Hardwick Christmas Celebration

It has now become a tradition with the Hardwick side of the family to celebrate the day after Christmas. It is so much fun to get together with all the cousins...they are playing so well together! It was a great celebration and a lot of fun and laughter. The kids had a great time opening gifts and the adults also had a fun time playing Bingo and doing the gift card exchange. Ben and I got Cheesecake Factory and Applebee's gift cards. There are some cute pictures below of the cousins and then the Hardwick boys with their mom, Grandma Connie.

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas day! You can see Lily's big present below. She was really surprised and happy that Santa brought her the princess castle. She got a lot of great toys and clothes for Christmas. We had a wonderful celebration all day with Ben's family and my mom's side of the family. I unfortunately didn't get any good family pictures this year, but got some of the girls here and there. Laney had a great first Christmas as well and pretty much wanted to eat everyone of her presents. Here are a few pictures from the celebration! I will try to get videos posted if I can, but they were kind of long, so I am not sure that my blog will let me upload them. Hope everyone else had a wonderful celebration with their family and friends.

The Princess Castle (dollhouse)

All Lily asked Santa for Christmas was a Princess Castle. After much time reviewing different product reviews on the website, I decided that instead of spending money on the plastic Disney Princess castle that may not last through two girls, I went with the KidKraft Dream Modern Glitter dollhouse for her princess castle. I debated for days whether or not I made the right decision, but it turned out perfect! It took my dad, brother Ross and Ben about 2 hours to assemble, so I think that it is definitely sturdy enough (just like the reviews said!). The pictures below are of the assembly and then the finish product revealed on Christmas day. I think Lily was definitely surprised and loves her new princess castle. She was shocked to see that Santa tip-toed into her room and got her dolls/princesses out of her room and put them in the castle and wrapped it up. She couldn't believe how sneaky he was!

Christmas Eve - Santa arrived a little early

Every year, we celebrate Christmas with my dad, Moj and brother Ross on Christmas Eve, so Santa arrives early to their house and brings some awesome presents. It was a great celebration with some fantastic food. We are so blessed to have family all around us. The girls are so close with all of their relatives and I could not ask for more. Laney got some new toys and Lily got some new princess dress up outfits. Thank you for a great celebration Dad and Moj!

Christmas w/ the Cecils

With Aunt Twyla and Steve leaving for Florida, we went to celebrate Christmas with them last week. Lily always loves visiting their house with all the stairs. She got some really cute silver sequence boots and other cute clothes and toys. We had a great celebration!

Lily & Laney Dr. appointments

Laney and Lily went for their wellness visits the other day and they both checked out perfectly!! We are so happy to have such healthy girls! Laney weighed in at 16lbs. 10oz and was about 27inches long. Lily weighed in at 31 lbs and was 3ft 1in tall. Our girls are growing up so quickly! Laney is about the same size as Lily when she was 6 months, so it will be interesting to see if that stays the same as she gets bigger. Although it is hard work raising both girls, it is a lot of fun watching them grow-up together. Lily is such a great big sister and nothing beats listening to Laney crack-up when Lily is playing peek-a-boo with her! More fun times to come! :)

Birthday, Wedding and others

Well it is that season of being busy every day and night of the week! Last week seemed to be pretty steady for us with my mom's birthday on Friday, we celebrated early in the week by fixing lasagna for dinner and having her blow out her candle on the cookie. This weekend, we traveled to Loogootee, IN for Ben's college friend, TJ's wedding to his now wife Tracie. It was a fun weekend with his friends and a beautiful wedding and reception. Now comes the jealousy knowing they are leaving for their honeymoon in a few days! I unfortunately didn't take our camera, so I only got one picture of them cutting their cake on my phone and it wasn't that great of a picture, so sorry that I wasn't able to get a better picture of the bride and groom. I must say that the reception hall was the prettiest decorated reception I have ever been to! Very well done! Lily also got to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus on Thursday and made a gingerbread house with Nan and Pa over the weekend. The visit with Santa was at our daycare house...Lily is all about Santa this year! Hopefully she will be happy with what Santa bought her. There are some other pictures from the week below. Hope everyone has a great week in preparation for the holidays!

Laney - 6 months

I know...I am a little late on posting that Laney is 6 months old, but I haven't had a chance to get pictures posted that my cousin Dawn took for me. It is so hard to believe that she is 6 months old already. She has such a great personality and is just in the know...just like her mommy! She is almost able to sit-up on her own and is rolling around the room. I can't wait to see how much she changes in the next 6 months. We go for her and Lily's check-ups this Wednesday to see how big they are getting. Here are some of my favs from the photo shoot and a link to all the pictures that Dawn took. Enjoy!

Link to additional pictures

Laney's 6 months