A Peek at the Poulsens

Grandpa Bim, my dad's dad, has a nickname for all of us (mine is JB for Jessie 'Beth for Jessie Elizabeth, how's that for tangled?) and it's cute that he's continued this for his great-grandchildren. Natalie is NJ, naturally, but I didn't know what LB Stockton stood for until he visited last week. He told me that the first time he saw a picture of his great-grandson, he just looked like a "little buddy," so he called him LB Stockton. Is it still a nickname if the nickname is longer than the original name? Ha, maybe it will just morph into "LB" someday. I think it's cute, especially coming from my characteristically grumpy grandpa.  showing off his Harry Potter shirt from our friend - isn't he a handsome little marauder? Other than smiling and giggling, this little boy has been busy studying the carpet (he loves rolling to the corner of the rug and just examining it, haha), cutting some teeth, sleeping in his sister's roo...

I am LOVING this summer. It may not be as exciting as past summers filled with Europe, roadtrips, summer camps, single adventures, wedding planning, etc, but it is so fulfilling! It is fun to wake up and think, "hmm, what should we do today?" and then go do it! I like asking Natalie what she wants to do. She has only ever given me one of two options, ha: "tzoo" or "shatchews." We also like playing with friends, hanging at the splash pad, and going to the store. "WHEEEEEEULLLSSSS!" Natalie pretty much idolizes the car cart at the grocery store (it is a complete disaster trying to get her to leave, ugh) and last week we added Stockton to the seat! It was such a fun parent moment, seeing my children sitting together with their wheels! how fun is it that they are together!?  "see here, Stockton, this is the horn, and this is the wheel. you got that?" my view from behind - precious! siblings ^^^ I LOVE this picture! A ...

My dad, Lieutenant Colonel Terry Plumb, is officially retired from the United States Air Force! 25 years of admirable service and sacrifice. I've always been proud of him, and the ceremony last week was an extra reminder of why. one of the many awards he received A good family friend and Colonel himself, Bryan Haderlie, came to officiate and "read the record" (AF-speak for "go over career span") and he definitely set the tone for the event. Very gracious, highlighting my dad's achievements without seeming overboard and still making sure everyone remembered how wonderful my dad is. It was fun to hear old work stories from the 5+ states the AF has taken our family and really cool to get a glimpse of how appreciated my dad was at each of his jobs. There was a lot of talk about how it's all good and fine to do well at work, but the important thing was that my dad has always been a family man, and that came across during his career. Another thing that w...

Or, more commonly known as "statues." This is what Natalie says when she wants to walk around the UNL campus, where we look at the statues and climb rocks and have a grand time. It was a genius idea by yours truly to come there and play, if I do say so myself...there are hardly any people since it's summertime, and there are benches and shade trees and paths and lots of fun places for Natalie to explore without me having to mark her every move and worry about cars and other dangers. We all love it! We often go several times a week. look mom! i made it!  isn't she the prettiest?  being a champ, as always more stairs! yippee! we spent like 20 minutes here  I love how she keeps Kitty close ...can I touch it?  oh hey sprinkler...getting closer...aaaaand eventually she got soaking wet haha (i like her little shoeprints)

Natalie is a water fiend. She can't get enough! She'll take it in any form: bath, splash pad, plastic/real/blow-up pools, puddles, faucet...she could play in water 24 hours of the day. I'm glad Stockton is a good sport about it - sometimes he'll participate in the actual water activity, but mostly he just hangs out and observes. My parents whipped out the puffer fish pool of last summer and Natsby had a blast.  She loves buckets and cups - anything that holds water that is smaller than a bucket is a cup. Uncle Sam joined in the fun! July 2013 towel nap (look at those chunky legs!) Sometimes Stockton lays low (or high, in the case of the high chair), but he gets his game face on when we whip out the shark hat. Behold: SHARKTON! with his Mimi Seriously. This is a real thing. Haha he loves it, and so do we! I laugh every time I see it. It's nice that his head is protected from the sun, too, but mostly it's just hilarious haha.  (kim...

Mr. Stockton decided he wasn't interested in nursing anymore after he had the option of the convenient and fast bottle - I didn't feel like pushing it so we are now fully in Bottle Land. It's actually great - I love being able to have other people feed him and not have to worry about working around nursing times. It's nice to have this new flexibility. It's also fun for him to hold it himself! We originally gave him a bottle so that he would be fine when I went to work one night a week, and also to maybe encourage him to sleep for longer stretches at night. He sleeps from 7 or 8 at night til 7 in the morning, but he still wakes up to eat at least twice, but then falls right back asleep. It's nice to be able to share the feeding responsibilities now...I can stay in bed and send Austin out there sometimes! : ) Here's how I found him when I checked in during his nap: my actual first thought: AHH! WHERE'S HIS HEAD!? he almost always sleeps...