November in April

For Thanksgiving, we went to Arizona. I don't have any pictures of this holiday for some reason. I always forget to get out the camera when we go to Arizona because it feels so normal and I forget we don't live there or see the people there very often anymore. Since it's been months, I'll do my best to document it. We stayed with Scott's parents and the boys loved every second of it. They love the attention from everyone, the big house to play in, and all the awesome toys. Logan will play with all the cars and trucks that they have for hours at a time which is pretty much unheard of with the attention span of my 2 year old. Logan literally cried when he realized we were leaving grandma and grandpas for good and asked for weeks after we left if we could go to grandma and grandpa's house because it was "not too far away." It breaks my heart when he's so sad to not be able to go to Grandma and Grandpa's or Nana and Papa's house. Maybe some day we'll live close to everyone. Anyway, we did a little pre Black Friday shopping on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and then a little Black Friday shopping hours after all the crowds were gone. It was great and super easy. Scott's birthday always lands somewhere right around Thanksgiving and so it sometimes gets a little forgotten and smooshed in with the Thanksgiving celebrations but he had a couple small events this year. We met up with our friends the night of his birthday and had some cake and great company and then the next day, his mom had some friends and family come over for some more celebrating. Scott turned 31 this year and if I was caught up on my blog I might have written 31 wonderful things about him but since it's April and I'm blogging about November, I'll just say I love this man more than I can express and I'm so grateful that he's my husband and the father of my children. Thanksgiving is the perfect day to celebrate Scott because we should all be thankful to have him in our lives. Oh and just to document this, the drive home from Arizona the Sunday after Thanksgiving is a complete nightmare. I swear we will never make that drive again.

Potty update

Since it's been so long since I last blogged, I was looking over my last post about potty training and I already had forgotten how horrible it was. Literally 2 days after I started my punishment method, he was potty trained. Oh he fought it. He threw fits, peed in time out, kicked and screamed for his toys I took away, and acted out in any way possible with regards to going potty where he was supposed to go. Then on day two, after Scott got home and literally once I'd hit my very limit, he decided to start cooperating. It was like a switch was just flipped. He started willingly going without any fight, started getting excited when he needed to go, and most importantly he started telling us when it was time to go. Once he decided, that was it. No more accidents day or night. He was 100% potty trained practically over night. I don't know what happened other than he just decided to give in or maybe Heavenly Father decided to save my family from complete mayhem and change his mind...probably a little of both. As I look back on it, I can honestly say I didn't think it would ever happen and once it did, I can say it was truly a miracle. It's amazing how easy life is with only one kid in diapers. I know it's crazy to say but I wish Grayson was old enough because I'm ready to potty train him. Ha ha I know crazy right but it's just like having a baby. You you forget all about the pain and misery beforehand and just remember the miracle afterward. For those of you struggling with potty training or dreading doing it, I can promise you that if Logan can do it, ANYONE can do it!

Toddler Whisperer

So as many of you know, I've been potty training Logan. We're on day 12 and still not potty trained. Oh sure, we've had accident free days and days without ever peeing in his bed but not without a fight. I have to force him to go when he wakes up, before he goes to bed, before we leave the house, when he grabs himself or shows any indication of needing to "go." All my attention and energy is on Logan and making sure he "goes" where he's supposed to go. That's progress though right? He can hold it when he needs to and he can go when he needs to. Now I just need to get him to tell me when he needs to go or just go into the bathroom on his own. He's done it plenty of times before. Seems simple enough. Well now he's started peeing in his bed instead of crying for us to come or getting out of bed to go toward the bathroom. He's also started standing right in front of me and peeing on the floor, or the couch for that matter. All the while looking me right in the eye laughing about it, knowing exactly what he's doing. I've read books, researched online, asked everyone I know what worked for them, got every one's opinions and 2 cents whether I wanted it or not. I've tried everything. He picked out his underwear, was told how big he was, had him throw out his diapers for the last time, had him watch daddy and tried to get him to be like him, tried shooting cheerios in the toilet, tried having him run around with all his clothes on and tried it with all his clothes off. Any time he goes in the potty, he gets all things potty party...treats, stickers, toys, getting to leave the house, more positive feedback than I ever thought I could muster, etc. All that worked to an extent. It's almost like now he's over it. He'll do it when he wants something, but if not, he just goes where he pleases. I give him the talk. Where are you supposed to go potty? With a huge mischievous grin on his face he'll answer "the floor, the couch, the bed, on my race cars" usually wherever he just finished peeing. I'll ask again making sure this isn't a communication problem and I get the same blatantly wrong answers and a laugh. He'll eventually give the right answer but it's all a game to him. Did I mention this is attempt #3? This is the last and FINAL attempt. Oh I listened to those of you who said "he'll go when he's ready" even though I knew he was ready, I tried to believe you anyway because I was exhausted, frustrated, and beat down. So where do I go from here? Logan is obviously a rare case so I figure I'm done listening to the "experts" and reading their books. And I'm done listening to what worked for you, or your mom, or your friend, or your sister. I'm changing things up and it's gonna get much worse before it gets better. Since he's purposefully doing the opposite of what he's supposed to and I'm done dealing with his shenanigans, it's time for punishment. Oh I've read all about how that will really mess a kid up but I'm out of options. Logan's always been a stubborn, strong-willed, rebelious child but when I've played some serious hardball, eventually he straightens up and we never have a problem with it again. I used to force him to go sit on his potty chair when I would see him hold himself, but that would always result in a fight and then a successful pee, or whatever but I can't do this forever. I still make him go before bed but now I'm having him choose to go. If he says he doesn't have to go, I don't make him. This is usually what happens. He holds it, I continually ask him to tell me when he needs to go, he keeps saying "no need go potty" and then he inevitably pees his pants. When that happens, he goes in time out. That's only been successful to an extent so today I've added taking toys and TV away. It's awful and I hate it all. As if potty training wasn't horrible enough, I've made it even more miserable which I didn't even think was possible. I don't know for sure that this will work but I'm done trying to be politically correct and I'm just gonna do what I think will work for him. This kid is a species all on his own. What I do know is this is one of our many over dramatic power struggles and no matter how bad I want to, I'm not giving up. This is one fight I cannot lose. So why document this awfulness that is my life right now? Well, I know my child is MUCH more difficult than most but, it seems to me, that potty training is a little like child birth with parents. The amazing result of actually potty training your child just completely overshadows all the pain and suffering you went through to get that result. So here I am, documenting it so I don't say something like "Oh fruit snacks, otter pops, and stickers were the trick." or "Potty training wasn't that bad with Logan." Because that's not true at all. Fruit snacks may help but THERE IS NO TRICK. Otherwise, I would have a potty trained child by now. So what I'm really hoping for is a miracle. God knows I've been fervently praying for one. In the mean time, if anyone knows a "toddler whisperer" or a "potty wizard" of some sort, send them my way because we need some supernatural powers in this house. If not, just pray for us because that's the only way that Logan will ever get potty trained and that I'll be able to avoid a complete mental breakdown.

Happy Halloween!

I was so excited for the holidays this year because Logan is now at the age where he knows what's going on and can more fully appreciate all that comes with celebrating the holidays. For Halloween, Logan was his favorite thing ever...Lightening McQueen and Grayson was a monkey. I decided to make Logan's costume out of a cardboard box. Logan loved it at times and hated it at others so it was hit and miss getting him to wear it at the appropriate times. When he was wearing it, he was running as fast as he could so I really didn't get any good pictures of him in his costume.

This was one of those times he wasn't in the mood for much of anything so trick or treating was pretty short-lived. It was the first year we actually took him around to go trick or treating. We just did a few doors at our complex before he was done. I think he would've been much more excited had he given it just a little more time. As luck would have it though, he hadn't slept well and was tired and cranky. Maybe next year will be better.

One night for FHE we had the Pobsts over to do pumpkins and have some Halloween treats. I think the boys were a little young still to appreciate my mummies.

Our ward had probably the coolest carnival I've ever been to at church. It was at our now bishop's place of business, outside of course since the weather was perfect. There were booths with games and prizes for the kids, a cake walk, a haunted house, a chili cook off with cornbread, chips, and hot dogs, and then trunk or treating afterwards.

Logan won a goldfish at one of the booths and was super excited and proud of that thing. I was determined not to let it die as soon as we got it and after all the shaking Logan was doing to that thing, it's amazing he made it home alive. I'm not sure what happened to my formatting but here is also a picture of the giant cupcake I made for the cake walk.

The Happiest Place On Earth

In October we bought season passes to Disneyland and California Adventure. We have had SO much fun being able to go there anytime we want during the week. We go with friends or family, meet up with Scott after work, and even go just me and the boys (Scott and I have plans to do a date night. It just hasn't happened yet). Every single time we go, we have a blast. Logan is the type of kid that's up for anything so he jumps on every ride he can and never looks back. He's such a little dare devil. The first time we went, we found out he was tall enough to ride the Matterhorn Roller Coaster. I was a little nervous about it, especially since I rode it first and it was no kiddie ride. It made him a little nervous, but he never cried and it didn't discourage him from riding any other new rides. He even rode it again with Dad. During the week, at this time of year, there are pretty much no lines so we can ride whatever we want over and over. Only a couple of times have we been able to ride the fun "big kid" rides since we have the boys with us but it us just so fun to see them have so much fun and get so excited. Logan knows his way around the parks in a few places and can point the way he we need to go to ride whatever he wants to ride next.

Our attempt at a family picture on one of the rides.

I got to ride some of the rides I've been wanting to ride for a long time with my niece Grace. She's tall enough to ride pretty much everything and since we were with babies, pregnant ladies, and toddlers, we were riding buddies. It was so much fun! That's me and Grace and some other kids on splash mountain. Writing this blog I'm realizing I need to take a lot more pictures at one our favorite places in California.

September Makes My Heart Sing

The first weekend in September is one of my favorite times of year. Why? You ask. Well, one big reason is that college football starts. After a long summer of having no "good" sports on TV, (in my opinion of course) it's like Christmas morning when I can wake up, turn on the TV, and watch guys clobber each other and score some touchdowns. I love the sound of helmets and shoulder pads crashing together, and the all too ridiculously early talk of team rankings and preseason stats. I look forward to my Sooners actually going all the way to the championship every single year usually to get my heart broken by the end of the season, as well as joining my annual fantasy football league which also usually ends in heartbreak. Call me a sucker for pain, but every year I have faith things are gonna be different. Despite the usual end-of-the-season let-downs, football will always hold a piece of my heart. I'm literally getting butterflies as I'm thinking about it now.

Another big reason I love this time is it's the one time a year I can celebrate myself. This year was a particularly big year because I turned 29! Every single time I say it, I still can't believe it. You know how some people pick an age and then just stick with that forever? Well this is the age. Am I right? When a woman is lying about her age she doesn't say 30. She says 29, 25, or 20 something anyway. It's so weird to hit the age you never imagined yourself when you were younger. Then once you hit your 20's, you never really picture yourself any older... especially not 30! Don't get me wrong over 29-ers. I don't think this is old either. It's just such a weird feeling every time you hit an age that you always saw as old before. You all know what I'm talking about. The good news is, I feel great and look forward to my 30's. I think about how wonderful my 20's have been to me and all the amazing things that happened during that time that I can't wait to see what the next decade of my life brings. Anyways, since this is my last year in my 20's, I'm gonna make the very best of it. Woot woot! This is gonna be an awesome year.

Scott started things out right with a dozen doughnuts just for me and a Reeces/Butterfinger/Brownie/Ice Cream cake (with the help of bro-in-law Matt). My hubs knows just how to get right to my heart. Delicious! Scott also took me out to Javier's off Newport Beach. It was super nice, delicious, and had a beautiful view but we sadly didn't see Jim Rome or anyone else famous like we were hoping. We also went to the biggest theater ever, like 10 times the normal theater size, to see the Help. It was only us and 2 other couples so it was pretty crazy how big that thing was. Anyways, as usual, my birthday was awesome.

Logan Update

It's pretty obvious how much kids change when they're just babies but sometimes I forget how much even Logan changes in such a short time. It seems one minute he's barely saying words and the next he's having full conversations like a real "little adult." It seems like he's grown up so much so we need some serious updating.

Here's my attempt to recap the past 6 months for Logan:

Speaks in about 4-5 word sentences

Everyone can understand him, at least, most of the time

He's actually pretty good with pronouns but he still says "hold you" when he wants us to hold him and I love it!

He sings lyrics to songs

Is not even slightly scared of water (He'll jump in the pool or in the ocean in a second. Scary I know!)

He plays pretend and is developing quite an imagination

He loves to play with trains, cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes, construction vehicles

He LOVES movies. His favorites change a little but the staples are pretty much always Cars and Cars 2

He's a huge helper and will take care of feeding Grayson or picking up a room all on his own at times. He's VERY good at picking up his toys and is very particular making sure everything is put up in the correct place. Hmmm...wonder where he gets that?

He knows some colors

He can count to 10 but sometimes likes to just stick with 4-9 over and over

He's been sleeping in or at least able to sleep in a big boy bed for at least 6 months now

He still loves music and dancing and is constantly moving, running, jumping, spinning, somersaulting...you name it.

He has absolutely no fear and will climb any ladder or go down any slide at the park without any hesitation. He's my daredevil and I'm finally starting to get used to it and not freaking out every time he does something dangerous.

He loves going on bike rides, climbing trees, finding bugs and snails, wrestling and anything dirty or "typical boy."

He started preschool last fall where all the moms take turns for a week and we just let them play and teach them a letter and do activities that go with it. Sometimes it sticks and sometimes it doesn't. But he recognizes some letters when he sees them and gets super excited when he knows what a letter sound makes or words that start with that letter.

He loves to ask questions especially "why"

Some of the new words he's started to use are "cause, actually, uh..., hmmm...," and I know there's more but I can't think of them. I just think it's so funny to hear him add these words to whatever it is that he's saying.

Something funny that he always asks about whenever we read the children's scripture stories or watch the movies is when people don't have shirts on he has to know why and where their shirts went. He's always very concerned about it. I laugh every single time. He also calls the prophet "Thomas the Train Monson". Logan is getting pretty good with some of the words to Primary songs and is starting to say prayers along with us. He loves nursery and anytime we put a button up shirt on him or nice pants he wants to go to church.

He's really cute with Grayson and I'll catch him trying to teach him to play with something or how to say something. He seriously loves being a big brother and, besides his occasional over zealousness, he's great at it.

He has a ridiculously good memory. He'll recognize people and say their names after not seeing them for many months. He'll remember where something is that we've been missing for months when he finds out I'm looking for it. I've learned just to ask him if I've lost something and he usually can remember where it's at. He remembers where he dropped his straw 6 months ago or a place he got a hot dog one time a year ago. It's seriously so impressive.

Though I'm 99% sure he's never seen a show with guns before, he has 3 nerf guns and immediately knew how to hold them, what noise to make, and the type of intimidating face a person would make to someone he were holding them at gun point.

He loves playing with play-do and drawing pictures (or rather having mom make cars and trucks out of play-do and drawing all the "Cars" characters)

His favorite places to go lately are, of course, the beach and Disneyland. He would go every single day if I'd let him.

Logan is seriously so full of love he just over flows with it. He wants to just smother everyone he loves with hugs, kisses and lots of cuddling. Some people, especially Grayson and cousin Westin, don't like it much but even though it drives me crazy at times I just love it. It's just so sweet and tender to see him showing so much love with no boundaries. Logan has so much emotion that when he's happy, which is almost all the time, his face is practically beaming, his smile fills his whole face, and his laugh is contagious. When he's sad you'd think his heart was literally going to break and when he's mad...well you get the idea. He keeps life exciting and entertaining. Because he has so much enthusiasm for everything, he helps me be the same. Okay so maybe I won't scream "the beach!" and laugh every time I see it but I'll definitely feel a lot more joy and gratitude and I may not run up and squeeze every person I'm excited to see but I'll be a little better at showing them I love them. He's loud and crazy but he's so full of life and loving every second of it and I'm getting better at being more like him. There's a whole lot we can learn from our children and I just hope he's learning some good stuff from me too.

Grayson update

Since I've been super lazy about blogging, my children are not getting updates near as much as I'd like them to. The first year has so many milestones that I don't feel I'll ever get everything as documented as I'd like to but I'm going to attempt to do my best right now.

Milestones:
Rolling: 2 months
First teeth(he got the bottom 2 at the same time): 4 months
First food: avocado...he gagged but now it's one of his favorites
Giving kisses: 4 months (although at that point it was mostly just to mom)
Crawling: 5 months
Deciding there was too much to see and do to nurse: 6 months (my heart was broken)
Pulling up to stand: 6 months
Standing with no help: 8 months
Climbing: 9 months
Walking around the house pushing things: 9 months
Waving: 10 months although it resembles more of a "Hitler greeting" than a wave
First word: Mama! (10 months) I seriously couldn't have been more excited about that. Logan's first word was Dada and it took him forever to say Mama.

Favorites:
Food: banana, bread, avocado, anything sweet that he can get his hands on and anything unhealthy. (Logan was such a good eater and now I'm realizing it had nothing to do with what I did. Grayson is a terrible eater and I did the same thing with him.)
Person: Mom of course. He's a huge mama's boy. Though Dad and Logan aren't far behind. He literally lights up the second either of them walk in the room.
No-nos: eating unauthorized food(he recently snuck Logan's chicken nuggets and had eaten 4 before I put a stop to it), climbing on top of things to reach what he wants, pulling hair, throwing things, making noises as loud as possible, playing with anything bathroom- toilet, toilet brush, scale, toilet paper, and every time I can't find him, he's in the shower.
Activities: Swinging, singing songs, banging on everything like drums, playing with toys, especially things with wheels...go figure, wrestling with dad and Logan, shoulder rides, baths, crawling everywhere and getting into everything.

Currently:
At 10.5 months he's about 19 lbs. and 30 in. long. He has 5 teeth, 2 on the top and 3 on the bottom. He still isn't walking which totally surprises me since he's been on the move for so long but I don't think it'll be much longer.

Mr. Personality:
I really thought Grayson was going to be my mellow child and compared to Logan, it may still be true but this kid is a ball of energy. He is constantly in motion. He's been around the 90th percentile for his height and about 20 for his weight ever since he could move because he hasn't stopped moving since. He's pretty easy going and happy all the time. He smiles at everyone he sees and has a few tricks up his sleeve to get the attention of anyone that's not giving it to him. He makes super loud noises to get someone to look and then he flashes a huge smile at them. He also makes the funniest face where he wrinkles up his nose and starts snorting. It's hilarious! When Grayson gets excited or thinks something is funny, he usually raises his arms in the air and opens his mouth as wide as it will possibly go. He has that same attitude Logan does. If he doesn't feel like doing it and it's not his idea, you're just wasting your time. (stop snickering Mom and Scott) When we try and walk with him holding his hands, he'll just sit down. If he doesn't want to eat it, he won't no matter how hungry he is or the fact that he's had it every day for a month. If he wants something, he'll get it no matter what he has to do to reach it or get someone to reach it for him. Unlike Logan, he is very content on playing all by himself. He doesn't need to be in the same room as everyone and easily gets lost because he's so quiet just playing with toys and getting into whatever he can. He's also super ticklish. Just fixing the back of his shirt or putting his socks on him gets him cracking up. He also loves his big brother. He wants to be where Logan is and play with whatever Logan plays with. They are seriously so cute together and are going to be such good buddies.

I remember thinking how weird it would be to add another person to the mix and wondering if it would feel out of place. I remember wondering how I could possibly love another person the same as I love Logan. Now, it seems so silly that I ever thought that would be a problem. I can't imagine our family without him...like he's always been a part of it. From the second he was born I found out you really can love multiple people that much and in that same way. His easy going, yet outgoing, happy, noisy, busy personality fits right in.

Nana and Papa to the Rescue!

About a week after we got back from Bear Lake, Scott had to move out to California to start working. We found out on our trip that we no longer had renters lined up and despite our diligent efforts, realized we still had tons of last minute packing we had to do. We also still didn't have a clue where we were going to live since we hadn't even been out to find a place. It was possibly the most emotional and stressful time in my life. I would be left behind to handle whatever didn't get done before Scott left and to be a single mom for 2 weeks before Scott came back out to move us to California. Long story short, we got renters, found a place to live, and I survived thanks to my parents coming all the way out from Oklahoma to help me take care of the boys, pack, and most importantly keep my sanity.

My amazing parents also decided to drive on out to Huntington Beach to help with the boys on the drive and help with the move in. I can't express how much they helped out and how impossible it would've been without them. I really couldn't have done it without them and can't tell them how grateful I am. Anyway, it wasn't all work. We got to go to Knottsberry Farm and the beach while they were here. We all had a blast.

The night dad finally came home...

Hopkinson Family Reunion

Surprise! I bet y'all thought I'd never blog again. Well I wondered myself if I'd ever get the motivation to catch up but we've seriously had such a fun and eventful year I just can't let it go undocumented.

So... here goes.

This summer we went to Bear Lake for Scott's family reunion. It was the perfect escape from the AZ heat and we couldn't believe how perfect the weather was...in July! This is everyone and I mean everyone. It was such a blessing that every person from that side of the family could make it. We got to see people that we haven't seen in years and I got to see people I'd never even met before.

We all took family pictures. This is one just of the cousins.

Except for a few people who stayed in a nearby cabin, this is where we all stayed. Pictures really don't do it justice. It is absolutely gorgeous and ginormous. It was so cool that we could all stay there because it gave us a chance to hang out all the time and get to know each other better. This is Scott's Aunt Royce and Uncle Scott's cabin in bear lake. They live here during the summers and were kind enough to accept Scott's invitation to host the whole family for a reunion. We seriously had the best time all thanks to them.

One of the many fun things to do at the cabin was zip lining. There was a more mellow line that even the kids could go down which was fun but then there was a much faster, adventurous one. One ride down the little one, I knew I had to do the big one. No one bothered to tell me that it still had some kinks to work out before I rode it but I'm not sure I would have listened. I was too excited. This picture is me when I took off...before I hit the end, banged my head, and sliced my ankle. It actually was really fun and fast and I would've done it tons of times had there not been multiple injuries on that thing. Now I have an awesome scar across my ankle to remind me how tough and adventurous I am. One day we went to the lake and just hung out.

We also went to some caves, which were pretty cool, but would've been a lot cooler had we not had to listen to the tour guides tell ridiculous stories about stalagmites look like the Grinch or the seven dwarfs when really there was just a green light shining on it or seven all in a row. But obviously I'm over it now and I just remember how cool it looked. I'm pretty sure this formation was called strawberry cause it's red, of course :)

We also got to go rafting the Snake River. It was probably the funnest and scariest thing I've done in a long time, or ever, maybe. I rafted the snake river when I was a teenager but I don't remember it being all that crazy. Apparently they had had a lot of rain so the water was really high which also means it's very fast with big rapids. Before we started we learned that LOTS of rafts had flipped already that morning. We weren't going with guides because Scott's uncle and cousin are experienced but I have to admit some of us were a little nervous about it. The raft in front of us, which had a guide, flipped on pretty much the first big rapid and I thought we were done for, but I was wrong. Our rafts were literally vertical and people were thrown on top of each other but despite the class V rapids and the fact that most of us were obviously inexperienced, neither raft flipped and no one fell out. We really could've used a GoPro (a video camera specifically made for capturing events just like that). We came back feeling like we could take on Godzilla himself...or someone big, mean, and scary anyway. Although we were pretty adventurous that day, I have to say the ones back at the cabin with all the kids had to be the bravest of us all. Here we are before we headed out.

Saturday was the "official family reunion." We played all sorts of games like donut on a string, 3-legged race, water balloon volleyball, who's that baby?, tug-o-war, water relay, and much more. It was a blast! I can't wait til we do it again someday.

It was brought to my attention that I forgot to mention a big part of the trip...the nightly game playing. We stayed up playing games every night and Mafia was pretty much the game of choice. I'm not certain who was pushing it multiple times EVERY SINGLE NIGHT or why we all agreed to it, but it always ended up being a good time. We learned a lot about each other playing that game :)