:00

Here is the lovely newest addition to our family - Miss Maddie. I know that she has been here for three weeks, but hey, cut a new mom a break! Two kids keep me pretty busy. So, here is the story.
This is a child that did not feel the need to come. I was frustrated in the weeks before her birth because I had no indications of labor. I mean like none at all! I wasn't dilating, I wasn't effacing and the contractions were few and far between. Because so little was happening my doctor was unwilling to do anything (i.e. induce me if I went over my due date.) Fortunately, one day after the due date I had a bunch of contractions and I finally dilated to a one. We scheduled an inducement for the 23rd of June and my mom came out on the 22nd to take care of Calvin. The hospital called in the morning and we arrived about 10-ish in the morning.
They put me on the pit drip and checked to find me at a three! Woop woop! I think that I was probably headed into labor soon with or without the pitocin. After awhile the doctor came in and broke my water. That's when things really picked up. I had decided to try natural birth, but my contractions were really painful at this point - I was ready to cry. I decided to wimp out and I called for the anesthesiologist. He came right in and started to get me ready for an epidural, but as he was doing that I started to push! In pain and very stupid I let him him put in the epidural as I tried to hold back the pushing. I was shaking uncontrollably, and as I look back I am really grateful that the anesthesiologist was good enough to get me without hurting me.
The moment it was in I rolled over, they took the bed apart for delivery and two pushes later there was a screaming head and then a baby was born. Boy did she yell! I knew that child was alright from the start - you could hear it = ). So, I got an epidural, but I am not sure how much it helped! Actually, the pushing hurt less than the contractions before - I should have waited. I felt an awful lot of childbirth and then I still had to work off the effects of the drugs. Next time maybe my brain won't poop out at the last second.
Maddie was born at 1:39 in the afternoon: 6 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 inches long. Not only was this a lighting speed delivery, but it was a pretty nice recovery. Maddie took to nursing right away (bless her heart) and she has been a great little eater ever since. The hospital was worried that she weighed as little as she did, but she has made up for it with a healthy appetite. In fact, I believe that she weighed more than Calvin did at the two week doctor's appointment. She has been a great baby. She sleeps pretty well, for a newborn, and she cries only occasionally.
Calvin was very excited to meet his new baby. I was glad to see how thrilled he was at the hospital. It has been really hard for him, but I know that he loves this little girl. I just wish that I could spend more one on one time with him right now, he misses it so much.
The nurses at the hospital styled Maddie's hair into this lovely mohawk with bow. I thought it was way cute. Someone told me later that it was done with Elmer's glue. That would explain why it was so rock-solid! We love our new little girl and we are so happy to have her home with us now.

Ugliest Car Seat Cover EVER!

2010-06-09T09:11:00.003-06:00

I wanted to have a car seat cover for the new baby, but I didn't want to buy fabric. We've spent enough money recently, and I am trying to be conservative with our budget right now. So, I thought I would put one together with scrap fabric that I already had. Sounds good, right? I needed about two yards of fabric. Amazingly enough I had a yard of two coordinating pieces of fabric; although, they were not my favorite fabric scraps. You do what you can.
Still, I thought they would be alright, and I liked the yellow and pink thing. At least until I put the whole thing together! Wow! Pretty much ugly! Oh well, it is functional and I think this is what she gets. I doubt the baby will be too worried = ).

Teaching good values and healthy living

2010-06-09T09:04:00.002-06:00

Our fire alarms have been going off recently, and the sound terrifies Calvin. I mean REALLY terrifies Calvin. On this day the poor kid was a ball of nerves and I wanted to help soothe him.

His chocolate Easter bunny? Sure! The entire thing? Sure! Apparently I want my kids to learn to be comforted by fatty, sugary food! (It makes me feel better = )).

Let's be honest, look how contented he looks. I would probably do it again. I think I am going to fail the parenting exam!

Oh hail!

2010-06-09T08:56:00.002-06:00

This was an amazing hail storm. It looked like snow because so much came down at once. My poor plants were made holey, but somehow things survived.

I made a bed!

2010-06-09T07:18:00.003-06:00

Calvin made himself a bed out of the shelf board that I was about to install. Ummm ... comfy!

Buddies

2010-06-09T07:13:00.001-06:00

Here are Calvin and Karver again being buddies. Calvin was "reading" a shark book that Karver brought over.

2nd Place!

2010-04-28T21:28:00.003-06:00

Alright, I'll admit it, I think that Calvin is pretty cute. I knew I was biased, so, it was nice to receive the package from Utah Valley Magazine saying that he was 2nd place for "Cutest Cutie Born in 2007" ! Someone else thinks so too! So, he got a mini super soft blanket doohickey, a gift certificate and a discount card to baby places. Plus, he will be in the magazine. Yeah, I know, Utah Valley Magazine - we still think it is fun = ). Thanks to everyone who gave us input on which pictures to send in, I'm sure that your good taste was helpful. I think this one was the favorite. They say that you can look at it electronically at uvmag.com , but I imagine that you will have to wait until May (it is in the May/June issue.)

Now I want to be a baby!

2010-04-27T16:13:00.003-06:00

Ever since I made the crib baby ready again it is Calvin's favorite spot! In this case he made himself a comfortable bed inside. I am not sure that we are going to have a happy boy when a new little girl is sleeping in "his" bed.

The Artiste in the boy

2010-04-27T15:55:00.003-06:00

Calvin loves to draw and color. Must be inherited from his father - the elder artiste in the family. I just pretend that they didn't kick me out of art school!

How to rip up a bed successfully!

2010-04-27T15:39:00.002-06:00

Too bad I didn't video this one! Last week Calvin and his friend Karver climbed into our bed, which was made, and commenced destruction! I think Calvin can definitely take the blame for this one. He showed Karver exactly how cool it is to jump around and mangle a big bed. Karver caught on quickly and soon there were boys rolling and crashing all around the bed. It looked like fun to me!

Calvin and Hobbes - napping

2010-04-27T15:35:00.003-06:00

Shaving

2010-04-27T15:25:00.002-06:00

Someone wants to be like Dad! By the way, Chris had his shirt off and was shaving in the background, but I didn't think he wanted to be seen = ).

Must be in the genes ...

2010-03-23T15:42:00.003-06:00

Can you believe it? Two posts in one week! Yeah, I am pretty shocked myself. I will have to keep the camera out more often. Look at the good stuff that I can capture when it is easy to get to!
To begin with, we need to discuss the child shooting his mini crossbow at the lined up action figures. So gleeful! As far as I know he came up with this scenario all on his own. I watched him happily pull out all components and set this up and I think this was the first time (I'll have to check with Chris later on). Is it the Y-chromosome? Maybe because his Y-chromosome definitely comes from the gun-enthusiastic Lambert side? Who knows? At least he is having fun!
Now, I had to put the sleeping one up because I thought it was cute. Calvin and Chris taking a nap together on separate beds. I am thinking that Chris outgrew that blanket size some time ago, but he still looks pretty comfortable.

Finally, the train pics. Calvin was showing off his train and he helped me to take the lovely bottom picture of the train in motion. I'm glad that Calvin still loves this thing. It is pretty fun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-18T15:07:00.003-06:00

Calvin and I had fun this St. Patrick's day! We met our friends Melissa and Bennett and rode the train to Discovery Gateway (the children's museum) where we played with all of the fun activities there. It was a free day at the museum and things were pretty crazy! Calvin still had a lot of fun, but we will have to try it again on a less crowded day (with coupons to get us in cheaper!) Calvin loved the train ride and hanging out with his buddy Bennett for an entire day was too cool. I think the public transportation was a treat in and of itself. We'll have to do that more often.

Its a girl!

2010-01-29T18:39:00.002-07:00

Well, there she is! Can you tell from the picture at the bottom that we are dealing with a girl here? Its okay, I can't either, but I am taking their word for it! You can tell from the top picture that this little girl is already beating on her mom's insides! Check out that hand reaching around the placenta to try to poke my stomach. The feet are probably trying to position next to my bladder. I'll be honest, I love feeling her in there. I feel like a kicking baby is more likely to be a healthy baby and that makes me happy. Kick away kid - you've only got a few more months left to do it from inside.

Christmas - at last!

2010-01-09T14:52:00.004-07:00

It took me awhile, but here are some shots of Christmas. Apparently we get tired of taking pictures because we take a bunch of pictures all at once and then we stop. At least this time we got some Christmas morning pictures of Calvin. We spent Christmas in California with my parents. We were all so sick before Christmas that we were afraid we wouldn't be able to come, but we were able to head out Christmas Eve and we stayed over the weekend. We left later than we should have, but we survived the weather coming home and it was a great trip. We had lots of fun and we'll be excited to see my family again soon. You'll notice all of the things that Calvin is playing with in these pics. The only thing that was actually given to him was the train set. Grandma gets the best stuff! That grabber was especially fun. Although, I must say that those curlers were certainly a hit too!

Santa? Who's that?

2009-12-15T16:04:00.003-07:00

I love this, Calvin gets on Santa's lap and he is totally unexcited - until Mrs. Claus hands him a candy cane! Merry Christmas!

New Baby

2009-11-21T18:54:00.003-07:00

Look - its a baby! Can't you tell? In the live ultrasound I could see movement and shape pretty well. This picture isn't as clear, but you can still see our new little baby blob. Yay! Only thirty more weeks to go! The due date is about June 21st.

Halloween: Superman!

2009-11-08T16:54:00.004-07:00

Happy Halloween! This year Calvin went as Superman! That was my old Superman cape from when I was little and it is still awesome! Thanks mom for the cool dress up. Calvin was a great superman (does he even know who Superman is? I don't have an answer for that). He loved Trick-or-Treating and getting to hang out with Aunt Kyra was a lot of fun too = ). The picture with the doughnut mess is from our neighborhood Halloween party (sponsored by the ward). Man it was cold, but so much fun! We love Halloween around here!

Manly Apron

2009-11-08T16:49:00.002-07:00

I have heard that Calvin was not particularly manly in all of the pictures I have of him in my aprons. Fortunately, his Nai Nai (grandma) took care of him. She gave him this very manly Lightning McQueen apron and he is loving it! Particularly when we are making chocolate cookies for the Halloween party.

Glasses

2009-11-08T16:44:00.003-07:00

Calvin likes to wear Mr. Potato Head's glasses and I was finally able to get a picture of the fun!

Corny!

2009-10-12T13:08:00.002-06:00

About a week ago my family came out over Conference to visit. It was a lot of fun. I wish that I had some pictures that included them; however, I only got Calvin pictures (I am biased) while we were all at the corn maze. Well, at least he is cute. The corn maze was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of fun activities for kids and families too.

Kinetic Sculpture

2009-09-20T15:58:00.003-06:00

Calvin and I went to the Farmer's Market at Thanksgiving Point a week ago. They had an art exhibit that included this cool kinetic sculpture. It had big buckets of water that was piped and moved around. There were various switches and levers that could be pulled to affect the sculpture. Sometimes it made noise and sometimes it shot or dumped water. It was a lot of fun. I couldn't get Calvin away from it. He was in little guy heaven!

How to get a kid to eat his vegetables

2009-09-20T15:46:00.002-06:00

It turns out that all you have to do to get some kids to eat their vegetables is to grow them yourself. If we pull it out of the garden Calvin will pretty much eat it. He is eating raw Zucchini here. He eats carrots, squash, tomatoes, cucumber, strawberries, peas, lettuce and peppers so well when he helps pull them from the garden. Yay!

Monster Carrots!

2009-08-06T14:45:00.003-06:00

So that is why you are not supposed to plant carrots too close! Yesterday I wanted to pull some carrots from the garden to put into my dinner, but this was the beast that I ended up with! You wouldn't believe how intertwined those things were!

Washing Dishes

2009-07-21T19:23:00.003-06:00

I thought this was a funny moment worth talking about. Calvin and I had been cooking (hence the apron) and we had accrued some dishes in the sink. Calvin thought that was great and he jumped right in to do his thing. I am not sure that his purpose was to clean dishes, but whatever it was he was having fun - at least until I pulled him down.

Canning

2009-07-19T19:01:00.003-06:00

I canned! This is not a pastime that I usually take part in. I am planning to do more, but here is my start. I am pretty proud of how pretty they are. They are cherries by the way.

The great haircut!

2009-07-19T16:08:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago (yep, that long ago) Calvin and I made a visit to Aunt Chelsea's to get a haircut. I'd let his curls grow out too long, and although I loved them, he was taken for a little girl way too often. Fortunately, Chelsea is a pro and she did a great job giving Calvin a little boy's haircut. I still think he is super cute!

Before: After:

Wheeler Farms

2009-06-24T22:21:00.003-06:00

On Monday Calvin and I went to Wheeler Farms with some friends from our neighborhood. It was a lot of fun to see all of the animals. Calvin made some of the best mooing and quacking sounds, and he really liked all of the farm equipment. It was especially fun to just get out and play! Poor little guy has been pretty cooped up recently.
Calvin liked the barn with all of the old farm equipment. However, I think that it was the rope barrier that was really fun! I had a hard time keeping him where he was supposed to be. He really wanted to get in and explore.
This is the tractor that he really loved. I couldn't convince him to turn and smile at me - he was too busy driving. It is important to keep your eyes on the road!

Cleaning the Kitchen

2009-06-24T22:07:00.003-06:00

Can you tell that I am catching up on the blogging thing? Yeah, it has been a rough time for our blog (not that it was ever that full = )). So, here was a funny moment that I was lucky enough to catch on film. Calvin climbed up to the stove and proceeded to disassemble one of the burners. He then grabbed some toilet paper (unused and presumably closer than a rag or paper towel) and began to clean the inside of the stove out! I have no idea where he got the idea to do this. Did he see me doing it? I can't remember cleaning out the burner with him there - I don't do it that often.

Yup ... Asthma

2009-06-23T01:31:00.003-06:00

Well, it is confirmed. Calvin is lucky enough to carry on the Walker legacy of asthma. So far we have only had him in to the doctor with breathing trouble a couple of times, and we were able to treat him at home (with the help of some drugs), but we will be keeping an eye on our little guy. Hopefully he'll be one of the lucky kids that can grow out of their asthma a little bit. If not, well, he'll fit in with the rest of the asthmatics in the family!

Welcome home Angie! - also, our vacation

2009-06-18T07:13:00.005-06:00

This has taken me forever to get started, but here goes! Just before Memorial Day weekend Calvin and I headed out to California to spend some time with my parents and to welcome my sister Angie home from her mission in Colorado. It was the first time the Calvin had ever been to his grandparents home. I was a little bit nervous about the flight out (there was a layover), but Calvin did really well. The first night there Calvin fell out of bed and hit his head (presumably on the sharpish drawer pulls of the nightstand), and we got to spend a good portion of the evening in the emergency room having the cut glued back together. Calvin was a trooper through it and it didn't slow him down one bit the rest of our trip. He loved Grandma and Grandpa's backyard. They had a swing, a slide, a hill to run down, a sprinkler and so much more! We had lots of fun hanging out with our family. Then, Angie came home from her mission! That was exciting. Calvin met his Aunt for the first time, and I think that he really liked her! It was great to see Angie again and hear some of her mission stories and her strong testimony. Oh yeah, here's the welcome home cake that we made. We thought that it was quite fitting.
Calvin and I got to hang out with the family and afterward Angie and Kyra were kind enough to drop us off at home. It was fun having them over to visit us as well. We got to meet one of Angie's companions and to just hang out together for a little while. That is nice, as sisters we haven't been able to do that in awhile.
We also got to see Rusty and Chelsea and Kent and Raelynn. That was a good night of a little family togetherness. We'll have to do it more often.
Well, I think that I am rambling now. It took me so long to get this up that I have practically forgotten the details (well, not completely!) It was great getting to spend time with family, both here and in California. Hopefully, we'll get to do it again soon!

Sudoku on the Throne

2009-05-01T12:25:00.003-06:00

This morning Chris heard something funny in the bathroom after Calvin had been washed. He looked over and saw Calvin sitting on the toilet ready to do some Sudoku! Hmmm ... where did he learn to do puzzles there?

Easter Eggs - finally!

2009-04-27T21:31:00.004-06:00

I thought that I had better post these pictures of Calvin "decorating" his Easter eggs. Wow, that was messy! Also, note the Easter morning feast. Orange rolls and caramel chocolate eggs! Yumm! The best part was the straw!

Alien Pods

2009-04-15T12:50:00.003-06:00

These are the infamous "alien pods" that Chris concocted a few years ago. I think that they were supposed to be creamy and cheesy, but, because they were standing, all of the creaminess that he had inserted boiled out in the oven. I thought the corn was nice for the alien landscape. Maybe those were the aliens?
So, we got a good laugh out of this and I thought that I would share it again.
... Don't try this at home kids - it is really hard to clean up!

Gardening

2009-03-31T13:48:00.003-06:00

Well, here it is! We have finally planted our spring garden. It was a lot of work digging out those sections, tilling and making the furrows, and we still have more work to go. However, we are so excited to get this thing going. Calvin loved it, he could play outside and get into the dirt all he wanted. He helped dad get the rocks out of the garden. Now, if it will just stop randomly snowing we can watch this thing take off.
Sometimes he tried to rake and dig with the shovel, but they are a little bit big for him.
We are moving some of the plants that we started indoors into bigger containers so that they can continue to grow indoors. Calvin was a big help moving the potting soil from the bag into the cut up milk jugs.
Here are our plants growing away. We are trying some heirloom tomatoes that are supposed to be yummy, so, I hope that they stay strong.
These grew so fast! I was impressed at how well most of our seeds did in these little seed containers. They are a good way to get the plants started indoors and save a little money on plants. I just hope that they do as well when they are away from their perfect little environments!

Caught in the act

2009-03-27T11:24:00.003-06:00

Here we have the wild Calvin in his native environment. He is eating a nutritious blend of milk, thickening agents, sugar and chocolate, and making the distinctive eating patterns so typical for his species. See how he carefully removes the blend from its container and spreads it for more easy access. He places the eating stick in his mouth and carefully masticates, using mostly gum action because this creature has very few teeth. Ahh, the joys of digestion in the wild. It is especially wild when mom turns her back to load the dishwasher!
Well, until next time on wild kingdom ...

Rock Monster

2009-03-24T12:40:00.002-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se1N26-BKSk

Is this legal? I don't know, but I am a B-52s fan and I thought the VeggieTales created an awesome version of a classic! It cracked me up, and Calvin really busts out his groove thing when we play it for him. So, now, everyone go out and buy The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything and I won't have to feel bad about posting an illicit link = ).

I did it!

2009-03-16T14:02:00.005-06:00

I finished the beast! I started this thing a little over a year ago and I am finally finished. Okay, I still need to quilt and bind it, but the top is finished. It is huge! Yay! It is done!

Today at the park

2009-02-27T21:35:00.003-07:00

Today was beautiful, if a little bit chilly, so, Calvin and I spent the afternoon at the park. It was a lot of fun. Calvin is all about pushing his own stroller, and today he screamed both times I put him in. He really wanted to walk and push the stroller himself. Calvin tasted the bark and dirt in two parts of the park and decided that it wasn't his thing. Thank goodness. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I grabbed him each time and made him spit it out. I'm okay with that! The slides and the swings were a lot more fun. I can't wait until it gets a little bit warmer and we can hang out with our friends at the park.

Look at him eating!

2009-02-27T21:25:00.003-07:00

I can't get Calvin to eat anything these days - I mean really! It is a pain, but when he does look at how nicely he does it! So some of the food enters on the spoon and some in the hand, but it mostly makes it in (as long as he doesn't toss it on the floor first). I've heard that at about a year-old kids get really picky about their food, and it would appear so. Calvin won't eat so many yummy foods that he used to eat happily. So weird. I hope that he gets back to eating one of these days.

Bang bang! You're shot!

2009-02-18T20:35:00.002-07:00

Awhile ago Chris taught Calvin how to "shoot" with his fingers. He starts it by pointing his fingers at Calvin and making pshoo pshoo sounds. Calvin responds by shooting back and Chris pretends to die. Calvin loves this game and we all run around "shooting" at each other sometimes. Two nights ago Chris was doing this at the dinner table and after pretending to be shot Chris shot at Calvin. For the first time Calvin pretended to be shot. He threw back his head and groaned while staring at the ceiling. We busted up and I wish that I could have gotten it on film, it was classic! After he heard us laughing he knew he had something and he started adding dying screams to the mix. It was so funny. I just wish that I could have recorded it - sigh!

It is time to catch up

2009-02-03T14:23:00.003-07:00

First of all, I think that Calvin walking around in his combat-like snow-boots and shorts is a must for anyone's day! Those were such a good find! I love the Osh-Kosh outlet, especially when everything is like 70% off!
Oh, and what a ham. I think that he was going for the camera here. That is standard in our household. I think that I am going to buy one of those kid proof cameras for him next Christmas (depending on the cost).
It is a good thing that I have Calvin around to help with the clean-up ... yup. I couldn't keep him away from the broom and dust pan when I swept so his dad took the middle segment out of the unused Swiffer and now I've got a helper who freaks out if he doesn't get to jump in on the mess! I think the lack of pajama bottoms makes this scene all the more quaint.
Speaking of messes - look at that face. So cute, so covered in food! It is a good thing that this kid loves his baths. Lately he has figured out how the bath-water runs in and out and he takes great pleasure in making it do what he pleases. He particularly likes the faucet. Still, even better than the faucet and bath-tub is Mommy and Daddy's shower! Oooh! The water is all over the place in there!

Well, that is my Calvin and he is definitely the excitement of our lives these days. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up. I would call him a toddler now and that is amazing to me. It just took one year and he has come a long way. Yup, that is a good start. Now I guess that I just need to get this blog out so that other people can look at it.

Here we go!

2008-12-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it! We have decided to blog - at long last. Hopefully I will keep this up the way that I ought to = ).