Easily Entertained Lambertsens

Here at our house, us Lambertsens are easily entertained with the most simple of things... Our Sweet Little Max has an obsession with the sound "BING!" Whenever we say this word, or do any movement associated with it, Max is ELATED. Of course once you bust out the camera, things are always much less pronounced, but times this excitement by two and you have one silly/happy little boy!

In other Max news, Max has decided that he is SO OVER baby food. He now refuses to eat it when there is any other form of BIG BOY FOOD around. Today, instead of eating the usual banana baby food for breakfast, he turned his head away and motioned for the pancakes Lars was making. Needless to say, he finished 2 pancakes himself. Nice job, Max. 10 months is apparently the time when you have graduated to complete solids. (next video of him eating fresh grapes from grandma and grandpa's new house. Don't worry they are much softer than the grapes at the grocery store and not a choking hazard. Yes, he ate one after the other very quickly. He was even putting them in his mouth faster than this! 3 grapes per 30 seconds; in about the ten minutes he was eating, that's 60 grapes--he polished off a complete vine himself!)

Max and Maddie
Max is completely obsessed with his sister. He's like a little puppy that follows her everywhere! He squeals in delight over her and always laughs louder over her than he ever does with mommy or daddy! Silly little boy and silly, silly little girl. I LOVE THEM BOTH! Oh, and sorry about the sideways view. Blogger won't let me post the video when they're modified on their side!

Grandma and Grandpa's New House

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa Verellen's new River Heights house yesterday. We took pictures for them of the inside so my mom could "plan" her house before she gets here:) We picked some fruit (with the approval from the current owner and real estate agent, of course) and found that there was FAR more fruit than we anticipated. We certainly could have taken 5 bowls of fruit without making a dent in the fruit there! Max just LOVED the grapes and Lars gave him an apple to gnaw on. He was the happiest little camper, EVER! He even cheesed it for me for some pictures. It was WAY CUTE! He's never done that before, but he was surely posing for me and held quite still for the picture!
Unfortunately, the nights have been freezing so the fruit will not last too much longer without being picked. We might just have to go back and pick more before it snows!

Rekindled Love for Swimming

When Deb and I usually go swimming at 5 o'clock in the morning, we are accustomed to sharing a pool with a bunch of people, pretty similar to this:Well, today we went an hour later, and BOY AM I EVER HAPPY WE DID! Our pool looked like this instead:
I've gotta tell you...having a pool to your self makes all the difference! I worked harder, I was happier, and I didn't have to circle swim with ANYONE!!! It was pure bliss!

I'm really looking forward to seeing these guys this weekend:
As well as this sweet little thing:
Yeah, I just might be the luckiest girl in the world! So long to crappy swimming. HELLLLLLO 6am swim ALL TO MYSELF!

Spending Just a Few Extra Minutes With the Kids Cashes In!

Spending just a few extra minutes with Maddie doing educational things has really paid off this week. She remembered how to spell "Mommy" and drew it from memory (almost completely right!):We played together and had more bonding time:She drew some wicked renditions of what MOM looks like (She's good, huh?!):We played dress up:
And my little genius learned how to write her name (mine on top, hers on bottom):
All in just an extra 10 minutes of attention each day. To think that all of this has been accomplished in just a few minutes a day has inspired me to be on the computer LESS and be actively teaching/playing with my kids MORE.

Goodbye, Sweet Computer. Until Naptime when we can meet again!

I've Raised Monsters!

So, I've always thought of myself to be a pretty good mom. I try hard to instill good values in my children; help them be nice and clean and considerate... Well, all my efforts must be in vain, because this is the song that my sweet little three year old sang to Lars and I on the way to his school this morning:
Once there was this girl who go hit by a truck
And she was sad
And everyone was so sad
And then a tree came and sat on her....

Yes, there was more, but angry MOMMY stopped that song dead in it's tracks.

"Madelyn! Don't you EVER sing a song like that again. I don't like songs that you say people are killed or hurt. I don't like songs that you tell of people being hit by trucks... (SOBBING from Maddie) And I most certainly DO NOT like mean songs! (Lars: Did mommy hurt your feelings? Maddie: Yeaaaah) Well, You hurt my feelings! I like nice songs. Songs where you sing of little girls playing in gold at the end of rainbows...."
Interjection by Maddie while sobbing: "But MOM, I don't know that song!" (Sob)

OMGosh, I've raised a monster.

Rewind to a few days ago, Max in his lovely innocence grabbed the bowl of sweet potatoes from my hand and chucked it. It splattered. Mess went from one side of the kitchen to the other (on the two doors behind him, up the walls, splats even in the bathroom). I had the camera sitting right there... Here's the face of that sly little "innocent" boy:
This picture was AFTER half of the mess was cleaned up. He just laughed at the whole thing...

I sure have raised quite the little SAINTS, huh?

Happy Anniversary

"55" years ago you anxiously waited for me to arrive at the temple. You were probably tapping your foot and nervously re-adjusting. A matron came to comfort you and told you "not to worry; she will come." I was also anxiously tapping my foot to get my family out the door to go to MY wedding. Once I saw you it reconfirmed our decision. We were so excited. I remember talking to you and whispering like our marriage was a secret, or a precious moment that wasn't to be obscured. That day I couldn't stop smiling. I was so proud to have married you in the temple for eternity. Our marriage doesn't end at "death do us part" but we are forever, we believe in happily-ever-afters. That day was one of the best days of my life. The choices we have made have blessed us with two beautiful children. We are the happiest and luckiest couple that I know! I am thankful for your devotion to me. I am thankful for your love. I am so happy to see you every day. You are my best friend. I love that you would rather hang out with me than do anything else in the world. You make me feel like a queen. Thank you. Thank you for everything. I love you FOREVER AND EVER....

Happy Anniversary, Honey. This is only number 4, but I'm looking forward to millions more!

My SILLY Babies

Videos of my little ones; Max is a Squealer, and Maddie sings random songs at bedtime from HSM, a made up song with made up words and the ABCs. She's a hoot!