A Peek at the Poulsens

*tosses the phone out of the play area* Natalie: "He's in trouble." [referring to the phone] Me: "Why, what did he do?" Natalie: "...he was trying to squish me." Being a mom has been fun from the start, but having legitimate back-and-forth conversations with my Natsby has got to be my favorite activity so far. It is just so fun to see where her brain goes and watch her make connections, or just completely make up something ridiculous and try to figure out how she got there. She talks about everything - food, movies, flags, Target, dogs, diapers...she keeps a running commentary most of the time. "We're watching Groove. There's Kronk. That's funny." She broke a little spoon today and asked me to fix it, so I taped it together and when I gave it back she said, "Thank you Mommy. Good job Mommy." She talks to us like we talk to her and she picks up everything anyone says. Be careful if you are saying something...

I feel like I say this every time but it's so true - TIME IS FLYING! It's already January 5th, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN! We had a grand 2014 and hopes are high for 2015. New baby, Austin starting at UNL, losing weight (after three kids, I think it's time!), a brother and sister returning from missions and another leaving, and more of the day to day homemaking that defines my life and brings us so much joy (amidst the less exciting frustrations and impatience). I spent New Year's Eve in Omaha with my mom and it was awesome! So nice to have some one-on-one time. We went to Target (of course), had dinner at a potentially bad Mexican place that turned out to be delicious, went to the party that my dad's band was playing at (with some old folk who were LOVING the dancing,) and then just chatted at home. I almost stayed the night, but I wanted to sleep in my own bed, so I left at midnight and had to stop once on the way home because I was sooooo tired. I have never been a n...

Christmas was so nice this year - it was nice and long since we celebrated a few separate times with different family members, so it was extra festive, and we didn't travel so we had none of that stress...I think we'll make that a holiday habit! We feel so lucky and blessed that our families are so close. We'll save vacation time and money for the nicer summer months! (Although not this year, with a new baby. It still hasn't hit me that baby #3 is coming!) Christmas with the Plumbs - they brought giant tubs of presents that Natalie immediately took care of depositing under the tree. We ordered fancy pizza (Yia-Yia's in Lincoln - too pricey, but delicious!)  Natalie LOVES her princess dress. a favorite present from Jack watching Toy Story with Buzz - perfect Christmas jammies!  there's a great house our friends found that does synchronized music/lights - we took the kids and let them get out and be in the front of the car... they loved it! C...

Ahh, Christmas. Here and gone again already, but I already have a fond place in my heart for this particular Christmas. Natalie is finally old enough to actually enjoy opening presents/the whole Christmas Experience : the Grinch, Christmas lights, staying up late on Christmas Eve, Christmas trees, love. It was so fun to share the traditions of the holiday with her and especially to teach her about the Nativity. She easily recognizes Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, and loved watching videos about the first Christmas. We watched one on biblevideos.org where the angel visits Mary, and Natalie was absolutely glued - it was pretty magical to watch her soak it up. I'm so grateful we can mix the fun festivities of this time of year with the extra spirit that teaching about Jesus Christ brings. At first I wasn't looking forward to this Christmas quite as much since none of the Plumb family were really going to be together - Mom in Utah, Dad/Annie in California, Max in Austria, Sa...

It happened to be both rainy AND a Monday today, but it wasn't as bad as the Carpenters say. We had to go to the store in the morning and then we kind of hibernated. We had lots of cozies with blankies and hot chocolate and Monsters University (Stockton's favorite) and Grinch (Natalie's favorite).  funny yawns siblings Isn't it sweet that they wanted to sit together? I promise I didn't even pose them there. They gravitated towards each other and got all settled. Love : ) mommy cozies  Stockton had bonked his head and wanted loves so I was already cozy with him, but Natalie saw us and decided she needed in on the action. We stuffed ourselves into the chair and snuggled for a few lovely minutes. Warm, cozy, calm children are the best. first haircut! I was tired of the unruly rat tail on Natalie's neck, so one day I decided to just go for it and one snip later, VOILA! A drastic difference from just one cut! I was so proud of myself! It...

We like having people over for dinner and do it pretty often, but this season we wanted to raise the bar. Last month I read a random newspaper article about "Friendsgiving," basically Thanksgiving with friends. I thought it was such a fun idea and wanted to host one, minus the turkey. (I feel like you have to be married for ten+ years before even considering making your own turkey. No thanks.) Thanksgiving came and went and then we were into Christmasland, so we decided to combine both holidays into...  FRIENDSMASGIVING 2014  The table was set with effort and care (Look, do you see the cloth napkins there?) A single candle was lit and shon bright Lighting our friends and food, that night the table (i'm sad I didn't get a better picture, it really was pretty)  Willy and Natsby, excited to eat Wiggling their forks and kicking their feet There too were Renetta, Dan, Mabel Lou And Ross, Aly, Spencer, and Colt...woohoo! aren't they the c...

we're both looking AND smiling at the same time! renetta is a master photographer!  We have had random nice weather recently and the kids are glorying in it - Stockton is CONSTANTLY trying to escape out the door. When I took stuff to a friend's car earlier after the shower, Stockton was standing outside holding onto the railing in only a onesie, looking so thrilled with himself, ha. I wish I had a picture. LOVING the leaves in the backyard friends are fun. also, she still begs for a dress every morning. i use it as a potential reward/punishment now. ("was that a good choice? i guess you don't get to wear a dress anymore.")  Stockton naps for at least thirty minutes longer than Natalie, (although lately it's been more like an extra hour,) and I love that one-on-one time with my Natsby. She usually wants to be cozy for a little while and then do something fun, like wrapping "presents" or making cookies. I love that we are pals. (I also...