A Holly Jolly Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas this year, filled with lots of good times with family, which is the most important thing. We spent about an equal amount of time with each and loved every minute of it!

This is Noah on Christmas Eve riding a decorative rocking horse that was just his size!Check out his darling Christmas attire, he's pretty thrilled.This is him looking a little bit bleary-eyed waking up at Grandma Poulsen's Christmas morning, it was a pretty rough night...His favorite present was the magical wrapping paper. You just can't beat that wonderful noise that it makes.And then his second favorite present, but one that gets to stick around for awhile. He loves his toy garden (thats not what it's called, but I can't remember the name of it, and toy garden sounds much more fun anyway) just as long as someone is close enough to watch him and all the cool stuff he can do. Once you leave the room he doesn't think it's quite so cool. The boy enjoys an audience.And last but not least we ended the holiday with some sweat moments under the Christmas tree. Come to find Noah really LOVES christmas trees and he's the happiest boy on earth when he is lying beneath them. It was a great way to conclude Christmas Day.

The Midway Excursion

The Poulsen fam is forming a tradition of gathering at a condo in Midway the weekend before Christmas. As we are all having to share families and some come from out of town, this assures us a time that we can all be together. Rich and I were in charge of planning it this year and I think it was a big success! It started out with a family picture. There have been a few additions (including myself) to the family since the last portrait, so it's good to finally get an updated one. I think it turned out rather nice, especially since we were just using the timer on our very non-fancy camera. Noah enjoyed reuniting with some of his cousins for the first time since he was a few days old. Aden loved Noah and was constantly trying to give him open mouthed kisses. As cute as it was I had to put a stop to it since all of the kids were carrying around sicknesses.
A few of the group took a major snowshoeing hike and had a jolly good time. It was snowing pretty bad up there!
We had tons of fun for a couple days and it was good to see everyone together.And we ended the gettaway with sledding. Thanks for everyone's help in making the magic happen!

Whoops

Sometimes when your changing a diaper and your in a hurry to get back to watching 'The Biggest Loser' finale, you forget to button up your sons onesie before you put his pants back on. Oh well. This way he wont be able to pull those sweats off and run around pantless, because he's always tryin' to do that! Leave it to my babe to make me laugh

Running out of Patience

Sure am hating this drive by now. Can't wait to be done.
9 more days!!!

It's my Babe's Birthday!!!

He turns a quarter of a century old today!!! And he's still as cute as ever:)

I Love you babe, I hope you have an excellent day!!!

Tagged by Laura

5 things I did 10 years ago...
1. entered Young Womens
2. started wearing make-up
3. got to go to good old Junior High
4. broke my leg
5. started taking private cello lessons

5 things on my 'to do' list today...
1. grocery shopping
2. laundry
3. dishes
4. practice cello
5. Celebrate Rich's B-day! Yay! Something exciting!

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. Goldfish crackers
2. tootsie rolls
3. french fries
4. guacamole
5. milk

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire...
1. buy a nice home
2. take a really nice vacation with Rich
3. buy Rich a subaru outback
4. buy myself a Toyota Camry
5. save the rest!

5 places I have lived...
1. Mesa Arizona
2. Murray Utah
3. Orem Utah
4. Provo Utah
5. Murray Utah, again

5 jobs I have had...
1. Police Cadet for Murray City :)
2. Server at the Brick Oven
3. Call center
4. McCoy's Furniture Sales Assistant
5. Personal assistant at Envision Lending

5 people I tag...
1. Dani
2. Kelly
3. Steph
4. Mari
5. Kim (c'mon Kim, you can do it!)

Handsome

I just had to post this picture because I think it's so adorable. Check out his little dimples!

HALLOWEEN!

I know these pictures are a little bit overdue, but they're worth a look. We had fun putting together costumes this year.
Don't be confused, we did mix eras a little bit, but oh well. I ended up looking like an 80's disco dancer (thanks to this gem of a shirt, compliments of Savers). Rich has got the fro with clothes more from the seventies. And Noah is our little Hippie child! His costume is definately my favorite. So hardcore. These are some pictures from our ward Halloween carnival. Noah was sleeping through most of it unfortunately, but if you'll just take a look, yes.....that is a onesie...Tie Dyed! Compliments of me! It took me three tries to get it right, but if anyone needs lessons on tie dying, just ask the expert. I may have come up with my own method, but it worked out in the end.Rich tweaked these ones in Photoshop. Makes a pretty handsome afro man huh?What do you think? Do you think I could go blonde?Finally, Noah woke up long enough to say "was up." Look at those muscles!!!Now this is our pumpkin. We bought the sweetest pumpkin and by the time we got around to carving it (Halloween Night) the top of it had started to mold. So we had to cut it off. Making it perfectly acccesible to put on your head of course! We don't really know what it is, but it looks pretty cool!

99 Things...

I found this tag while I was blog-stalking people (we all do it!) and even though I'm not officially tagged, I wanted to do it because it makes me feel good about all the things I've done!
All you do is bold/change color of the font of the things that you have done. It's a nice trip down memory lane!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower - blind date - worst experience ever
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - well, okay not at see, but on the beach, close enough
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - If you consider Tye-dye on art, I just taught myself to do that and I'm mighty proud!
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - only kind of, long story...
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - so proud of this one!
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - hm, not officially, but I am teaching privately. I guess that could be a business...
58. Taken a martial arts class - haven't done this but kind of want to...
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - oh BOY do I have childhood toys!
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - for my baby! so Proud!
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - it was only a fish, but it was awful
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - Happen to KNOW David Archuletta!
92. Joined a book club - Okay I shouldn't count this. But I've tried so many times!
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - yep, gross.
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

M.O.M.

Today is one of those days when all I have to do is make eye contact with Noah and he will inevitably give me one of his biggest eye-crinkling grins. The sound of my voice will make him giggle and squirm. It's days like this that make me feel like I don't give him enough attention, because he gest so excited as if he is deprived! But I really do my best, he just an unbelievably chill baby! Really, he will just sit and stare at me, watching me do whatever it is I'm doing, even something as uninteresting as typing on the computer (like this very moment).

Although, he is pretty good at letting me know when he wants some lovin'. He "yells". There really isn't another word for the little sounds he makes, very boyish sounds too. And they really just sound like yelling, only very quiet because his lungs are still pretty teeny. But it's funny the little combination of letters that come out, some of them actually making sense. Sometimes it sounds like he's saying "HEY!"

And that brings me to the point of this blog today. Today he yelled "MOM!"

It was the most amazing little sound I've ever heard, and it was totally by accident I'm sure. But I immediately whirled around and stared at him, and of course he gave me his best eye-crinkling grin.

If that doesn't warm your heart, I don't know what will.

Premature

So yesterday morning the Lady on Fox 13 news (I think thats where I heard it) said that there was a storm coming and that all the rain and the wind was going to blow all of the leaves off. She said, and I quote, "This morning might be your last chance to sneak up and see those autumn leaves." So all day I am scanning the sky, praying that it doesn't rain before Rich can get home so we can "sneak up and see the leaves."

So we go as soon as he gets home, and I kind of feel like it was premature! I don't know maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was a combination of the gloomy day and just not finding the right spot. But we felt like the leaves just hadn't done enough changing yet, there was too much green. So that put me at ease. I feel like we've got atleast another week, maybe two!

All the same, we did capture some pretty cute pictures nonetheless.

Whoa! Does he not look like he's 4 months old! Sheesh!

This is Me on Monday Morning.....Ugh

Attending school would seem to be equivalent to a weekend getaway...

Babies change things.

Long Long Ago

Once Upon a Time....my baby was this small.
These are some pictures we had taken of Noah when he was just two weeks old. It's amazing what a long time ago that seems, and how much he's grown since then.

Livin' the Dream

So...we haven't been doing a lot of terribly exciting blog-worthy things lately, but we do keep ourselves entertained!

This is Noah's first fort...You can tell by the look on his face that he is ecstatic. I mean, what little boy wouldn't be! (we'll show him these pictures later on in life and he'll be sorry he was so indifferent to this amazing creation)It may have looked big on the outside, but we pretty much demolished it while Rich and I were trying to join in the fun, we had to rebuild it around ourselves:)And thats the latest!

I Hereby Tag, All Who Read This

1. What is your occupation right now? Cello Teacher, Mommy, Student

2. What color are your socks right now? All of my socks are white, except for some pink ones with hearts that I wear on Valentines day

3. What are you listening to right now? Colbie Caillat – Oxygen

5. Can you drive a stick shift? No, and it sometimes makes my life pretty difficult because one of our two cars is a stick. I really should learn, but it’s a tiny truck, therefore Noah can’t ride in it. And it just seems like a waste of an outing to get a baby sitter so Rich can teach me to drive stick.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mother in Law, one of the 3 people who call me (Rich, my mom, and my mom-in-law! I should probably get some friends…)

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? No…just kiddin’ I love you Kelly Jean!

8. How old are you today? Almost 22! …but yeah today, 21.

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Hm…I guess I’d have to say soccer, because I played it so I can understand it and get into it. But I’m really working on basketball and football for Rich’s sake.

10. What is your favorite drink? I LOVE MILK!!! But ever since we moved into this apartment that has a fridge with the ice thing that makes crushed ice and has instant cold water, I drink a lot more of that than I used to. It’s not so bad.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Actually, no. I’ve only gotten weaves, some people may consider that the same thing. But believe it or not I have always had atleast SOME of my natural color.

12. Favorite food? I don’t know that I have one favorite. If you asked my favorite type I would always say Italian, but I’m kind likin’ Tai food now too. My favorite thing these days is the Tomato Potato chip sandwich that Rich introduced to me a couple of weeks ago (Tomato, Mayo, and Potato chip between bread, it’s Delish!)

13. What is the last movie you watched? The Holiday, but I only made it through half, then I fell asleep.

14. Favorite day of the year? Hm. That question is impossible to answer. I’m skipping it.

15. How do you vent anger? Well, this may make some people question my sanity. If I’m angry with a person than I just have imaginary conversations with them in my head and say everything that I need to say. Those of you who know me know that what I want to say will almost never get to the person who needs to hear it. It’s probably not healthy…
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My sis and I were obsessed with stuffed animals, they all had names and birthdays, the works. But I also loved my American girl dolls.

17. What is your favorite season? Fall hands down. My dad says it’s an awful season because everything is dying. But it’s got both Rich and My birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, the anticipation of Christmas, it smells good, it’s beautiful with the leaves, the temperature is perfect, and school starts after a summer break so it doesn’t seem quite so terrible!

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries, I don’t so much like blueberries

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Of course.

20. Who is the most likely to respond? Um, maybe Dani? (no pressure)

21. Who is least likely to respond? Probably Kim since she hasn’t blogged for forever (but I know she'll read this, so there some pressure:)

22. Living arrangements? In my sisters basement right now, but we’re looking…

23. When was the last time you cried? Actually, yesterday.

24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, and my backpack.

26. What did you do last night? Took a walk to wheeler farm and then feel asleep at like eight thirty so that I couldn’t sleep once I really wanted to.

27. What are you most afraid of? Someone in my family dieing. That’s a little morbid, I should have found something light and funny to say, but it’s true.

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheesy. Everything is better with a little cheese.

29. Favorite dog breed? One day I’m going to get a Yorky Poodle. I love those little dogs.

30. Favorite day of the week? Probably Thursdays, because I love Fridays….That may only make sense to me.

31. How many states have you lived in? Just good ol’ Utah!

32. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls

33. What is your favorite flower? I love lilies. But it’s probably tied with Roses. I say lilies because it seems more original. Rich thinks roses are overated, and he’s probably right, but I just can’t shake it, I love Them!

34. How did you meet the person who sent this to you? I don’t really actually remember how I met her, but she’s been a good bud for a long time!

Bless that Baby!

Noah was good as gold the day of his blessing. He didn't squirm or cry while the blessing was being performed, of course that might have been because of the extreme bouncing he was experiencing.

This is the adorable little outfit, made especially for him by Grandma Poulsen. Thanks!

Spit-Up

So Noah and I were playing on my bed this morning. Playing meaning smiling at each other. If he's happy and fed, than any little bit of attention will ussually get him pretty excited. And when he gets excited he sticks his arms out straight, flails them around in every direction, bicycle kicks his legs at a rapid rate, and snorts.
So there we were 'playing', and he spits up. Now normal spit up would be nothing worth mentioning, the kind that just over-flows out of the mouth or even occasionally spills all the way down his chest. But this was pretty extraordinary. Somehow he managed to make a fountain! I kid you not this spit shot straight up and out of his mouth, 2 maybe 3 inches, so straight that I thought it might land right back where it came from! It wasn't as exact as it seemed because it ended up covering the rest of his face.
What I wouldn't give to have had a camera right then as he furiously blinked through the messy discharge to stare confusedly up at me, laughing my head off.

I DID IT!!!

Today is a monumental day in my not too terribly exciting life. I've done something that I never thought I could do, and handled it just as horribly as I imagined I would have. This is my story...

It started out as a normal Thursday morning. I had just put Noah in bed for his "nap" that ussually lasts till noon (it's really more of a second nights sleep). I was feeling ambitious this morning so reguardless of the fact that I was not planning on going anywhere or doing anything special I thought I would put on some makeup and, believe it or not, do something cute with my hair! This forced me to be in front of the mirror much longer than is usual in my average day. So there I was in the middle of putting on my mascara when something tiny and black caught my eye from the top corner of the mirror. I quickly realized that i was seeing the reflection from behind me and had just witnessed a GINORMOUS spider crawl from over the top of the shower curtain, I turned in time to see him darting rapidly toward the ground.
So when I mentioned the "tiny" black thing, I had not at the time known this was a spider. In spider speaking this was, as I said, Ginormous. Not the little wimpy spiders with the little bodies and the thin legs, this sucker was thick and black. And fast. And HUGE. And thats all I'm going to say about it because my hands are starting to shake.
I was now forced to face one of my worst fears. You can even ask Rich! When we first moved into our new apartment we must have disturbed some homes because we found quite a few of these giant beauties. But in that first week, Rich was home with me and all I had to do was scream and the mess would be taken care of. I recall the night before Rich went back to work. I expressed to him my fear that I would find a spider while I was home alone and I wouldn't be able to kill it so I would run away and then we would have to move because I wouldn't be able to live in a house with the knowlege of a huge spider lurking in every dark warm place! So far I had been safe, but now, I had to decide...
Well, in the 16th of a second that I paused to consider, I believe it was my mothers instinct that saved the day. I had to give my baby a bath when he woke up, and this beast would have to be dead for me to do it.
I quickly reached for the plastic bucket that I keep all of Noah's bath supplies in, hurridly dumping them on the floor, (it was the object with the most surface area on the bottom to increase my chances of actually hitting this speedy demon), and just as the culplrit was reaching the bottom of the curtain I smashed him and then shook the tub around to break up the pieces. If you can imagine, all this did was wound him. I then reached for the conditioner bottle to apply more pressure and repeated the gesture many times until I knew the spider was mutilated enough that atleast he couldn't run away. All this time I was squeeling at a pitch only dogs could hear.
As soon as I was sure I was safe from the fiend, I ran from the bathroom, jumped on my bed, grabbed my phone and called Rich, near tears, asking him to come home. I knew he wouldn't really come home, but I needed to talk to someone to calm my hyperventilating. He told me how brave I was and that he was so proud of me. Little did he know it would be a couple hours before I could go back in the bathroom to finish putting on my make-up, and that I would only hide the black pulpy spider mess under the bucket so he could take care of it later.
I wanted to take a picture of it for proof on this post, but, thats just going too far. Maybe with my next victory. Maybe.

Another Growth Update