A Peek at the Poulsens

We (okay, I) decided to build a fort one morning this week. It sort of went like this: Gather all the chip clips from the kitchen "Natalie, don't touch!" Five attempts later, finally get blanket clipped to crib without Natalie damage Natalie avoids fort Plug in Christmas lights Natalie goes in fort "Natalie, don't touch!" Fort gets pulled down Christmas lights get pulled out ..."mall!" We go to mall instead I guess it's too early for forts, which is too bad because the whole clip/crib thing makes a perfect fort! No more precarious books holding too-heavy blankets on wobbly stools, etc. At least not yet!

I love being a mom but I miss being spontaneous, especially late at night. I got such an opportunity last night when my mom and I were wondering why I wasn't there watching the recording of next to normal...an idea dawned and she said I should just come down there right now and watch with them and have treats and hang out...so I did! Natalie was already asleep since it was almost eight, so I just took Stockton and drove down to my parents' house and it was awesome! I got home a little after midnight (see pic) so I was pretty tired, but it was exactly the random fun adventure I needed. I'm so glad my husband is supportive and my family is random!

One of Natalie's favorite things to do lately is draw. She prefers markers, but she'll use crayons too. We've had two (known) incidents of drawing on something other than approved paper, but she's actually very good at only drawing when she asks us. When I caught her drawing on the chair, she wasn't even trying to hide it, making big marker circles and saying "draw, draw." That's why you don't buy expensive furniture, right? She's a budding artist!

Hi! Time for a juicy, detailed, satisfying post. It's refreshing to update, isn't it?  she lovesssss putting a sock on her hand for some reason - she waves like crazy and grins the whole time The title of this post is a little misleading since by now Stockton is nearly 6 months and Natalie is 19.5, but since I missed most of the past month I thought I'd cheat a little and backtrack.   woooo! natalie still loves dancing, no matter what kind of music it is. and often even without music. Stomp is our champ - he is so calm and easy, but never boring! He loves gumming the plastic turtle on the exersaucer, gently swinging in the jumper while I'm in the kitchen, practicing his increasingly streamlined rolling on the floor, and playing peekaboo with Natalie behind the couch. He is much more content doing an activity for longer periods of time than Natalie was - she was like "um yeah, enough of this" after two minutes, but he'll relax for a lot lon...

For my first two years of college I often went home to go to church with my family instead of at the singles ward. Some of the boys thought that was pretty delinquent of me to always ditch out so they called me "The Bum Plumb" behind my back and only told me once I was married and left that ward for good, ha. As I was running today I remembered that random nickname and thought to myself, "I'm not a bum!" and it made me more proud of my fourteen-minute jog. I've been trying to find my ideal way to lose weight and get back in shape - gym membership? workout classes? at-home videos? - and I haven't had much success, mostly because I haven't been consistent in anything. I thought about the last time I really and truly felt fit and great about my body and it was as a college freshman in ROTC...obviously I can't be in that situation again (which is too bad because talk about a great workout!), so I thought back to the next best fitness time in my lif...

There are so many GREAT things about going to the mall to walk: exercise, getting out of the house, fun friend time if you bring a partner...but it was even better than usual today because instead of turning away or just giving a brief smile, I decided to acknowledge everyone who noticed our entourage. We garner a lot of attention with the stroller that resembles Shamoo filled with two cute babes, especially since one of them is usually in a proclaiming/pointing mood, drawing more eyes to us. We hear all sorts of comments as we walk, from the typical "aww she's so cute!" and "you have your hands full!" (grr...more on that topic later) to my favorite, "woah there's another baby in there!" when they notice Stockton on the back of the stroller. A lot of the comments are directed to us but I also hear them spoken softly between people passing us or walking behind. Anyway, I normally reply to the people who actively address me, but otherwise I just pol...

It was finally not FRIGID outside so I let Natsby play in the car after errands. This is definitely one of her favorite ways to spend time. She likes it so much that she shrieked her little heart out all the way til we got inside afterward and needed snuggles, Kitty, and the "happy song" (if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands...etc) to calm down. Since it's been so cold, Natalie's other favorite playground is the stairwell in the front of our apartment building. She could play there for hours. She races up the stairs to the third floor landing and runs back and forth on her little Natsby missions. She makes me laugh! This is another shriek-inducing activity, when it's time to go. I'm sure the neighbors love it! :)

I moved the piano bench to behind the couch (it was just too tempting for Natsby to climb onto the piano!) and Natalie loves the new perch it provides, especially because it grants easy access to my head, or rather my hair. She knows the difference between a toothbrush and a hair brush but she prefers brushing my hair with the toothbrush, ha. Her other salon tools include sharpies, blocks, and plastic horsies. She is becoming quite the hairdresser, doing my hair while I feed her brother. Except for the times when she yanks, it's actually quite nice. In other hair news, Natalie finally has tufts that will fit into an elastic!! I absolutely LOVE the little pony on top of her head, haha! It makes me laugh every time I see her. I'm shocked that she doesn't mind it...we'll see how long that lasts!