Oh, by the way...

Baby boy number 2 will be joining us on August 12th!

I'm back for a minute!

I planned on treating you all with a smattering of pictures from my life over the past five months. But that idea has only led me to realize that I don't take nearly as many picture as I should. That should be a New Years Resolution I suppose. But all the same, if you'd like to know what we've been up to lately, or semi-lately, enjoy....

This is us at my IHOP birthday breakfast. October 18th for those of you who don't know:)

A trip to see the witches at Gardener Village with my mom and my sis on a beautiful birthday day.

Me being 24.

Our costumes for our Ward primary Halloween carnival. ABCs and primary colors combined. Rich's hair was supposed to be yellow, didn't quite turn out:)

The actual night of trick-or-treating.

Heading up to the first house, quite excited. This was the most excitment he showed all evening. After this we hopped in the car and drove to Sandy. He fell asleep and wanted nothing else to do with trick-or-treating on that terribly cold night. But, like good parents we forced him to do it anyway.

Thanks GG!

I did have a video of Rich's birthday, but silly blogger wont let it upload. It never lets me anymore! What am I doing wrong!?

Anyway, he had a birthday (November 18th) and turned 27!

Thanksgiving in St. George. (didn't take a single picture - had to steal this one) Riding in the paddle-boats at my cousins' way super-fun house.

Temple square with the Poulsen family! Followed by 2 days of fun not documents by me! (sorry)

One of the very few pictures from Christmas. It's not morning, despite what Noah is wearing. Later in the day all the cousins came over and we let Noah open his BIG present. They're called gorilla blocks, and they're awesome, despite the fact that they're constantly making a mess of our house.

Some after Christmas sledding in the backyard.

Well that's it folks! I hope to blog more frequently. Thanks to everyone else for continuing to blog. Because despite the fact that I'm too lazy to do it, I do read yours!

Please...

Why can't this happen during sacrament meeting rather than 4 minutes after....

Bees Game

A couple of weeks ago we went with uncle Wil to a Bees game. Noah was so excited, I was a little worried. Baseball games are so long and I was positive he wouldn't make it through. But that little guy loved every minute! Sure he didn't spend much time watching the game, if we're being honest I didn't either, but baseball has such a fun atmosphere. It wasn't a very crowded game, so we kept moving seats to get a different view, that's probably what made it possible.
He was obsessed with the Mascot bee guy though. He'd spot him walking around the stadium and was always wanting to go over and find him. Finally I took him over to see the giant Bee. I was positive that he'd see how huge that sucker really was and run for his life. Much to my surprise he walked right up to him (he was sitting in a chair signing hats and stuff for a bunch of adoring children) and gave that bee and huge hug and a kiss. The Bee had no idea Noah was even there, he obviously couldn't feel him. In fact we sat right next to him for probably five minutes and I'm not sure he ever caught on to our presence. But Noah ate it up. He thought that huge Bee was probably the coolest thing he's ever seen. Guess it's time for a trip to Disney Land....

Uncle Wil took these awesome pictures with his iphone. Aren't they amazing! Sure love having that guy around, along with his gadgets and artistic eye:) Thanks Wil!

So, when did I get old?

So I haven't been to Lagoon since our 9th grade 'Lagoon Day.' Count 'em up and thats 8 years my friends. I haven't been on any ride for that matter since I was 17, 6 years ago. For years and years I have been dying to get back on a rollercoaster, or anything that moves really.
We have our 4th anniversary coming up (actually next Tuesday) and decided that we really needed to get out and do something besides dinner, toddler free. We wanted to celebrate before school started so this past Tuesday we decided to head out of town, all the way to Bountiful. Exotic, I know, but it really was just what the doctor ordered. Noah was safe and happy with Grandma and Grandpa, and we found a sweet little deal at an Inn in Bountiful. It was SO wonderful to just get away for a night, do our own thing free from responsibility and free from people who know us:)
The next morning we headed to Lagoon. It's no DisneyLand, but it's a step in the right direction, and a bit more in our budget. We were both SO excited to have an ENTIRE DAY just to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. We were giddy.
We ran right over to the rocket and started the day with Blast Off. I was in heaven. Next we went on Re-entry. I was still in heaven and Rich loved finding out just how loud I was capable of screeming.
Next we went on the Samuri. This ride was brand new the last time I was at Lagoon and I remember it being my very favorite and I rode it like a dozen times. Needless to say I didn't feel the same about it this time. I had to sit down for a minute and let me stomach re-orient itself, but I convinced myself I was okay, just needed to the next ride to be a little less spinny and loopy.
We went on that dinky little rollercoaster next to the sky coaster, called 'the jet star'? I think?
I will never ride that one again, thats for sure.
It was everything I could do to not lose my breakfast through that entire ride, start to finish. I sat there with my eyes closed and my hands over my mouth, just praying that I wouldn't puke. As soon as our car stopped I was running down the ramp to the nearest garbage can (which was very near, thank heavens) and up-chucking over the side. I looked up to see Rich just staring at me with the most bewildered expression, not knowing what to think. He couldn't decide if it was funny or sad, but it was most definately unexpected.
I had expressed my concerns about motion sickness to him before we got there, wondering if my post-baby self would be able to do the same rides. He obviously didn't take me very seriously, and honestly I was almost positive that I would be fine. I just know that my parents can't do spinny rides anymore, so I knew eventually old age would probably limit my abilities. I just didn't think 23 was old.
Throwing up in a garbage can became hilarious to me as soon as I had finished. I couldn't believe that I was 'that girl.' So we had a good laugh and went to fetch the dramamine that I had thrown in our bag as a precaution (thank goodness!!!). I got some sprite and we walked around, wanting to be sure I had settled before riding anything else. As a way to kill time we hopped on that little choo-choo train that takes you around to see all the animals (who knew Lagoon had tigers and lions? I had no idea). It was when that little train made me sick that I knew I need a serious break from motion. So we headed to Lagoona beach for a few hours, soaked up some sun and had a great time. By the time we were dressed and fed, I was feeling 100%.
The rest of the day was spent spinning, looping, screeming, and laughing. We watched some shows, indulged in our favorite amusement park treats, played some games and won a couple of stuffed animals for Noah. We finished the day off with a ride on the Ferris wheel (where Rich may or may not have stuck his tounge in my mouth) and enjoyed the beautiful nighttime view of the park.
All in all it was a perfect day, mostly because it was us.
Now I know that dramamine is a necessity when going to an amusement park. But I blame the motion sickness on the baby messing with my insides and switching them all up. I am most definately not OLD.

I just have to say...

A Tribute to My Man-Cub

Two years has FLOWN by! I can't even believe it. I spent the better part of this evening looking through "old" pictures and video and mourning a little bit over my once-was baby. He really isn't a baby anymore. I've loved every single second of the past two years, and I'm excited for more to come, but WHY does it have to go so fast?

I clearly remember lying on the bed with my newborn, marveling and applauding as he learned how to reach out and grab my finger, soaking up any sound that he made. Now he learns new words everyday, and is constantly pushing his limits and trying new things. Tomorrow I'll be helping him with algebra and encouraging him to get his piano practicing done. That's the way it works, and I get that. But don't you sometimes just wish you could freeze moments and save them for later? Not through a camera or a video, but an actual memory with smells, emotions and feelings? I suppose if that was possible then eventually everyone would take it for granted just like we do now with photos and videos...but still. I'm just feeling like everything is happening so fast! And then the other half of me is far too excited for the future to desire any slowing. So I suppose things are just fine the way they are, guess God knows what he's doin':)

Anyway, I LOVE my little tike. It amazes me how he still gets cuter every single day he is alive. How is that possible? Rich and I can't begin to figure that one out, but there you have it, he does. I love him with everything that I have, and I love that being his mommy is making me into a far better person that I was before him. Heavenly Father knew how much we needed him in our lives, his timing is impeccable.

Here is a short scan over his little life, more for my sake than yours, but it's my blog so...

a few seconds old

a few minutes old1 week old

2 months old

3 months old

6 months old

8 months old

almost 1 year old

14 months old

16 months old

18 months old

21 months old

23 months old