/* DEFENDER GENERATED SALTS */ define('AUTH_KEY', 'b[sxB++v&5-BIXy%dsShX-6,ErHK{By+2^$,Jq}I.c+j@I }4f+b6AU~d*{,/*U<'); define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY', '+KTRK7.sw(C2|Vem*y#-:%BZ%YpQcyxW=x:;:WaRe%!PGEjn|#Y/f+-.#]=^J|-?'); define('LOGGED_IN_KEY', ']7[}l.Syb! S[%&Z+Ku_7*[7L3l6@m`y1PVUL:)O+J]ss?yT^Ks^-GM5`4,W>#@='); define('NONCE_KEY', 'U_[k2a ;sTSD(RF,3cT:^r/^JWE+}W7ev{fT-vNvrqU2Yk!?zVP0Yz+QsYpAKyd6'); define('AUTH_SALT', 'N|_$Hv{s55MO|ziA?l#rbY X9fbM5}Q!asglH9qTBR8.r76IF-B04n*h?Jo<^zOj'); define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'k=^48jxGd_M`A:l4X_:^@[C``BqTf|Gpfs.7$*cHpTNpCS&dHNJn4>_1U`X.U_}7'); define('LOGGED_IN_SALT', 'uoY0R-]g/ONv|Aa:UY|{Fu+]v-)f^2#F3,lz4AU+.Cl.e-ZKP^Kvkpf3-sgRUN-c'); define('NONCE_SALT', '?m09u]|1=O:%[oF9uIdv>{`oh-RCHV<`2A< -pazal+S(l{DNC`y8VAgj8juIyn`'); /* DEFENDER GENERATED SALTS */ define('AUTH_KEY', 'h.vX.0s~8&-unYah#1H#m`+Isng9.!8 DpYvR8<}J,-5a*GF3q@D(q*;bA2ae,ej'); define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY', 'J&l<$=5g>U_+]0VG{#je,(!*aBJI#|FxjLgI}8$KQ({|?V'); define('LOGGED_IN_KEY', '_6F_J(Hu+-;[bCAHRZyb;)b~N;:&yxhO{=yD/'); define('NONCE_KEY', 'aj+v<{)M)H*P>491THtG<4:bS%4r1u2XUG3Wcs+/WP>`qeTl^[S}z)P72((0T/Tb'); define('AUTH_SALT', '4I[xC:+QfC++k$NnW#/-`(Y[Y{VIwL|Q_Qc3+Mn&#AgbA|a{xs#Y_t?Z#PfqppBP'); define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', '/BSEde_/<{>U1|v4kG4w-HvGKTI>#FRazfE{|>j^qCUiG+Fa&uneh^$#%%|63:Zabb9=|oqB/[-UPG$uCeW2TB.*+qoC=)U6li/R%)SPY2!Qtqq^nhyS]}_H*'); define('NONCE_SALT', 'M4;?:kcSrLIqXIsX%8o-1{&,HB `UP341$Vpq9eQmXUlIKrKLu&CY9dFRAXE^Wcb'); /* DEFENDER GENERATED SALTS */ define('AUTH_KEY', '+0V+-_(FD4H|ljdyRUMz3Pe.RJm%ceO8P~1V-,,I-N])-{3jT{*G#:`N;9PhhPNn'); define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY', '3{0v|kBSvN2,WFA6D2LqFKb>(R|BeQUco 8Jf|*dJ*yPI %JXXa|e%[1hsCm)l|2c}]VtO?*GHs,g/LB-=.e|GV{'); define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY', '#6QSd%HA^|;f(@|ks4FPJJ^p$ u:$O^$wroh?&B#e1P`C*%)ur+fc%Wmm~be}]z]'); define('LOGGED_IN_KEY', 'IB+*fxSn.GR9r&a^h|=|^.t6.DjeaQKuE{V+qw o/b}e[qxPiqBsb{9Yc)i)oR]?'); define('NONCE_KEY', 'eDj#!(Q#Z+ZZ)LoNbU]CjN-}5{K?O<^DmNm/)T#fJgc_+V=j>*t>&,uFOCY]m6Hq'); define('AUTH_SALT', 'm11WdMse}/F;7)12$JF@[ZTeReC]t?dmQtTe7^=tZm>sbQd0Aai+^ZM~mMO Y2vj'); define('NONCE_SALT', ' $@nl|A^79!2;`j|7A2JpS3_^rPkv!nzWhW9ec,d!E#[s2 Maxwell Alexander Hopkins » General
 
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Max Sleeping and Talking 12.25.10 1.8.2011

Posted by J Hopkins on Jan 8, 2011 in General, Video

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Max’s First Holiday Season

Posted by C2 on Jan 3, 2011 in General, Pictures

If there is one thing we learned this year, it is that Christmas and New Year’s Day are very different holidays when you have a baby. Traveling, dinners, movies, puzzles, games, conversations, naps, relatives – everything is different with the Max Man.

During his 8th and 9th weeks of life, Max saw a variety of Christmas lights, slept in a variety of homes, wooed his big sister, met his Southern cousins, became a fan of all types of entertainment (from bouncing to TV), took his first ride in a swing, got his first stocking to hang by the chimney with care, and made his first out-of-state trip to Ohio.

All at once during the holiday, Max became both easier to please and harder to manage. It took every member of the family to entertain him (all who have sore arms from carrying him around to look at things)……he started choosing whether he would stay awake and play or go to sleep, not us…..his clothes are bigger and so are the poos to stain them….and I have had to sacrifice some delectable treats, like ice cream and cheese, to help my boy sleep for long periods in the night.

Max has also started “talking” a lot. Never has someone’s voice made us feel so happy. His coos, shouts, and laughs make us giggle like children when we watch him swat at toys in his play mat. Max’s grandparents even seemed to take notice over the holiday – even Grandpa Russ got a little mushy over it!

Christmas was wonderful with Max. And on New Year’s Eve, we didn’t care that we weren’t out to celebrate or having a glass of champagne. For us, watching the countdown with Ryan Secrest, kissing our son at midnight, and sleeping for 3 ½ hours until the next feeding was perfect.

Here are some photos that may give you a little glimpse (or reminder) of the bundle of joy we call Max…. at 2 months old.

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Max Wigglin’ & Talkin’ 12.18.2010

Posted by J Hopkins on Dec 22, 2010 in General, Video

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Max Started Talking

Posted by J Hopkins on Dec 22, 2010 in General, Pictures

Ok, so he only said the word “Guh,” but he said it several times and in direct response to inquiries from his very excited parents.  Two days ago (later the same day of his health exams) Max began to say his first “word” and we have been excited to repeat this with him since. It’s possible that he has learned to fill in the silence at the end of a question, or perhaps he has learned his first way to communicate with us other than cry or poop his pants. No video yet, but the typical Max dialogue goes something like this:

Parents: “Are you a happy boy?”

Max: “Guh!”

Parents: “Are you smiling?”

Max: “Guh!”

Parents: “Are you a good looking boy?”

Max: “Guh!”

 
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Max Has Healthy Kidneys

Posted by J Hopkins on Dec 22, 2010 in General

Today’s story has a happy ending: Max has been cleared of any concern for his right kidney, hydronephrosis, or vesicoureteral reflux. As we detailed in some of our earlier posts, (see here and here) one of Max’s routine prenatal ultrasounds yielded a measurement that “may be” something that requires future observation. All is resolved now that we have discussed this with our Obstetrician, Pediatrician/Primary Care Doc, a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, and a Child Urology Specialist. The long story short is that his kidney is fine and that we have likely had him on Amoxicillin since birth for no reason other than to participate in some defensive medicine. Max didn’t seem to mind as he enjoyed his am and pm “strawberry milkshakes.”

The first of his tests Monday was another ultrasound, which was fairly noninvasive and showed two very normal and healthy kidneys. The next was a very invasive Voiding Cystourethrogram (which was painful physically for Max and emotionally for his parents.) The results of this test, in which a catheter is inserted into the penis and fed into the bladder to inject a dye read by an X ray machine, was that Max had no signs or symptoms of vesicoureteral reflux. All good results, but  it was a very difficult experience to hold a child down while he is poked and prodded on a cold radiology machine. It was amazing, however, to see the X-rays of Max and how every little part of his tiny human body worked in coordiantion with each other.

If any parents find this online by Googling some of these terms, I will be happy to answer any questions for you. You can contact us here for some info and words of encouragement.

 
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Max Wishs Big Sister Lauren Happy 16th!!

Posted by J Hopkins on Dec 20, 2010 in General, Pictures

Lauren & her two brothers on her 16th Birthday…

 
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Diaper Change

Posted by J Hopkins on Dec 13, 2010 in General, Pictures

Ok.. So perhaps the title of this post is a bit misleading. Max moved up a size in diapers yesterday from ‘n’ to ‘1.’ Charity and I realized that this probably should have happened a few weeks ago, but because we are both creatures of habit, it seems that we kept on using “the ones that worked.” The bigger diapers just looked “too big” for him. It wasn’t until several days of blowouts and noticeably strained red line on his thighs that we opted to just give it a try. I wonder if this is something that happens with all parents. Max has outgrown his first diapers and this is a significant milestone for him (though he was already born too big for most of his newborn clothes.) We are looking forward to learning whether or not this resolves the blowout issues. The red lines have gone away and Max seems happier with more “space to fill.”

Newborn size vs size '1'

Newborn size vs size '1'

 
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Fun with Max in early December

Posted by C2 on Dec 11, 2010 in General, Pictures

From tubby time to nap time, we have lots of fun with Mr. Max. Here are some photos of some of our recent moments with him.

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The Text Book Max Meltdown

Posted by J Hopkins on Dec 4, 2010 in General, Video

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Max’s First Shot

Posted by J Hopkins on Dec 4, 2010 in General, Video

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The Adventures of Cap’n Poopy Pants

Posted by C2 on Dec 1, 2010 in General, Pictures

Okay, everyone loves a dirty story. Max, sweet and handsome Max, has many of them.

Throughout a [current] typical day, Max has many feeding-pooping-sleeping routines. I’m going to share two, with which I have grown quite familiar.

During the days at home, Max spends most of the day eating and taking shorter naps. But sometime between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm, Max will have an “awake” time, where he stares at the ceiling, toys, his rocking chair sides, lights, and now the Christmas tree…. licks the top of his sleep sack or his his hands….and exercises his little arms and legs. But, it’s also a time that Max keeps me nearby the changing table. Munch, munch, munch, kick, kick, reach, poop, poop, poop, stare, coo, kick, munch, munch again. No sleep for Maximus! But it’s sooooo cute how he let’s me know when we have reached a new phase in the cycle. Max uses a Bat Signal approach masked as a pterodactyl squawking sound……uh AH! Just one will motivate me, but if I wait…..uh AH! Pretty soon, it’s cries and tears. Time to take care of that diaper or feed that boy! (see The Text Book Max Meltdown post for a play by play video example of this…)

Overnight, he’s too sleepy to deal with much of anything, and these period require lots of time awake for me, Mommy. Max wakes up fussy (often with dirty drawers too). He eats a little, is changed, then eats again until he falls asleep in my arms. Then back to bed…..unless he has a build up of, well, a build up. The other night, he pooped, ate, was changed, pooped after the diaper was Velcroed, changed again, ate, fell asleep, POOPED AGAIN!! Uggh….it’s tough to be Mommy during those times. But it’s impossible not to want to wake up his father to laugh about it!! Max is truly Captain Poopy Pants!

 
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How Max Spent His Time Last Week

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 29, 2010 in General, Pictures

Sleeping in his Sleep-Satahkah…

Watching  X-mas present wrapping by the fire… 

Turning into a zombie…

 
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Max’s First Photo Shoot

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 19, 2010 in General, Pictures

This week - during some time when Max was wide awake but not too cranky - we had our first photo shoot. The goal was to capture Max’s many facial expressions. Mission accomplished.  

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Mom’s BFF, but Max will take a diaper change from anyone

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 18, 2010 in General, Pictures

This picture was taken in the back seat of the car in the Meijer parking lot. Max had been sleeping for more than 2 hours while we drove around town doing errands with one last stop at the grocery store. With nearly everything checked of the list, Mom had a cart full of groceries and Dad followed behind pushing Max in his stroller. Just before we made it to  the checkout… the Tornado Warning alarm went off (Max’s cry)

Dad made a break for the car while Mom purchased the goods. In the back seat, right after this picture was taken, Dad discovered one of Max’s signature diaper blowouts. It was a pleasant ride home.

 
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Yawns are contagious. Especially Max’s.

Posted by C2 on Nov 15, 2010 in General, Pictures

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