A Peek at the Poulsens

probably the only time posting a picture of a pee-pee is appropriate IT'S A BOY!!  Hooray! We've known for a couple weeks, and we are so excited! I was nervous that if we had a second girl so close to our first they would constantly be competing and comparing, so I'm glad we won't have to deal with that hurdle (yet). Plus, it's fair game from here on out; we'll already have one of each so the pressure is off! Austin and I decided our first son's name on our second date over two years ago, so it was a relief to already have one picked out this time. (I don't have to remind you of our multiple naming dilemmas with Natalie...glad we don't have to worry about another girl's name for at least a little while longer.) Drumroll pleeeeaassseee.... Stockton __ _*_ _ Poulsen will be here on or before (I hope) October 2nd, exactly one year and two months after Natalie's due date. I'm 18 weeks along...almost halfway! *a note ab...

Happy SUMMER! My classes are over ( forever ), our vacations are planned, and the weather has been perfect! Thursday morning. Drill? Except not - we've had rain, snow, sleet, slush, ice, hail, thunderstorms, and brutal wind this week. And one glorious 80-degree day. Nebraska has always been temper(ature)mental, but snow in May? New low, NE. Just short of canceling, UNL even truncated the (outdoor) commencement ceremonies this weekend from a full-out four hour jamboree in Memorial Stadium to handing out degrees in a small room in the stadium where only graduates would fit, so the families could just wait outside...? They've since adjusted this to a still-shortened but family-welcome event. Thanks, weather. We enjoyed the last bit of sun on Tuesday by going on a walk with friends around Holmes Lake. Natalie had her first experience with sand, and I thought based on her anti-grass sentiments that she wouldn't like it, but she could have played on the beach all day! ...

SURPRISE! Team Poulsen is adding another player to the roster late September/early October! I thought about posting this on April Fool's to really confuse people, but decided to wait until I was done with school. It's been nice to only have a small pocket of people know that we are expecting; we've been able to focus on everything else that is going on in our lives, and sort of have a little secret. Except it's not really little... another baby is a HUGE deal! Especially since when we found out we were pregnant, Natalie wasn't even six months old. Uh...what? Yeah. Without going into the nitty-gritty, basically we weren't trying to get pregnant yet (I thought we'd wait at least a few more months) but we... miscalculated ...and voila! Hello, baby. I started to get concerned that a certain monthly occurrence wasn't, well, occurring, but I figured my body was still getting back to normal after having Natalie so I didn't think too much about it. ...

It's finally not dismal outside! (By the end of April, I'd certainly hope so...it's been ridiculous weather.) We decided to finally introduce Natalie to playtime outside, something she hasn't really been familiar with since she's always shrouded against the biting wind or unseasonable snow. She hated grass at first, but is warming up to it little by little. I also don't think she really has a concept of what wind is; it seemed like she was kind of confused every time a warm gust blew against her face. I'm already dreading the hot, sticky weather I know is sure to come, so I'm taking advantage of this current mild, lovely temperature to play outside with Natalie before we hole up in our beautiful air-conditioned abode for the duration. mom's-eye view grass isn't so bad... jk, I don't like this *frantic flail* safe in the confines of mom's lap...let's check out this "grass" thing one more time the cheek...

This was our date night a weekend or two ago and it was SO fun! I highly recommend it...not too expensive (two ceramic items, paint, sitting/glazing fee for both of us total was $29) and something out of the ordinary. We went with a couple from our ward and it was way fun. I did the letter "N" for Natalie, (duh), and Austin did a huge mug that he literally holds in reverence ...he makes any and every excuse to drink out of the "Vader Mug," claiming it makes everything taste better. One time he had poured himself some milk in a regular cup and then realized that he had the Vader Mug, so he poured the milk into the more desirable vessel and wasted a perfectly good cup (says the girl who hates dishes.) I think that he would sleep with it under his pillow if it wasn't breakable (never mind that it's uncomfortable too.) the paint is much more dull before it gets glazed it's supposed to hang on her wall, but she prefers to use it as a toy for...