Christmas with the Hopwoods

My family usually opens presents on Christmas Eve and then we have our presents from "Santa" and a stocking in the morning. This year my brother, Josh, wasnt able to make it home for Christmas and Kelly and Trent spent Christmas with Trent's family in Centralia. They came the day after Christmas though so we had our Christmas on the 26th. Korbyn wasnt too interested in opening his presents so i opened them for him!!

My parents got him the Baby Einstein Lights and Melodies Activity Center. Its for ages 3 months + but we set it up for him anyways since hes only 2 months. Its kind of hard for him to see it since he has to lay down underneath it right now. It adjusts so it can be angles down for him to look up at but its still not angled down enough for him to really play with it. Hes almost ready to sit in his Bumbo so in a couple weeks he will be able to sit in that and play with the activity center. He does LOVE the songs it plays though.

Great Grandma Hammer got him the new Elmo. Its the funniest thing ever!! He tells stories and jokes and sings and dances and whole bunch of other stuff. If he falls over he says "Uh-Oh Elmo fell over...can you help Elmo get back up?" Then when you pick him back up he says "Thank You!" I think i enjoyed it more the Korbyn did when we first took him out of the box. Korbyn was looking at Elmo like he wasnt sure what to think but after a while of staring watching him dance and tell jokes he got used it. He isnt really old enough to play with it but im sure he will absolutely love it and get a kick out of it soon enough!!

Great Aunt Michele, Uncle Todd, and cousins Sydney, Noah and Chloe got him some cute little slippers with Monkeys on the feet, a ball that rattles and you can put pictures of people or whatever you want in the little pockets for him to see when he plays with. His favorite toy from them was the Eeyore! It has a rattle inside it. Im not sure what it is about it but he absolutely loves it...i think if he was able to he would carry it around with him everywhere he goes! He always smiles and laughs when he sees it.

One of the toys in Korbyn's stocking was a rattle that Grandpa Jim picked out. Its the first toy hes been able to hold onto. I think he is able to grab onto it because the two bars in the middle are twisted. He kept waving it around like he didnt know how to let go!! But he was laughing and smiling the whole time.

He gets in little moods where he talks a lot but i had never seen him talk this much!!!!!!! He was just yacking away.

Korbyn's first Christmas will be one he doesnt remember but one that i will always remember.

Korbyn says..."Peace Out!"

Christmas Eve

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is decorating the tree with my family. I decided that i was going to get Korbyn an ornament each year that had to do with what his favorite thing during that year was. For his first Christmas i was looking for a Seahawks ornament. I hadnt been able to find one for him and then this evening our new neighbor Jim came over to drop off some goodies and a present for "Corky" as they like to call Korbyn. Him and his wife bought Korbyn an Angel ornament that says Baby's 1st Christmas which is actually perfect because Korbyn is my Angel!

I cant imagine my life without my Baby. He gives my life purpose and i look forward to everyday to see what he will do next. My Angel also made me realize what true love is. I never ever imagined how much my heart could love someone so much or how joyful it could be when he is full of joy and laughter.

Christmas truely is a special Holiday to have a baby in your home!

Korby's 1st Robe

My friend Alyssa bought Korbyn this super cute bath robe that looks like a dinosaur back in August. Today was the first day Korbyn used it. He LOVES water and taking a bath but doesnt like the getting dried off part. He usually cant wait to get his clothes back on onces hes out of his little tub. Today for whatever reason he was more relaxed and didnt seem to mind not getting dressed right after his bath. So i put his little robe on him and it was sooooo stinkin cute i couldnt help but take a bunch of pictures!

Yesterday after his shots he was pretty much sleepy and slept until about 6 last night and just wasnt himself, except for getting up to eat of course. Today he is back to his normal self grunts and smiles included. He was being so funny after his bath he kept cooing and "talking." He tries so hard talk sometimes!!

"See You Guys Later!!"

2 months!

Today Korbyn is 2 months old!!!! 2 months really isnt that long of a time but yet it seems like so long ago he was born and i cant even remember what it was like without my little angel. It seems like he has been with us for A LOT longer then just 2 months.

We took him in to get his shots this morning at 10. My mom and I both were VERY suprised to hear that he weighs 16 lbs 2 ounces!!!!!!!!! The last time he was weighed he was only 12 lbs 3 ounces. I was expecting something more along the lines of 14 lbs but not 16!!! Thats my little Chunker! Haha! Hes also 24 1/2 inches so hes getting longer. I always think that he is little in length when i see other babies around his age but they said for his age his length was 89%. So he really isnt short at all...but then again it might be because his belly is so round and huge! He is 99% in weight for his age! Theres not much i can do though the kid loves his bottle!!

We were gonna start giving him rice cereal in his formula pretty soon but Dr. Lane said to wait until he is 4 months because the cereal will make him eat less formula and he needs all the fat in the formula for brain development. Im sure by the time he is 4 months he will be wanting more then one bottle! Hes been eating 6 ounce bottles for the past couple weeks.

He did really good getting his shots though. He only got 2 today because i decided to split them up and not risk the chance of him getting Autism. Id rather be safe then sorry even if the shots dont cause Autism. He goes back on January 6th to get the last 2 vaccines. He cried for like less then a minute and then was back to his normal self and passed out as soon as we put him in his car seat. Hes been extra snuggly and wanting to just lay on me and cuddle since this morning though. Mommy doesnt mind!!

Little Climber

Korbyn is one of the most active and strongest babies i have ever seen! I think if he could he would start running around right now...hes got to master holding his head without wobbling first!!! Hes almost got it down but needs just a little bit more work on it. He just kicks and kicks his legs and tries to crawl but cant get anywhere. He was laying on my mom in her chair the other day and he actually did climb up her with her hands underneath his feet and then of course he started laughing and smiling when he got to the top!! But that is pretty good for an 8 week old since he started down on her lap and went all the way to the top of the chair.

I cant wait until he can start sitting in his bumbo and using his activity center-jumper. My mom was gonna buy him a walker for christmas but we figured since we have shag carpet throughout our house the only place he would be able to use it is the kitchen and since she has stainless steel appliances (they dent very easily) thats not the BEST idea in the world! Shes going to Target today to get him the baby einstein lights and melodies activity center. I think hes gonna be one of those babies that barely learns how to crawl before he starts walking. He really is Very Strong for his age.

Smiles & Laughs!

Korbyn absolutely LOVES his bouncy chair. Everytime i sit him on it even before i turn the music or the vibrations on he just smiles super big and laughs. He is starting to figure out that whenever he kicks his feet there is a pad underneath the cover that makes the music start playing. I usually put it on the setting where the music just plays by itself but the past few days i started putting it on the kick pad setting and he thinks its hilarious how the music starts when he kicks his legs.

Funny Faces

Korbyn is one of the funniest babies ever!! The little things he does just crack me up. I know most of the stuff he does at this stage are just coincidental and he doesnt consciously do it but the looks on his face when he does them are like "im smarter then you think...i know what im doing!" Whenenver someone comes to see him and they tell him how cute he is he smiles and gets this look like "i know!" I was playing with him the other day and i kept telling him hes gonna be a little ladies man and he winked at me...im pretty sure he didnt know what he was doing but it was the perfect timing and the look on his face was like i know momma i already am! HAHA! i just love him so much hes so silly! I Love how he cracks up laughing in mid sleep and doesnt wake up and smiles when hes asleep when he hears his name.

Last night i was holding him and he was Completely asleep like he was OUT and Gramma Lynn goes "Korby are you sleeping?" and he just layed there. Then she said "Korby are you awake?" and he opened his eyes and got the hugest smile on his face and started laughing and looked like he was thinking "Just Kidding!! I got you!"

He also makes the funniest faces when he is trying to go poop...we got one of them on camera earlier this week!

Swaddle Me!

My sister's niece Kyah LOVES these little wearable blankets called Swaddle Me by Kiddopotamus. Kelly kept telling us how great they were and how much Kyah and her mom Lauren loved them. They just wrap around the baby and Velcro shut so they cant kick it off with their arms or legs like what happens when you wrap them in a regular receiving blanket. My mom ordered two of them for Korbyn before i had him just to try them out and see if they were as good as Kelly was saying.

Well!!!!!! They are AMAZING!!! the size small was too big for him when we were in the hospital after i had him but about 2 weeks later when he gained all the weight he lost back and more they fit him and he LOVES them. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend them to ANYONE who has or is having a baby. The only thing is you have to order them online but they are sooooo worth the shipping. Korbyn is a little too big for the small now so we ordered two more in the next size and cant wait until they finally get here. The only way he will sleep through the night is if he is wrapped up in this. Other then sleeping its great for feeding too. Korbyn always likes to try and knock the bottle out of his mouth and stick his fingers in with the bottle nipple so it leaks all down his neck. I just wrap him up in his swaddle me and its so much easier to feed him & for washing his hair in the sink too.

Last night we took a "nap" at 7 cus mommy was tired from shopping and both Korbyn and I didnt wake up until 2:30 in the morning. That was the longest he has slept so far!!!! I havent been putting him in it at night for about a week since its getting little too small but 7 1/2 hours of uninterupted sleep in a row is worth the few more days it will take for the bigger ones to get here.

Nap Time in My New Bed!!

Since the day Korbyn and I came home from the hospital he has slept in my bed with me. I know everyone says its such a horrible habit and that i'll never get him out of my bed but i beg to differ. I dont think its such a horrible thing and i think its actually pretty healthy for a baby. When twins or multiples arent doing so good after birth they put them in the same incubator together and they strive because they have need that contact and connection with another person. I think it makes me feel better as a mom to know what he is doing all night long and gives us some extra bonding time since i wasnt able to breastfeed as well.

Now that he is a little older im going to start transitioning him into his crib in his own room. We put his crib up a few weekends ago and im just starting to lay him in there when he takes his naps. At first he would wake up as soon as i put him down. Then he got a little better and slept as long as the music on his fishy crib toy was playing. As soon as the music stopped he would wake up though!! Now he sleeps through the music stopping and takes about a 30 min nap in his crib about once a day. Im sure he will get more comfortable with it and start sleeping longer like he does when someone is holding him. Once hes got the hang of taking naps in his crib then ill start putting him in there at night. Yesterday he took 2 naps in his crib!!

Hopefully once he is used to it he will keep his sleeping pattern or sleep longer. He was wasking up every 3 hours at night. Within the last week he started sleeping 5 hours then 3 hours so he only gets up once at night depending on when we go to sleep.

This was the first time i put him in his crib. I went to go get his clothes out of the dryer so i put him in there and he stayed in there for 20 min just looking at the fishies and listening to the music.

I Love My Auntie!!

My sister, Kelly, was in the room when i had Korbyn and absolutely fell in love with him like the rest of our family. Her and Trent left the day after we got home from the hospital and were home for the first time since then for Thanksgiving. I didnt realize how much he has grown and changed until i compared the pictures from when he was born with the ones she took while they were here!!!

They take turns visiting my parents and Trent's parents for Thanksgiving and Christmas so they wont see him again until after Christmas. Im sure he will have changed a lot again in just a month!!

First Thanksgiving.

This year i have a lot to be Thankful for!!! Korbyn has changed my life so much and i wouldnt want it any other way. Im so thankful that he was born perfectly healthy...we were told that there was a higher then normal chance of him having down syndrome...that i have such a loving, helpful & supportive family. Its funny how such a little person can make you feel complete and so happy!!

Kelly & Trent came down for the weekend & we had thanksgiving at our new house. I got a picture with my dad and his mom with Korbyn and I to show 4 generations. Im also thankful that my Gramma is doing amazing for beating colon cancer and going through serious surgery at 89 years old! She has her last surgery to put everthing back together December 1st.

..haha looks like Korbyn had his fill of imaging his bottle was a big plate of turkey, mash potatoes & gravy!!!!

Mommy & Baby

Tuesday morning i finally got my hair done!! I was soooooooo excited i needed it really bad. The last time i had it done was probably about 2 or 3 months before i found out i was pregnant...so in other words its been like a year!
Amanda did a really good job i LOVE IT! Thanks Buddy!!!!!

I doubt Korbyn even noticed or cared but atleast we got some cute pictures out of it!

4 Weeks & First Jeans!

Today Korbyn is 4 weeks old!! IDK if you consider that a month or not?? some people say 4 weeks some say on the 23rd...

It was a little colder out today so i decided to see if i had any warmer pants that fit him. Ive been looking for jeans for him but i havent been able to find any 0-3 month ones. They are always either sold out of his size or they dont make them until 6 months. So i went through his 3-6 months stuff and i found a pair of jeans that are lined with fleece that fit him!! They are a little long in the length but they fit him everywhere else. He looks so cute in jeans!!! My baby is growing up so fast!!!

Play Time!

Korbyn has been awake a lot more lately so like any mommy i took advantage of it and took lots of pictures!! Hes been doing "tummy time" for a while now but i hadnt taken any pics of it until today since im usually laying on the floor next to him encouraging him to move his head from side to side.

He absolutely LOVES being on his tummy and excercising his little neck muscles.

We set up his jungle gym today for the first time and he loved that as well. He doesnt reach for any of the toys yet but he loves to stare at them!! Weve put him in his bouncy chair before but he didnt like it...he would just cry as soon as we strapped him in but now he loves it. He hasnt quite figured out that the music plays when he kicks his feet on the music pad but i think he could care less at this point hed rather stare at the 3 little animals on the toy bar.

Growing up too fast...

My lil man is growing up so fast! I can't believe he will be a month (4 weeks) on Thursday.
He is becoming so much more alert and loves to smile. The other day my mom was watching him while i took a shower and got ready...as soon as i went into the living room and he saw me he got the biggest cutest smile on his face and just kept smiling and watching me. My mom said that she can tell he looks at me differently then he looks at her so he definately recognizes me as his Mama!

On Monday morning we were both laying awake in my bed listening to David Archuleta's new CD and i was kind of rocking him in my arms like we were dancing and he laughed for the first time. He had made little noises before when he was smiling but this was a real laugh and sounded all giggly. It was the cutest little laugh i have ever heard in my whole life!!!

Busy Little Bee!

Last week was a busy week for little Korbyn! It started off with the ring from his circumcision falling off on Saturday. It had been hanging on by a little tiny string for 2 days and i was getting worried since it was the 8th day and Dr. Lane said to call if it hadnt falled off by then. I got up to feed and change Korbyn's diaper at about 6:30 and there it was floating around in his diaper!

Then on Sunday morning i was taking his pajamas off and putting on some regular clothes and as soon as i pulled up his little onsie his belly button stump fell out onto the changing table. I was SO EXCITED that both were gone so i could finally give him a Real bath in his cute little bath tub. But off course it was a sunday so i was getting him ready to go watch the Seahawks at Kodys.

First thing monday morning my mom and i gave him his first real bath. He ABSOLUTELY Loved it!!!!!!!!! He just sat there in his tub and smiled and stared at my mom and i as we washed him. Then of course right when we were taking him out he spit up all over his chest and stomach so we washed him again...i think he did it on purpose just to get some extra tub time thats how much he loved getting a bath!!

After that Brooke, Alissa and Brody came over to see us. It was really nice to see Brooke. I've missed her A LOT since her and Aaron moved to Cheney. It was really fun to see the differences between Korbyn and Brody as well. They are about 3 weeks apart and 3 weeks makes a big difference!! Not just in the size differnce but also in how alert Brody was compared to Korbyn. Korbyn still sleeps alot during the day but Brody was wide awake, alert and looking around the entire time they were here. Its gonna be so much fun to see them both grow up play together when they are a little older.

That day was also the first time i left Korbyn alone with Kody. Heidi and I went shopping and Kody had him for about 3 hours. I was really nervous but Kody did a great job...when we got back they were both passed out on the sofa. It was the cutest thing ever!!

Tuesday was Brooke's babyshower in Prosser. I was a little nervous since i hadnt taken Korbyn anywhere other then to Kody's or Darrell's. He did really good though. He did get passed around between Brooke's mom, gramma, and sister which probably helped since he loves being held especially if the person is walking around. Then i had my 2 week OB check up so i left Korbyn with my mom and right when i got back we took Korbyn shopping for the first time!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didnt know what to expect since we really hadnt taken him anywhere yet. He did really good though. He slept the whole time haha. Weve taken him shopping one other time since then but for a longer period of time and he did great again. He just slept until he got hungry then we took him out of the stroller and fed him and then he fell asleep again while we finished shopping and was out until we got home. Looks like i found myself a new shopping buddy!!

In between all the busyness and running around Korbyn of course had time to take a nap with Grampa Jim.

Happy 1st Halloween Baby!

Korbyn's first Halloween was quite an EVENTFUL day!!! I wanted to make sure that he was circumcized as soon as possible because i had been told by other moms that the longer you wait the more cranky the baby will be. So we convinced Dr. Lane to do the procedure when Korbyn was 8 days old...which is the earliest that he would do it. I didnt even realize that it was Halloween until we went into the clinic that morning and all the people had costumes on!!

Heidi came with me and suprisingly it wasnt as painful....for me anyway...as i thought it would be. When Dr Lane brought him out to us he wasnt crying at all! His eyes were really red like he had been balling but he didnt cry in front of me just made little whimpery noises. I thought i was gonna ball my eyes out when they brought him out but i didnt cry at all. I just cried when we changed his diaper the first 2 times afterwards.

Korbyn in his cute lil pumpkin outfit

Gramma Lynn & Korbyn

Getting ready to go!