A Peek at the Poulsens

Natalie. 5 years and 5 months. Loves any kind of outing and feels left out if she doesn't get to come.  Doesn't like paper that is crinkled or already scribbled on. Loves the nutella/breadsticks snack. Gets home from school, gets a snack and gets cozy downstairs, then asks me to choose her a movie. She only watches 15 minutes til she's back up with me. waiting for me outside the bathroom Loves sleepovers (with grandparents). Resists going back to school after days off but is always happy after school. Loves staying up past bedtime. Favorite movies lately: Leap, George of the Jungle, Harry Potter 2. Doesn't like when Stockton gets to choose the song/movie/activity and she doesn't. Competitive; very anxious to not break rules at school; concerned with fairness. Loves playing with friends, especially at their houses. Likes checking the mail when she gets home. Watches Psych with Dad when I'm at work. Likes downloading gam...

Stockton. Age 4 and 4 months. Loves "yellow noodles" (ramen) and doritos. Hates taking off his Daddy shirt in the morning when it's time to get out of jammies. Loves Alex, Janelle, and Logan at ACT clinic, where he goes three mornings a week. Loves being outside, doesn't like getting his clothes wet. Calls suckers "parties in my tummy." His favorite songs are "All Star" by Smash Mouth and "Sleigh Ride" by Pentatonix. Not loving our efforts to teach him to poop in the potty. Still prefers a diaper, or just not pooping at all. -_- Loves soda. (my fault). Loves playing at friends' houses, but doesn't like when I leave. Afraid of pets, but likes watching them from afar. Loves throwing balls down slides. Takes lots of closeup pictures and likes looking at himself on my phone. Getting better at consistently wearing shoes, although it's still a struggle. Goes to primary (finally!) thanks...

Jack. 2 years, 9 months. Loves raspberry jam toast (sometimes), loves playing outside (all the time). Hates listening when it's time to go somewhere. him stubbornly not budging while I threatened to drive away Loves friends, following Natalie and Stockton around, and making messes. Loves being silly. Always asks for more milk at bedtime, prefers sleeping with at least 3 binks in his crib. Wants to be independent. Curious about the potty but not potty training yet. Slightly less clingy than in the past. Loves pets. Babbles incoherently when he gets excited. Still tenses his whole body when he is really jazzed about something. Speaking in full sentences and getting better at pronouncing things, although he still can't say "s" or a few other sounds. Seems athletically inclined. Likes to read. Acts like a punk in nursery because I'm in there. Doesn't stay in his seat, doesn't want to give the egg shakers back after singin...

I know that having kids means cleaning up messes. And I'm fine with that, for the most part. But Smalls has earned the title of MDK: Most Destructive Kid, because he can and will make a disaster out of any material, anywhere, any time. setting up barriers/booby traps when he knows people are coming over He LOVES playing with food. He loves playing with liquids even more. experimenting with milk in bowls He likes smashing, crushing, throwing, dismantling, ripping, shredding, and dumping. There was one day last week where I kid you not, all I did for 8 hours was clean up his messes, only to turn around and find that he had wreaked havoc in the next room. It was, and is, exhausting. Especially because I really think it's his way of exploring his creativity and senses, so it's hard to get mad at him too much! But I draw the line at squishing a banana into the toy car. this was him trying to get it out when he got caught And shoving cotton balls...

Our break has been full of sick children (and adults)! We took turns passing around a fever/aches/headache/cough/fatigue-type sickness for the week leading up to Christmas, and then the week after Christmas when the kids were still acting tired and fussy we took them in to the doctor and found ear infections in all three of them! We're all doing much better now, but it was a gloomy kind of week, especially for this tired mama. making oreo dirt cups she was hungry but didn't have enough energy to sit at the table, poor thing Stockton leading the way at the doctor (he LOVES the doors at the doctor's office) our life this week  Feeling better!  We went out for a little Natsby/Mommy date this weekend. Natalie got her standard Shirley Temple, and I enjoyed my cheese enchiladas. Then we went to Barnes to pick out a new Captain Underpants book (she has been reading them out of order, which I have to remind myself over and over is not a big deal ...