Way Back in June

We blessed Kye way back on June 5. But, like the great parents we are, we didn't take a single photo. Luckily my dad did, and he just sent me the masterpieces today.

We had A LOT of support from family and friends. We made up at least half of the Sacrament Meeting that day. I even had an old lady chew me out because our family took their regular seats. ha.

We had so many people, in fact, that I totally underestimated the amount of treats we needed...and drinks (but they were technically not my responsibility); which was bad since it was late in the day on a Fast Sunday, and it was roasting hot outside.

Then, a bunch of old people took the tables at the park that we were going to use. Dumb old people. So, I sort of felt like it was a disaster.

Fortunately everyone there loved us so much that they stayed and showed their support anyway. And, most importantly, Kye received a very special little blessing that Cody performed. It made me tear up a bit; not like its that hard to do anymore.

Next go around I promise I will be better prepared.

And Kye, we love you. You are a special little boy. You have won my heart over, and over again. I will be forever grateful to have you in my life.

A Question...

Do you think they look a like?


Kye at 10 weeks



Camdon at 14 weeks





St. George

I better hurry and get these pictures posted while Camdon is still willing to play in his bed after waking up from his nap (20 minutes ago...)

We had a Hopkinson/Childers family vacation in St. George. Then, since I was in town, Camdon, Kyler, and I stayed and hung out with my mom for the week (along with my niece Kaitlin).

It was so much fun to have everyone together for the weekend (not to mention the fact that Cody and I had the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in...ever). And, it was pretty amazing to get to have my mom all to myself (sort of) for the week. There was a lot of swimming, eating, and awesomeness.

I even brought our camera. And, took 12 pictures of our time there. That might not sound like a lot, but for me it is an over achievement.

Here they are. Well, some of them...

Burton and Camdon






Kye Guy all dressed up




My team was "The Taliban"



Grandma and Kye watching a movie


 




My Mom's view is amazing



Camdon was sick so he did a lot of this

...and this

I love him

4th of July

This year for the 4th we headed to Delta with Caleb and Hayley.

We started out the day with a parade. Camdon was a little timid when it came to chasing the candy. Probably because all the bigger kids kept running him down.
 
Then we headed to Hayley's grandma's for a nap...which was much needed since I was up by 4:30 (thanks for that one Kye).

After the nap there was some lunch, a little wiffle ball and crochet, then it was off to the demolition derby.

 

Camdon loved it, Kye didn't as much. Half way through I ended up in the car with a sleeping baby and a wound up two-year-old, but it was still very much worth it.

 

We ended the night with a spectacular fireworks display, then headed back home.

 

We all had a great time. A big thank you to Bubba and Hay for the invite. (Don't judge their shirts too harshly, they were homemade.)

 

2 Years

Well, Camdon turned two.

We celebrated with family a week earlier at the drive in watching Kung Fu Panda 2, so his actual birthday was left just for us. The way I like it.

We started out the day with a giant brownie for breakfast (brownies are always a little bit better than cake in my book).

Then after errands and naps, we headed out to Hogle Zoo. Camdon has a love/hate relationship with animals. He LOVES the idea of them, but hates being too close. He is definitely my kid.

We had a blast.

Then there was dinner at Red Robin and the opening of presents.

That night as I laid in bed I started thinking about Camdon's two years, and how pretty soon his two years will be five and he'll be in school. In a way, it gives me anxiety. I don't like him getting so big so fast.

I guess I just need to make sure we live every moment of his two-ness to the fullest, since we'll never get it back.

He ended the whole birthday celebration in Camdon style, with a fever, cough, runny nose, and cold chills.

Way to go little man. Our love for you is more than words can express.

Just a Difference

I was told that the second child is usually the exact opposite of the first. The reason for this is unknown (at least to me). It could be a way to get attention; maybe for sheer competition; or, possibly just because God likes to see us parents struggle to keep up with each child's individual demands. Whatever the cause, I have already noticed it's truth.

When it comes to eating:
Camdon is demanding; he's always been that way. When he is hungry, he must eat right that second or else you have a serious melt down on your hands. Its not pretty.
Kye is lazy. He'll eat for a few seconds, look around, snack a bit more, grunt, go in for thirds...and fourths...and even fifths. I struggle to keep him interested long enough to get full.

When it comes to sleeping:
Camdon is great...now. But, in the beginning Cody and I dealt with a lot of ear piercing screams.
Kye doesn't cry, but he grunts and wiggles and squirms louder than any person I have ever heard. You might wonder how wiggles and squirms could be loud, but trust me his are.

When it comes to looks:
Camdon was born with pale skin and white hair.
Kye is tan with dark hair.

And, this is all noticeable in just 3 weeks. I wonder how the next 18 years will be...

Kyler Roy Hopkinson

He's here. Kye was born on April 25, 2011, at 12:49 p.m. at St. Marks Hospital. He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and was 19.5 inches long. He has long brown hair which was a surprise to us because his older brother was born with such white hair. But, everything went well and we are so glad to have him in our family.

Bringing Kye into the world was a very different experience than when Camdon came to us. Camdon's birth was such a stressful and dramatic experience. It was full of such difficult and kind of scary moments, that I had built up in my mind another huge ordeal. I don't know if it was just because I had built it up so much in my mind, or what, but I was pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of it all this time around.

As with Camdon, Hanna was scheduled for an early morning induction. So, on Easter afternoon we took Cam to his Aunt's house so that he could spend the next few days hangin with his cousins and we could make sure Hanna and the baby had a little time to recover and adjust.

The next morning we got the early morning call and headed to the hospital. We got there at about 7:15 and checked in and from there we did a lot of waiting. Hanna was already at a 6 by the time we got there so things went pretty quick. Kye was quicker than the hospital staff for sure. Doctor broke the water at 9:07 and Kye was "knocking at the door" by 11. Of course we waited till 12:20 or so before the doctor decided to show up. He and the nurse had to take a lunch break or something. So, there's Hanna at a 10 literally sitting on the kids head waiting for like an hour and a half just for the doctor to show up.

I was a kind of a nervous wreck, pacing around because the only other time I have experienced child birth, as soon as Hanna was at a 10, like 5 nurses rushed in and she started pushing, and she was exhausted and pushed for like an hour and a half. This time we sat around and twittled our thumbs while everyone ate lunch. Then they casually come in and 2 contractions later there is another little human in our family. It was quite nice actually that it wasn't so stressful this time around.

Hanna and baby were healthy, happy, and quickly on their way to recovery. We had a lot of love and support from friends and family and thank you all for your love and prayers. We are so blessed to have such beautiful and happy boys. We couldn't be happier.

April 25

Only one more week and boy #2 will be here.

Thank goodness.

Funny Stuff

Yesterday I was feeling a bit negative, if you couldn't tell by my post. And, I wish I could say today was better...

However, I do have a few funny conversations to write about:

Me: "You're doing a good job Camdon!" as he walks down the stairs all by himself.
Camdon: "I know Hanna."

(He also likes to call me Hanna Hooge, then laugh hysterically.)

Camdon: "Juice please."
Me: "If you want juice, just go get your sippy cup. You don't need to ask me."
Camdon: sits there for a minute, "FINE!" and stomps off.

Cody: "Hanna, why are you limping?"
Me: "I'm pregnant."

Cody: we are about to leave church, "Camdon, do you want to go see Mimi?"
Camdon: clenches both fists and shakes them in the air, while growling with excitement. What he meant to say was, "Yes."

Cody: "Cam, is it your turn to say the prayer?"
Camdon: "Uh huh." He then stands on his head, and folds his arms.

Camdon: not liking to do things alone, grunts out from a hidden corner, "Mommy poop too?"

Pregnant

I am still pregnant. Which is unfortunate since today I hit my pregnancy tolerance limit. Only 2 more weeks and this baby will be out, no matter what. April 25 has never seemed so out of reach.

And, for all of your judging eyes, here are a few pictures for you to gawk at.

Shopping with one of my favorite people.



Me, right now, wallowing. p.s. I'm blond again.



Singing

Camdon loves to sing. He even makes up his own words and tune. AND, he'll do it on command. He is pretty much the coolest little kid ever.

Yep

I don't feel like blogging. I haven't for a while. However, I thought it would be wrong to deny you of a recent (as in about 1 minute ago) photo of the cutest boy ever. Along with the pictures of him dancing at Mima's house last weekend (stolen from Caleb and Hayley).

We anxiously await the next little guy. Who, hopefully, will be here in about 4.5 weeks.

This and That

I have this problem where I will do almost anything to not have to go to bed. Anything. Watch the weirdest, dumbest shows online, read random blogs of people that I have never met nor will ever meet, look up any and all questions I have (or anyone else has for that matter) about pretty much anything. I will even get up out of bed when a random question comes into my head, just to check it out. Its pathetic.

I think I do this because it is the only time of day I get to myself. With a work-a-holic husband who runs his own business, freezing cold weather, and a clingy 1-year-old I don't get out much or do a lot for myself. So, at night I take whatever I can get. Tonight, I am blogging.

I love my son. He has become such an awesome little being to be around. I love his age and all that he is able to do.

Today, for no reason in particular, he decided that he needed to hug everyone he met. He tried to hug the lady at the DMV, the old man in line behind us at the DMV, the checker at Smiths, the bagger at Smiths, and he DID hug a man at the shop that had come in to meet with Cody; the man graciously hugged Camdon back.

Along with hugging, he has felt the need to acknowledge and speak to every solid thing within a room. When we walk in the front door he says hi to the couch, the TV, the table, his cars, blocks, stuffed animals, whatever he sees. The other day we had a bit of coloring time, and he would not let me leave the house until he said goodbye to every single thing I had drawn for him; horse, frog, flower, house, fish, etc.

It is hilarious.

I find myself laughing at him, almost in tears, at least twice a day. It makes the annoyingly cold weather outside and my boring life that much easier to bear.

I love him.

Now, I better go watch Jersey Shore (don't mock), read a few chapters of Lord of the Rings (I finally made it to the last book), then maybe I'll consider sleeping...maybe.

Yesterday

I'm a pretty even keeled person. It takes a lot for me to get angry, or hyper, or whatever else. I'm usually just fairly pleasant, but not too exciting. Boring, I know. But, when I am pushed to my limit, it can be more bad than good.

To say the last few days in the Hopkinson household have been stressful would be an understatement. And, as a result, I have not been a pleasant person. I have been angry and stressed, and maybe even a little mean (okay, a lot mean). I know, I am probably the only person in the world who has ever felt or acted that way...or openly admitted it.

I tried to get over the way I felt. I tried to have a positive attitude. I even tried baking cookies for the neighbor (which burned), writing thank you notes, playing games, reading my scriptures, praying, but my anger and anxiety just kept building. That's when God decided to intervene. I hate that he waits until you are at your whits end. In a few seconds my entire mood changed.

Here's how:

Camdon was down for a nap and I was trying to clean up the tornado he caused while he was awake. In the process of cleaning I turned quickly, right into the corner of our entertainment system, splitting my knee open. It hurt like crazy, so I hopped around to find a seat. In the mean time I stubbed my toe, hard, and then hit my funny bone on another corner of the same entertainment system. By the time I finally made it to the piano bench, blood was running down my leg, I was hurting all over, and I was laughing.

It only took about 15 seconds, but I could almost feel God shaking his finger at me, telling me to just CHILL OUT. Its unfortunate that the only way he could get my attention was pain :)

Although the stresses were still there, the day ended much better than it started. Thankfully.

More Family Photos

Here are a couple of sample photos sent to me from our shoot on Saturday.

Ignore my hugeness. I already know its gross.