The Hardwick's

Super Indy!

2012-01-29T16:45:00.004-05:00

Super Indy is ready for the Super Bowl. With all the excitement, Ben and I really wanted to go experience some of it ourselves. It was really amazing the little that we were able to see. We went down on Saturday evening to the circle where they had the Super Bowl Roman numerals and racecars painted for ever NFL team. From there we walked down to Georgia street where they have it all decorated and also have a few stages where big names are performing. Patty Labelle performed last night, but it was so crowded it was hard to get around, so I snapped a few shots and we walked back to our car. Indy has done a great job and I encourage anyone that lives here to experience it while they can. Luckily it looks like the weather is going to hold off this week for all who are visiting. I think that our visitors are going to love the transformation. It is compact and there is lots to do! The only downside to all of the hoopla around the Super Bowl is my commute to work. It is probably going to be pretty slow going this week, but it is all worth it to see that Indy can experience the Super Bowl! I have also put some other pictures from this past week below. Hope everyone has a great week!

Ben and I on the circle in front of all the racecars that were painted for each of the NFL teams...you won't find this anywhere but Indy!!

Georgia Street (above) - looking at the Pepsi Stage and (below) - heaters to keep people warm

Miss diva at the Children's museum fashion show (above)

Lily got this new skirt that she has worn the past two days...it reminds me of the one that Ace Ventura wore...this pictures kind of cracks me up (above)

Disney on Ice - Dare to Dream

2012-01-22T19:44:00.006-05:00

All the anticipation from Christmas until today paid off!!! Our $20/seat tickets for Disney on Ice were AMAZING!! I recommend this show to anyone for their kids! Lily and her friend Boston got all dressed up in their Rapunzel dresses for the show. We went to eat at Scotty's Brewhouse for lunch and headed to the show. They both got an Aerial (Little Mermaid) doll from the goody stand (they each got to choose one thing and that is what they chose). Boston's mom (Danielle) was so nice to buy each of the girls a snow cone Rapunzel cup! Although messy, it was a great take home gift from the show! They did 3 acts...one for Princess and the Frog, one for Cinderella and the last for Tangled. The music was good and the ice skaters were really great! Not to mention we had fantastic seats!! Here are some pictures and videos below along with a link to all the pictures that I took. Enjoy!!

Link to more pictures!!

Disney on Ice

Around the house & museum

2012-01-22T19:30:00.004-05:00

There are a few good pictures from a fun day with Papaw and Gramma Corson and also some from around the house with mom and dad. The girls went to with Pap and Mam Tip to the Children's Museum. They had a lot of fun! Lily got to be in the Barbie run way show. Lily other models with top fashion coordinator, Zach, before the Barbie Fashion Show. She had a wonderful time preparing for the show with makeup and clothes selected for her. She volunteered to be in the show, and sat and listened and applauded as the outlandish Zach gave them instructions on how to walk the runway. They also went on a carousel ride and Laney got to ride on the horse this time instead of the bench and it looks like she had a great time! It is so fun that they are able to capture these times on their phone to share with everyone! Enjoy!

Snow time and sick girls

2012-01-15T15:45:00.003-05:00

Well the past couple of weeks the girls have been passing a GI bug back and forth to each other. Lily had it first and then Laney got it last week. It is so horrible for an infant when they are sick and there isn't much you can do for them. I think we are all better now...although I am not holding my breath b/c I am sure that someone will get sick again, especially knowing that Laney is probably going to get her first tooth soon and we all know what comes with teething! If you haven't been watching the Indiana weather...it was about 50 and and sunny last Monday and the high on Friday was probably no more than 20 degrees. We also got a few inches of snow, but weren't able to get out until today. There wasn't much snow left and it was cold, so Lily didn't last long. She did look awfully cute in all her snow gear...just wish we could have made it last longer than 20 minutes...I am sure that we will get another snow sometime soon.

Hat, Ball Game and Lots of laughs

2012-01-08T21:24:00.003-05:00

Besides a little flu bug being passed between the girls, we had a pretty good first week back after the holidays. It is always hard to get back after a long time off. Hopefully this week and next week will go by quickly b/c then Lily and I will be going to Disney on Ice - Dare to Dream! I cannot wait to take her...she is so excited and asks about it every day! Ben put the cut Cubs hat on Laney the other day...maybe she will be daddy's little ball player...she can definitely rock the hat look! Laney has been under the weather the past few days and was really tired when we were at Uncle Tim's ball game on Saturday and she fell asleep all snuggled up to Pap Jay's face...so cute...check out the picture below! Lily seems to be the one person that can really get Laney giggling...it is the cutest thing ever!! These are the moments that you live for being a parent! Enjoy!

Last week of 2011

2012-01-01T21:17:00.005-05:00

We had a great end to 2011 last week! I took most of the week off except for one day. We got to spend time together and also I got a lot done around the house. One day we went to visit Nan at work and another day we went downtown to visit Pa at the White River Recycling plant. Lily had fun checking in the trucks at the scale house! After a stop at Pa's shop, we went downtown to have lunch with my work friends and then one final quick stop to visit Pap and Gram Pam at the hospital. We ended the week at Pap and Mam tips house on Friday with Uncle John and Tim. To ring in the new year, we went to Danielle and Nevada's house for a party and the girls went with Nan and Pa to another party that was more kid friendly. We all had a great time celebrating the new year! What a great year 2011 was to our family...we welcomed Laney Jane Hardwick into our family, Lily started talking and has grown up a lot and is such a great big sister and Ben got promoted at Ray's! Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!!

Hardwick Christmas Celebration

2011-12-27T12:59:00.002-05:00

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

2011-12-26T15:26:00.005-05:00

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)

2011-12-26T15:12:00.003-05:00

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

2011-12-24T21:54:00.004-05:00

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

2011-12-24T21:44:00.005-05:00

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

2011-12-24T21:38:00.004-05:00

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

2011-12-18T13:46:00.004-05:00

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

2011-12-18T13:28:00.004-05:00

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

Train ride at the State Museum

2011-12-11T18:07:00.004-05:00

If you are from Indiana you probably remember the L.S. Ayres Tea Room and the train that you used to ride at Christmas time. That train that you used to ride (see below) was retired in 2005 and a new train is now both kid and adult friendly. The Ayres Tea Room is now located in the Indiana State Museum and they have the train, Mr. and Mrs. Claus as well now at the museum. It was not very busy last week, so Lily got to ride the train twice and visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. They also had an exhibit about history of corn and they had the front part of a combine (see below) that you could push all of these buttons on with a big screen in front of you that made it look like you were actually in the corn fields. Lily really enjoyed this exhibit. It was a fun day having lunch with the girls, Papaw, Gramma Moj and Aunt Twyla. Hopefully I can have other days where I can take some time away from work to spend with the girls.

Visit with Santa

2011-12-04T21:55:00.004-05:00

Lily actually got to see Santa twice last week, once at the Children's Museum and then again at the Scottish Rite. Pap and Mam Tip took the girls to the museum on Friday and they were able to visit on Friday (see picture below). Today we went to the Scottish Rite to their event that they had for the kids of members (my dad and Ben are both members of the Scottish Rite and Masonic lodge). They had a magic show for the kids, meet and pictures with Santa and then decorating cookies. It was a good "private" event to get Lily and Laney's picture with Santa. Lily told Santa she wanted a princess castle. She was so cute and whispered in his ear and was talking up a storm with him this year. Much different than last year when she wouldn't go close to him. Laney, well she is way to young to know she is sitting on some strange man's lap. We got a few good pictures of them (see below). Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Meeting Baby Corbin Moss

2011-11-27T21:42:00.002-05:00

On Friday at 1:39pm, our friends Josh and Teri had a beautiful, healthy baby boy, Corbin Joshua Moss that weighed 6lbs. 5oz. He looks just like his daddy. Mom and baby are doing great and they got to come home today. So excited for them!! Can't wait to take the girls to meet him!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-11-27T21:40:00.004-05:00

We finally had some free time tonight to get out the Christmas decorations (which isn't very much) and also get the Christmas tree up. Lily was VERY excited to get all the ornaments out that I think we had two casualties in the ornament department this year. Luckily it was just our decorative ones that didn't have sentimental value to them. It is amazing how much more time it takes to set up the green fake Christmas tree than the aluminum tree we used to use as our main tree, so needless to say, we will have to wait to put up the aluminum one until tomorrow b/c we ran out of time. Looking forward to getting presents under the tree! It always looks that much prettier when it has presents wrapped underneath it.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T21:28:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone has now recovered from the Thanksgiving weekend and are ready to start the work week tomorrow. I must say that I think I am recovered, but not ready to go back to work tomorrow. We had a wonderful time with family and friends last weekend. It is always a great time to celebrate with everyone and of course having the wonderful food to go with the great times makes it all that much better!! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Beautiful Belle dress

2011-11-27T21:21:00.002-05:00

Thank you to my wonderful best friend Clare, her husband Micah and son Jonas, Lily has a brand new Belle princess dress to wear around the house. She also got new lip gloss from them as well. She is such a blessed little girl. I think she wore it almost every evening last week after she got it. These are the fun things I enjoy about having little girls!

Daytime fun, meeting Belle & fun night out!

2011-11-20T12:26:00.004-05:00

Last week was a somewhat busy week and weekend. On Thursday, my cousin's girl Sabrina who is a sophomore at Speedway High School participated in the Beauty and the Beast play the high school put on. I thought it would be an inexpensive way for Lily to see her first play. I must say that she did pretty good for her age and that I wouldn't have expected anything different. All of the students did a wonderful job acting! There is a picture that I got of Lily and Zoey with Belle. They were both so excited to meet her! On Friday night, we had a fun night out with our friends and family to the Rathskeller. One of our favorite bands, Zanna Doo, was playing and we had a great time. There are a few pictures below. On Saturday, we took Lily to her first movie, Happy Feet Two. Well she LOVED the movie theater, but unfortunately the movie was horrible or not what we were expecting (so I am not recommending anyone go and see it). Under the circumstances that the movie was horrible, Lily did pretty well. The rest of the weekend we had birthday parties. One for our friend's little girl Tessa who turned 1 on Lily's birthday and the second was Jackie's 9th birthday...hard to believe Jackie is getting so old. I remember when she was just a baby and I was just a freshman up at Purdue. Time just flies by!! Hope everyone has a wonderful short week!! Don't stuff yourselves too much on Thanksgiving!

Lily turns 3!!!

2011-11-13T20:27:00.007-05:00

We had a great birthday week for Lily's 3rd birthday. The weekend was full of activities. On Friday we went duckpin bowling with Papaw, Gramma Moj, Aunt Twyla and Uncle Steve at Fountain Square downtown Indy, Saturday morning she hung out with Nan and then Saturday night was her big birthday party! She is still a little young to duckpin bowl by herself, but with our help she was all about knocking the pins down (see video and pictures below). Sunday she hung out with Gram Pam and Pap at the house and was able to play with all of her new toys. Mommy and Daddn' are really exhausted after a long weekend. We topped our day off by going to the Colts game today which was fun, but we are definitely feeling the tiredness after all we had going this past week and weekend. We want to thank everyone for all of the wonderful presents and birthday wishes for Lily's 3rd birthday. She is one very blessed little girl!! We have such wonderful family and friends.

Click the link below to view all the pictures

Lily turns 3!

Family photos 2011

2011-11-06T14:01:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago we did our yearly pictures for Lily's upcoming birthday and tried to get a few family pictures as well. The ones of the girls I think turned out great, but hopefully around Christmas time we can get another good family photo with some more to the background. The family one isn't bad, but we would like to have more to the background. If you click on the link below it will take you to all of the pictures. If you would like for us to send you copies of any, please let me know. Enjoy!

Family Pics 2011

Trick-or-Treating - Happy Halloween!

2011-11-06T13:40:00.004-05:00

We had a busy Halloween since it fell on a weekday. Fixed chili for the family and then had to get Lily all prettied up to be a BEAUTIFUL princess!! Once she was ready to go, we let her hand out some candy to the trick-or-treaters that came to our door and then we headed out to do some trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. We had PERFECT weather for Halloween again this year. It did get a little cool once the sun went down, but we made it to more houses this year than we did last year. Let's just say that going to half of the houses in the neighborhood, Lily filled her bucket up twice, so kids can definitely clean up in our neighborhood!! Laney got dressed up, but remained in the house since she has had a little of a bug this week. Found out yesterday that she has a double ear infection and that she now weighs 15lbs 2oz, so even though she isn't feeling well, at least she is growing like a weed!

Halloween party at the Scottish Rite

2011-11-06T13:35:00.003-05:00

Ben and Papaw Corson took Lily to the Scottish Rite last weekend for their Halloween party that they have, so Lily got to get all dressed up in her princess gown before Halloween. She looked so beautiful! She played games, got a ribbon for her costume and took home some candy and toys. Looking forward to attending other events at the Scottish Rite. Here are some pictures from the event.

Pumpkin painting & carving time

2011-10-30T14:13:00.002-04:00

I think this year Lily is still too little to carve a pumpkin, so we opted for painting pumpkins again this year. It started out looking like a smiley face on her small one and then it just got crazy, but she had a great time. I will have to post pictures of Ben and I's pumpkins after I get a picture of them tomorrow on Halloween. Here is our experience from this week of mostly painting. Lily did try to get some of the seeds out of my pumpkin.

A few cute pictures

2011-10-30T14:02:00.005-04:00

Here are a few cute pictures from last week.

We have this thing which started b/c of a card of a dochsend sniffing a labs bootie...so we got to saying that the dogs are bootie sniffers, but when we are kiddin with Lily we call her a bootie sniffer. It is funny to here her say it b/c she said "bootie snipper" with a "p" sound instead of an "f" sound. In this video she is saying that daddy is a bootie snipper.

It's Cancun time!!

2011-10-24T21:03:00.003-04:00

Thank you to Ben's wonderful employer Ray's Trash Service, we were able to go on an all expense paid trip to an all inclusive resort (Live Aqua) in Cancun Mexico for 4 days. It was a FANTASTIC trip!!! We went with Nevada (VP of Ray's) and his wife and had a great time hanging out with them and getting to know other Colts sponsors. What a great group of people to spend a weekend with. Thank you to Ray's and the Colts for a great weekend in Cancun, Mexico!!

Other pictures from Cancun

Cancun 2011

Laney solid foods & other activities

2011-10-24T20:45:00.003-04:00

We got the go ahead last week for Laney to try solid foods, so we broke out the rice cereal and at first she seemed to like it, but then once she realized how not so good tasting it is, we got this reaction (see video below)...eeby-geebies is what I call her facial expressions!

Kind of reminds me of some Elton John glasses

My mom and I went with my co-workers to Ceramic Dreams in Broad Ripple. It is a place where you can paint your own pottery pieces, so we had wine and snacks and painted pottery. I made a plate for Laney and a cup for Lily and my mom made a really cute bowl for all purpose use! Very fun activity if you are in Indy!

Laney talking

2011-10-16T11:16:00.004-04:00

Laney is becoming quite the vocal little girl. She has been talking up a storm lately...well not saying words, but you know...baby talking :)

Wedding Time!

2011-10-16T11:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a day of weddings. Ben's friend Kyle married Kim in Bloomington and Ben's second cousin Jon Butler got married as well in Danville. So while mom and dad had a great time with friends in Bloomington, the girls were having fun with family at the Butler wedding. I still can't wait to hear all about it from Lily, but heard they had a great time. Kim and Kyle's wedding was beautiful and a lot of fun! Some times I wonder why we act like we are 21 and back in college again...my body just can't handle it as easy anymore!! Recovering is not as easy as it used to be, but it was a great time that we had with our friends! Can't wait for the next wedding!

Maddy & Lily

Our VERY sketchy hotel room number - ours was the only room that did not have a plaque with the room number...ours was written on paper...guess that is what you get for $80 a night in Bloomington :)

The lovely bride and groom...too bad Ben had to close his eyes on this one! Oh well...at least we remembered to get a picture!

Laney check-up & other cute pics of the girls

2011-10-16T10:56:00.002-04:00

Laney had her 4 month check-up on Wednesday and she checked out perfect!! We are so blessed that she is growing and is healthy! She weighed in at 14lbs 4oz and was about 25 inches long. So she is very close to the size Lily was when she was that age...just a little smaller. The only bad thing about the appointment was that Laney had to get vaccinations, 2 shots and 1 oral, so she was NOT a very happy camper! Lily also got her flu shot and did AWESOME!!! I held her hand and talked to her and she didn't even realize that the needle had gone in and out...did even phase her! Maybe she will be like her mom when it comes to shots and needles. We had a good, but busy week last week, and this week is not going to be any better. Just hard to find time to get everything done! Can't wait to get our family pictures done this week! Should be interesting! :)

Parade time!

2011-10-09T18:51:00.002-04:00

Another great year for the Martinsville parade. The weather seems to always be really nice and warm on this weekend for the parade. It was a great time to spend with Ben's family. The cousins are all getting so big and play so well together! Can't wait to welcome two new GIRLS sometime in late-Feb, early-March!!! Yea for more girls! Khelsea and Kattie are both going to have girls…so excited for them!! Here are a few pictures from the parade!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-09T18:38:00.004-04:00

We finally were able to make it to the pumpkin patch since this was really the only day (Saturday) and time that we could do it before Halloween since we are extremely busy every weekend until Halloween…kind of crazy around here! So we decided we would do it simple and go to the Anderson Orchard which was perfect b/c we were able to get some delicious apples and some really inexpensive, great looking pumpkins and Lily had a great time playing and Laney was in a good mood the entire time we were there just hanging out watching everyone play. Now we can't wait to carve them and Lily to paint her and Laney's pumpkins. Should be a fun year this year!

Laney - 4 months!

2011-10-09T18:23:00.005-04:00

As of today, October 9th, Laney is officially 4 months old!! Hard to believe she is already 4 months old….wow…time just has flown by and she is growing like a weed! It is so crazy how much her and Lily look alike…you will have to check back in the archives in March 2009 to see the similarities between the two girls. CRAZY!! We will see Dr. Cosgrove on Wednesday, so we will see really how much Laney has grown since her 2 month appointment. Will be interesting! Here are a few pictures from Laney's 4 month photo shoot. Lily at 4 months old.

Teri's baby shower

2011-10-02T16:13:00.003-04:00

Teri and Josh will be welcoming baby moss (Corbin Joshua Moss) sometime around December 2nd. Buffy and I hosted a shower for her at our house today and it turned out wonderful. It was the perfect size and we had the perfect amount of food. She got a lot of wonderful gifts. We just cannot wait to meet him! Also, their friend Laura bought the cake (so cute - see it below) and it was delicious! Buffy made a very cute diaper cake that I help to accessorize for Teri's gift (see below). Another successful baby shower!

Mav's 1st birthday and girls

2011-10-02T16:08:00.002-04:00

Well this last week was pretty uneventful as you will tell by the lack of pictures taken. Yesterday we celebrated Cousin Mav's 1st birthday! Hard to believe that he is 1 already! He got a lot of wonderful gifts and I was able to get this great shot of him below when he was eating his cupcake. Such a cutie pie! There are also a few good pictures of the girls from last week.

Fun times in Chicago

2011-09-25T15:06:00.004-04:00

We made a trip up to Chicago this weekend to celebrate (a surprise) Ben's high school friend Mike's 30th birthday party! His girlfriend Rachel threw a wonderful party for him. We had a great weekend with all of our friends up there and just taking in the fun of Chicago. It is a fun city to visit, but definitely know I would never be able to live there full time! Mike and Rachel have a great condo right downtown Chicago. It is about a mile from Michigan Ave and about 3 blocks from the Wilson Tower (AKA Sears Tower), so on their roof top deck they have a wonderful view of the city (see below - the one that was at night - it was taken with my phone, so it wasn't a great picture). Hopefully we will be able to take the girls next year to do more site-seeing b/c it is a great place for that when the weather is nice! Happy 30th birthday to Mike...it was a great time and can't wait to see everyone in a few weeks for Kyle and Kim's wedding in Bloomington.

My 29th birthday!

2011-09-25T15:00:00.003-04:00

Well I am officially 29 and enjoying my last year in my 20's. A lot of wonderful things have happened in my 20's - graduated from undergrad and grad school, married my wonderful husband and have 2 beautiful and healthy little girls! Can't wait to see what is in store for years to come! Here are a few pictures from my birthday celebration on my birthday! My mom and Jay had dinner for us and we had a low key celebration. It seems like after you turn 21 it is just another year, but it was a good celebration! I love that Lily really gets into it now and helps me blow out my candles.

Our princesses

2011-09-25T14:50:00.003-04:00

We have at least one of the girls that is currently obsessed with princesses (Lily) and one that I am sure will also love them when she gets older. We visited the Greer's a few weeks ago and Charlotte and Emma Kate gave Lily a play princess dress and she loves to wear it as much as she can. While Ben and I were out shopping the other day we found princess accessories (crown, magic wand, bracelets, earrings and slippers) and also another princess dress that she will wear for Halloween and her 3rd birthday, but we are not letting her wear it until Halloween, although the accessories have already gotten great use already (see below). Laney is getting really close to rolling over, so hopefully that will happen in the next few weeks.

Last week

2011-09-18T20:34:00.004-04:00

Well last week was a pretty uneventful week for us. We had Uncle Tim and Brodie staying with us last week and it was a good week for all of us. Friday night was homecoming and we went to the parade that lasted about 10 minutes and yielded WAY TOO MUCH candy, but it was fun for Lily to see the cheerleaders, firetruck, homecoming court and of course the floats. Even though Plainfield lost it, we had a great evening! The weather was perfect...it was chilly right at the end. Hopefully Plainfield will come up with a few more wins in the season. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Fun with the Greer's

2011-09-11T14:07:00.002-04:00

We had a great time on Saturday having a play date with the Greer kids. Charlotte (6 - 1st grader), Emma Kate (4) and Cooper (2) were so excited to see Lily and Laney. They played really well together and Melinda and I had a great time visiting! Hopefully we will be able to do it again soon!

Laney is 3 months & cute pics of the girls

2011-09-11T13:44:00.007-04:00

Friday Laney turned 3 months. Wow does time fly! I tried weighing her and it seems like she might be around 14 lbs, but you never know with home scales. She will go back to the doctor at 4 months, so we will get a better idea of her growth when we see him then. She is definitely growing like a weed. She has a great personality just like her sister and I still can't get over how much they look alike. It will be interesting to see as she gets older if she continues to resemble Lily. Below are some pics that Papaw Corson took of them on Friday and then a few others from her photo shoot in the brown chair. She wasn't being near as photogenic as Lily was when she was 3 months old.

Lily and Laney's tent

Lily's new PJ's from Aunt Susan

Lily's curly hair...probably as curly as it will ever get, but it was really cute!

Back to work

2011-09-04T15:51:00.002-04:00

Well as many of you know...I had to return to work last Thursday. All in all it went well. It is a good thing I am really busy or it wouldn't have been as easy. Plus the girls stayed with grandparents both days so I knew they would do good b/c they are comfortable with them. Thank goodness for this long weekend! Hope everyone has a great week!

Lily's new princess pillow

2011-09-04T15:38:00.003-04:00

Last week, Lily got a special surprise in the mail from Aunt Susan. It was a cute, soft, pink PRINCESS pillow. She absolutely is in LOVE with princesses right now, so of course she loves the pillow! Thank you Aunt Susan!

Happy 30th Birthday to Ben

2011-08-31T08:39:00.005-04:00

Well Ben turned the big 3-0 yesterday on August 30th, so he celebrated his golden birthday this year. We had a great surprise party for him last Saturday and Ben and I went out to eat together yesterday on his birthday. Thank you to our friend Josh Moss, we were able to keep Ben busy at the track for the MotoGP and shooting to get ready for the surprise party. It was a success...he was surprised and really liked that we had a party at home rather than going out which is what he thought we were doing. Here are just a few pictures from the party.

Bourbon tasting - put together by Uncle Steve (thank you!)

Congrats to Ben!!

2011-08-28T08:57:00.002-04:00

Well as of Monday, August 29th Ben will be the new Sales Manager for Ray's Trash. This has been a long time coming and we are super proud of him and he is WELL deserving of this position. I think that everyone in the company is really excited for what is to come with Ben in this position. So let's wish him well on this new journey! He is going to do a great job!

This last week & Lily singing to Laney

2011-08-28T08:37:00.004-04:00

Well last week was my last full week home with the girls. It was a fantastic week. I think we did a little bit of everything last week and I had a great time hanging out with the girls. I think the hardest part about last week is that it was my last full week and I was also planning Ben's 30th surprise party, so every free moment I had, I was getting ready for the party. It all paid off though and was a HUGE success!! I am really going to miss being with the girls everyday and I think when they both went to Melissa's for the last time last week, it was such a great feeling when we went to pick them up...I was so ready to give them both big hugs and kisses. I am somewhat excited about going to work and somewhat not excited. It will be hard at first, but hopefully once I get into a routine it will be fine.

Laney isn't really sure about all the kisses from Mia - it seems like when she does it she is kind of grossed out, but after a few minutes she doesn't mind

Lily just looks so old in this picture above where she is smiling

LOVE!!!

This is the video of Lily singing patty cake to Laney. She just absolutely LOVES her little sister and loves to sing to her. I wish I had the camera the first time that she sang it b/c it was perfect. She is a good little singer and is getting more clear with her words where you can almost understand what she is singing. Let's just hope she can carry a tune!

Fun at the Fair

2011-08-20T22:26:00.007-04:00

In light of the tragic loss at the fairgounds last week, we had a wonderful time at the fair. It was numbing seeing the stage that had collapsed knowing the lives that were lost and those that were injured and will ever be affected by such a tragic event. Makes you have all kinds of mixed emotions and makes it that much real seeing it in person. Please keep all of those affected in your prayers.

After we got into the the grounds, we went to one pavilion that had quilts, dresses and many other cool crafty items. Two really neat displays were that of Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which were constructed out of Legos. Very amazing! These pictures below do not do them justice...just the amount of time this person took to put it all together was unbelievable! After this pavilion we went to another pavilion where we got to see sheep (one baby one) and some BIG horses! Then we proceeded to get our fair food and headed to the midway. We walked around the midway to decide which rides we would do....we started off on the Ferris Wheel which was relaxing and kind of short, but Lily enjoyed it. After the Ferris Wheel we went down the slide which was a lot of fun! You have got to zoom in on the pictures below. Lily had a great time, but she looks completely TERRIFIED in the pictures...the first time she went down with Uncle Ross she looked like she was about ready to cry and then the smiles came out and she was ready to go again with Mommy and I think her looks were about the same going down, but she still really enjoyed it! After that was the Merry-Go-Round with Papaw and then the racecar. We about pooped out after the rides and then we got our second wind and headed to the back of the park to see the tractors and a few other exhibits! It was a HOT one, but a great time! Can't wait to do it again next year...everyone has to experience the fair no matter how hot or how stinky! Enjoy!

Our Silly Lily

2011-08-20T22:11:00.002-04:00

Lily has my sweet tooth! She enjoyed a ring pop and got a silly blue tongue. She loves her sugar, so after she ate a good dinner at El Meson the other night she was able to get a blue ring pop, so she is showing off her blue tongue below. The other picture is of her giving me a silly smile for my camera to send to daddy.

Picnic at the Park

2011-08-20T22:06:00.003-04:00

On Monday and Wednesday we did picnics at the park with Lily. It is fun to just pack up and eat somewhere else rather than at home. So we went to Mooresville Park on Monday and Hummel park on Wednesday. It was hot, but fun to do something different. The new sit'n'stand stroller is working out great for us! Hopefully we will be able to do this a few more times before I have to go back to work. Here is a few pictures from the Mooresville park trip.

Laney Cooing

2011-08-17T15:49:00.002-04:00

For some reason the video that I had uploaded below wasn't working, so let's try this one. She was laying on her tummy on her playmat, so the video isn't that great, but she was cooing up a storm.

The Big Sister

2011-08-14T15:45:00.004-04:00

Lily (the big sister) also has to get her spotlight on the blog. Here are some cute pictures from this past week.

Blowing bubbles
Catching the bubbles
A little game of memory

LOVE this picture!!

Lily has this Mickey Mouse Clubhouse movie and it is Minnie's Masquerade and we never knew that it had a masque in it until now, so Lily has been playing with the masque a lot lately! This picture is a little blury, but cracks me up!

Laney - 2 months!

2011-08-14T15:28:00.007-04:00

Can Laney really be 2 months old??!! I know I am a few days behind getting this posted, but wanted to wait until I went to the doctor on Friday for her appointment. Well she is growin quite well! She is 11 lbs. 7 oz. (6 oz bigger than Lily at this age) and 23.5 inches long (I think they may have measured her wrong b/c she is really long on the charts and you all know Ben and I are not very tall). Doctor said she looks really healthy. She got 2 shots (one in each leg) and one oral immunization. Even though her head looked like it was about ready to pop off, she made it through it okay and wasn't winey at all that evening. Here are some pictures from her 2 month photo shoot in the chair, a few other pictures of her this week at 2 months old and also a video of her cooing. She really was cooing a lot before this video, so hopefully I will get another one soon that will be a little longer. Enjoy!

Seriously??!! Only a baby that is 2 months old could get into these positions and be comfortable! She is just like her sister and likes to move around a lot when she sleeps! Crazy girls!

Laney Cooing

Day 8 at Madeira Beach

2011-08-10T07:55:00.004-04:00

Well we successfully made it home yesterday. The last day was a wash out in Madeira Beach, so we mainly hung inside the condo and made some last minute stops at Pheeny's Boutique and the Candy Kitchen. We got all packed up and headed out. When driving to the airport, Laney was screaming uncontrolably and it was storming like crazy, so the trip home was already looking horrible. We got to the airport with about 1 hour to get checked in and through security and everything looked on-time even with the severe storms in Tampa. Laney had a few major #2's before getting on the plane so she was good to go. We got on the plane and she ate the last of her bottle and fell asleep for the ENTIRE flight! YES!! And Lily hung out with Ben and they had fun coloring and just playing, so all went REALLY well for the way home! It was great to be home and sleep in our beds last night...now for the unpacking and getting back to normal life! Can't wait to go back again!

If you are interested in staying at Mark and Jan's condo in Madeira Beach, please let us know. You can google map it at 14001 Gulf Blvd, Madeira Beach, FL 33708. It is one bedroom with two queen beds (pillowtop mattresses), walk-in closet, 1 full bathroom, 1 half bath with washer and dryer, kitchen, dining area and living room with queen sleeper sofa and patio area with a view of the beach and beautiful ocean! There is a private pool for the condo complex as well and you are just a few steps away from beach access. There are many local restaurants around, so it is a great place for all! We will be working on the website for the condo soon! Here are some pictures below of the condo!

Day 7 at Madeira Beach

2011-08-08T22:49:00.005-04:00

Our last full day at Madeira Beach was a relaxing one. Ben went golfing and before he left, Lily woke up and he put a movie on, but about 10 minutes after he left, she came in and woke me up...so no sleeping in for me! So me and the girls chilled at the condo until Ben got done golfing and then we met him to return the BMW and came back and ate lunch. Lily and I went down to the pool until it started raining and then we came back up b/c it looked like some really big storms were coming, but they ended up blowing over. So we came up and relaxed and we all ended up taking naps. We got up, went to the pool, to the beach to take some pictures and then our last Target run to pick a few more things for the condo. Lily came back and watched her new Strawberry Shortcake movie and then it was bedtime. Hopefully the weather will hold out for a good last day and smooth flight home. We will keep our fingers crossed!

Day 6 at Madeira Beach

2011-08-08T07:45:00.003-04:00

We got up about 7:30am and got all of our stuff ready to head down on our 2 hour trip to visit Andrew and Jenny (friends I cheered with) in Fort Myers. We had to say goodbye to Nan and Pa as they were leaving to go back home. We packed in the BMW and headed out. Lily did great, but Laney got a little hungry, so I had to get back in the backseat with the two of them and feed her and then she cried a little bit and went to sleep. We made good time and had a great time hanging out with the Lyons! Jenny and Andrew had only seen Lily once when she was about 9 months old (Lily's last trip to Madeira Beach) and has never seen Laney, so it was so much fun to see Lily playing and talking with the two of them. Laney pretty much slept the entire time, but was able to dip her feet in the pool a few times and Lily swan the ENTIRE time! They had the perfect pool for Lily with a shallow place for her to swim around...so she pretty much did her own thing while the adults caught up. I think the funniest thing that happened during the day is that they have these funnels that she was playing with in the pool and she went up to Andrew and put it on his nipple and said "Pumping, pumping." Poor child has been learning a little too much from mommy feeding Laney...first she was breastfeeding her baby and now she is using a funnel to try and pump milk out of people's nipples...WOW! She is just a huge SPONGE for information! It was sad to leave, but knowing we will see them in a couple of months at the Purdue Cheer Alumni game (Football homecoming) makes it that much better. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Day 5 at Madeira Beach

2011-08-06T14:21:00.006-04:00

I am starting to lose track of what day of vacation is....that is the best part of vacation! So Ben, Lily and I went to the beach in the morning and then we had to go get our rental car for our trip to Ft. Myers on Sunday. We got to Enterprise and they had our compact car that we rented (Chevy Cobalt) and they happened to have a red BMW 3 series that someone had returned and he said he would rent it to us for $20 more, so we took him up on it. So we are driving a 3 series BMW for the next couple of days! While we were getting the car, Lily was deocrating Laney with stickers back at the condo. I just can't imagine what is to come with what Lily might do to Laney in the coming years with makeup and everything else! Lily an Laney went to visit Peggy (Mike Elsbury's mom) down the road while Ben and I went to eat and then we all met back at the condo to make snow cones and mini cupcakes (courtesy of Aunt Susan who bought a mini cupcake maker and snow cone maker for the condo for us to have fun with!). Snow cones and cupcakes were FANTASTIC!! After snow cone and cupcake making, we all got ready to go to dinner and in the mean time, Lily passed out on the couch and stayed asleep through dinner, all the way home and until about 7am the next morning! This is what happens when a 2 1/2 year old swims and plays all day and doesn't get a nap.

Our sweet ride

Day 4 at Madeira Beach

2011-08-05T16:33:00.009-04:00

Another great day! Lily and Pa went for a walk on the beach in the morning and fed the birds, while mom, Janice and Laney stayed back and Ben went golfing. We then went to the pool for a little bit in the morning and came back in to get ready for Lily, Pa and Nan to go on the Dolphin Watch. We went down to John's Pass and they went on the trip and had a great time seeing dolphins...Lily enjoyed it and took a nap on the way back. Ben, Laney and I went to lunch and walked around while we waited on them to get back and then we all came back to the condo for a nap.

Lily throwing Pa in the pool - See the video below

The Dolphin Watch

The Hardwick Clan -
Laney got to dip her feet in the pool and was really satisfied with how warm the water was and hanging out in the bath water warm water! I think she is going to really like the pool next year when she is older to swim in it in the day time! I know she is not happy in this picture, but this was towards the end of her time in the pool so she was pretty much done!

Day 3 at Madeira Beach

2011-08-05T08:19:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a good day. We all kind of slept in which felt great! Laney has been doing really well at night (or at least her usual which is good). We relaxed for a little bit in the morning and then Ben, Lily and I ventured to the beach. We played in the sand and the ocean. She just LOVES jumping the waves in her little floaty! We didn't get video of this, but at least a few pictures. After the beach, she went to the pool with Nan and then had a pool picnic with her. Not long after the rest of us joined her at the pool and then it was nap time for all. After nap time we went to dinner at Friendly Fisherman's restaurant at John's Pass. It was a long wait, but the food was wonderful! Lily, Pa and Ben came back for a late night swim while Laney, Janice and I made a quick run to Kohls. When we came back, we all crashed and went to bed for the night!

Getting ready to jump a wave

Day 2 at Madeira Beach

2011-08-03T21:31:00.005-04:00

I have decided why I never let Lily sleep with us...well it is b/c she is exactly like her mom...she moves EVERYWHERE at night. She was laying sideways and kicked me I don't know how many times, so we might have to figure out another arrangement tonight. Once we got up, Mark, Lily and I went to the beach and it started pouring down rain, but we stayed out and enjoyed it (saw dolphins and a rainbow - see if you can find the rainbow below) and then went to the pool afterwards and were joined by Laney and Jan. Ben joined us after golfing. We ate lunch, the girls took naps, did a little shopping, went to eat dinner and then watched the sunset or more like Lily and Daddy played in the ocean together and laughed a lot! Laney had her first trip to the beach and got her feet wet in the ocean. She seemed to like it, so hopefully next year she will be able to enjoy even more!

Leaving on a jet plane

2011-08-02T17:47:00.005-04:00

Well we officially started vacation today. We left our house at 5:30am, got to the airport, checked in our bags (we had WAY too many things!), and headed to the gate to get on the plane. Lily was really excited and was ready to go on the airplane. We were lucky b/c the plane was pretty empty so Laney got to be in her carseat and slept the ENTIRE time!! Let's hope for the same on the way home. We didn't even break out the DVD's for Lily. I bought her a few goodies so we drew with markers and stamps, played on the itouch and ate the snacks they gave us. All and all it was a great trip down! We made it safely in our private SUV ride to the condo and went to the pool and took a nap. So far so good in Madeira Beach Florida!

Hardwick cousins

2011-08-02T17:41:00.003-04:00

It is so much fun to get together with the Hardwick side of the family and watch the little cousins grow up together. They are all about the same age and play together so well! There is a lot of trouble, but a lot of fun too!

Lily , Laney, Braxton (2 1/2), Madelyn (2 1/2), Maddox (6) and Maverick (10 months)

Lily playing with her sister

2011-08-02T17:33:00.002-04:00

Lily loves laying down on Laney's play mat with her when she is playing. It is really cute...Lily is just going to love it when she can start interacting with her more. Although I am sure we will have issues once Laney starts stealing all of Lily's toys since Lily is very territorial over her things. Sharing is something she is still trying to conquer!

The Hardwick girls

2011-07-31T13:41:00.004-04:00

Well we had another great week! Busy as usual, but a great week! We went to the park, went to have lunch with my friend at work and to the zoo on Friday. We had fun at the park and Lily continues to love swinging and going "REALLY HIGH!" She likes the big girl swing and thinks it is okay to swing just as high in that swing as she does in the little swing with more support...we will keep working on it, but she is doing pretty good! She still loves to hold her sister for about 30 seconds, but is so sweet with her when she does hold her. Laney has been sleeping about 7-9 hours at night which is AWESOME!! She still has been fussy in the evening with her colic, but hopefully that will be coming to an end soon. She also is smiling for us and starting to make those cute little baby noises. Hopefully we will get that on video soon! We are getting ready to leave on vacation Tuesday morning so have been busy packing and will continue to do so tomorrow. We leave Tuesday morning (flying out of Indy to Tampa) and will be coming back the following Tuesday. Lily is super excited to go on a plane and go to the beach. We are also excited to see Mark & Janice's new condo. I will try to blog while we are down there so I am not playing catch-up when I return. Enjoy!

Look at that cute little baby foot! The amazing thing is that I took this with my iphone...it is turned out really well!

Also, on Thursday, Lily went to Melissa's house to hang out with the kids. It was the last time for her to hang out before they all go back to school. She may see Alex (her friend that is her age that she is hugging below) one more time before we start with the new daycare. We are super sad to be leaving Melissa, but also excited for the new adventure with Miss Suzy. It will be a good change for Lily and an exciting start for Laney. I am just glad we can keep the girls together. They are going to be the best of buds. We will have to visit Melissa and the kids when we get a free day!

Ryan is going to be in 1st grade and he is pulling Alex and Lily behind him...the little ones just loved it I hear!

Storytime Yoga

2011-07-24T13:41:00.003-04:00

Uncle Ross's studio offers Storytime Yoga for kids about once a month. We were unable to go last month, however were able to make it this time. So I decided that I would let Lily experience it with Ross instead of me, so Ben and I dropped her off and picked her back up. I think a combination of it being naptime (Lily being tired) and being more clingy with mommy, she just didn't get into it as much as we thought she would, so maybe next time it will be better! Here are some pictures.

Last week with Lily and Laney

2011-07-24T13:32:00.005-04:00

Last week was another good week. I took the girls to go visit my friends at work and then they went with Gram Pam on the Peoplemover (Lily calls it the choochoo train) to visit her friends. Aunt Twyla and I painted some flowers on Lily's wall and finally hung her letters back up, so her room is done for now. I will try to take more pictures later, but here is one of the wall behind her bed. Once I get her room in order and looking nice, I will grab a few pics! Lily went to play at the park with Papaw and Gramma Corson while Aunt Twyla and I worked and Laney slept most of the time (thank goodness or we wouldn't have got things done as fast). Potty training is still going really well, so hopefully someday it will be just as easy with Laney!

Lily wanted to hold her sister like mommy was...this lasted about 30 seconds!

Lily playing with her sister on her play mat!

St. Chris Festival

2011-07-17T17:18:00.004-04:00

Every year the St. Chris Catholic church in Speedway has a festival and this year we went to enjoy some yummy food and the rides. Lily was old enough for the rides this year and boy was she ready to go! She started off easy in the cars, but then saw the ferriswheel and we asked is she wanted to go and she was all about it...so we took her up to see if she was tall enough and she JUST made the cut off...so of course...we went! I forgot how long it took to wait to get on the ride and get everyone on before it started and how long you had to wait to get off. Other than the waiting...she LOVED the ride! She was screaming and smiling and having a great time! So surprising...I love that I will have one that will hopefully LOVE rollercoasters. She went on to go into the Wacky House and then ride in the helicopter that went up and down and around in a circle. Can't wait to do it again next year! We may have to hit up the county or state fair just so she can go on the rides again since she was so into it. Hopefully everyone has a great week and stays cool out there for those that are beating summer midwest heat!!

Waiting to give her ticket to the guy for her first ride

I LOVE this picture of her - so happy on this ride! My stylin' little girl!

Deciding whether or not she wanted to go on the ferriswheel.......and the decision was YES!

Givin the guy our tickets - we are ready to go!

Here we go!

Going into the Wacky House - I think this might have been her favorite!

On the helicopter!

Potty training

2011-07-17T17:13:00.002-04:00

Well I decided it was time to potty train Lily so on Wednesday I went out and got some treats for her to get her ready to go and Nan picked up some really cute Princess panties at JCPenney's for Lily. On Thursday we stayed home all day and Lily went pee and poopy on the potty all day and had no accidents. Friday she had a few accidents, but I think they were truly accidents and then yesterday she had ZERO accidents. We are still doing diapers at bed time and naptime, but will start transitioning during naptime soon. So the M&M and sticker rewards as well as new Princess panties seems to be working! I think she was ready. We just need to work on her pulling her pants up and down all by herself next. Sometimes she is okay, but she just has trouble getting her underwear and pants over her bottom. So far so good though!

Here are a few pictures from last week.

Laney 1 month appointment

2011-07-13T17:45:00.005-04:00

Well Laney is growing VERY well as I had expected! She weighed in at 9lbs 15oz and is 21.5 inches long. She is 9oz heavier than Lily at this age, so she may be a little bigger than Lily. She is the same height though. Doctor said she looked really good. We think she is a little colicky so hopefully that won't last much longer but other than that she is a healthy little thing! We are so blessed to have such healthy little girls!

Lily fishing & first date night

2011-07-10T20:01:00.003-04:00

Ray's had their annual fishing day at Donnie's lake on Saturday. They had fishing poles for all the little kids, so Lily got a Dora the Explorer pole to fish with. She still hasn't quite got the concept and is more interested in bringing the line in after it is out in the water for about a minute. Maybe next year she will be more into figuring it out.

Also, Ben and I had our first date night out without the girls on Saturday night. Ray's helped to provide auction items for the Indiana Wildlife Federation fundraiser so we had VIP tickets to a cocktail hour and then hung out to listen to Jennie Devoe. It was a great time just getting out and we were able to hang out with Aunt Twyla and Steve since Steve is the President of their board.

Laney - 1 month

2011-07-10T19:56:00.003-04:00

Wow does time just fly by!!! Laney turned 1 month old yesterday. This time has just passed by so quickly. She is growing like a weed and changing day-by-day. Hard to believe that she is already a month old and I will be going back to work in less than 2 months. I am really enjoying my time off with the girls! Here is Laney's 1 month photo shoot. I got a couple of good ones, but hard to get her to smile and hold herself up. We go for her 1 month appointment on Wednesday so I will report back next week how she is doing. I am real interested to see how close in size her and Lily are at this age.

Splashin' in the sun & the zoo

2011-07-10T09:40:00.004-04:00

Last week we decided on one of our really hot days that we would try the free splash park at the Avon Washington Township park. It was a HIT! It wasn't too crowded and Lily really seemed to enjoy it except when she ran head on into another kid, but once she got better she was ready to play again. I think we will definitely be going back before the summer is over! We are all about the free stuff!

Yesterday we went to the zoo with Pap and Mamaw Tip. Let's just say I am glad that we went early b/c it was H-O-T when we were leaving and I think we were all tired from all the walking we did! It was a great time...we got to go on a train ride, feed the giraffes, play in the splash park, and see lots of animals. Another activity we will have to try before I have to go back to work. Lily also was able to pick her tomato that has been growing at the Tip's house. She was really excited to pick it.

4th of July celebration #2

2011-07-06T15:53:00.003-04:00

Our second 4th of July celebration was at Aunt Twyla and Uncle Steve's house/condo downtown Indy. They have a wonderful rooftop deck that overlooks downtown from the eastside of town. It was perfect weather to watch fireworks with a great breeze. We visited and then watched the fireworks...they weren't nearly as scary for Lily b/c we weren't as close so they weren't as loud, however she was spent by then and fell asleep during the show. Maybe next year for Lily! Laney also slept through them as well. We tried to get our family picture and got a few good ones all dressed in our American colors!

4th of July celebration #1

2011-07-06T15:08:00.004-04:00

We had 2 4th of July celebrations this year. Every year we have the Hardwick side of the family over for a cookout and then we go to the Police Academy where Janic works to watch the fireworks that our local park puts on. Lily had fun playing with her cousin Braxton who is 3 months younger than her. It is such a perfect age to watch them interact together! They played in the bounce house, kitchen and much more! We just had a great time and great weather! Lily was a little afraid of the fireworks because they were so loud, so she watched them from Scott's van with Haley and she commented on how beautiful they were. Laney was not affected at all and pretty much ate and slept through the entire show!

Pa and the girls

Watching the snakes grow

My cabin girls

2011-07-03T14:26:00.002-04:00

Well we have had a big weekend and this is not the end of it, so I will be posting more pictures of our 4th of July celebrations sometime this week. We usually make a trip to the cabin every summer and yesterday was the day we made that trip. It was a pretty relaxing day. I think we mainly just sat around and relaxed the entire time we were there. Unfortunately the boat moater wouldn't start, so we weren't able to go in the boat and the water was too high so we couldn't get swimming. Lily did get to play with the worms and go on a few 4-wheeler rides before we headed home for the day. Here is a picture of what both girls did and what everyone likes to do at the cabin - NAP! I think Laney slept the entire time we were there, so next year should be more exciting for her.

Cute pictures of the girls before bedtime.

Monkey See Monkey Do

2011-07-03T14:24:00.002-04:00

Well I knew it wouldn't take long for Lily to want to start trying to breastfeed her baby dolls. She brought hers out the other day and told me she was feeding her baby and lifted her shirt up. I didn't get the picture of her holding her shirt up, but got a good picture of her. I tried to get a video of her telling me what she was doing, but couldn't catch the moment in time.

Last week

2011-07-03T14:19:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pictures that Papaw and Gramma Corson took last week. Some of these crack me up of Lily.

She is getting to be a big girl - already wearing her 0-3 month clothes!

Lily and Laney hanging out!

Lily saying "You're this close!" Something that Pap Jay taught her when he says "You're this close to a time out" - She just kills me

Not sure what this expression was all about, but just a cute look

Our girls

2011-06-26T19:04:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pictures from this week of the girls!

She looks so cute when she cries...althought it isn't the most pleasant cry, she looks so sweet! This I think was at like 6:30 in the morning. I couldn't resist taking a picture.
Was in a much better mood for this picture.
Lily passed out after Eli's birthday party...this picture just kills me how straight up she is sitting and resting her head!

Fun times this past week

2011-06-26T18:54:00.003-04:00

Well as usual, we had a fun-filled busy week last week. Went to Chuck-E-Cheese on Monday with Papaw and Gramma, Melissa's on Tuesday, fun days with Gram Pam Wed/Thurs and then a day at the museum on Friday with Tip's, Pap and cousin Luke. Let's see what this week brings us. Seems like Laney does just as good as Lily did being a busy girl and going here and there! They are both going to be just like their mom...can't stand sitting still for 2 minutes! :)

Sticking our tongues out at Laney trying to get her to do it
Lily's obsession - puzzle building...I think she puts these Disney puzzles together at least 5 times a day...all by herself
Luke and Lily playing at the Children's Museum
Dadd'n bustin' out the baby carrier for the first time...she actually seemed to enjoy it!
Lily and Eli playing in his new water play station at his 2nd birthday party! Lily had a great time playing in the water at the party! Great food and visiting with family!

Father's Day Dinner 2

2011-06-20T09:29:00.004-04:00

For our second father's day dinner, we spent at home. Papaw and Gramma Corson, Uncle Ross, Aunt Twyla and Uncle Steve came over and cooked a wonderful dinner! It was a nice and relaxing afternoon/evening with everyone. We had a wonderful Father's Day celebration!

Father's Day Dinner 1

2011-06-19T20:55:00.003-04:00

We had a good Father's day celebration by starting it off with church and then Ben napped with Laney. We then went to Mam and Pap Tip's house for lunch where Ben was able to take another nap while the rest of us relaxed as well. Since Ben got his Father's day gift (new Weber grill) on Mother's Day, he got a card from Lily and I. Lily picked out a really cute card for her Dadd'n. I am sure it was the most expensive card in the store, but it was really cute and funny. I will post more pictures later from our second Father's Day dinner.

Playing and bath time

2011-06-19T20:43:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures of last week from Lily playing and Laney's first real bath. Laney definitely seemed to like the soaking bath than the washcloth bath that she had. She likes the warm water, but once it was all said and done, she was ready to be all bundled up to warm up again. Lily was able to be a big helper and wash her toes for us. Before we know it, they will be splashing in the bathtub together!

Digging for dinosaur bones at the museum

Nap time with Uncle John

First time meeting cousin Claire

More pictures

2011-06-19T11:57:00.003-04:00

This past week has gone better than I would have ever expected to adjusting to having two kids. Luckily we have had lots of help and company this past week, so it has been probably a lot easier than most have it! Laney is sleeping 2-3 hours at a time at night which I think is pretty good for a 10 day old baby! Hopefully we will keep with that trend and eventually cut out one of those feedings at night. Here are some more pictures this last week. We had a photoshoot with her and Lily and also had more visitors.

Lily & Laney - such a proud big sister!

Laney & Hardwick's

Welcome Laney Jane Hardwick!

2011-06-10T15:15:00.004-04:00

We welcomed Laney Jane Hardwick yesterday, June 9th, 2011 at 9:07pm. She was 7lb 7oz and 20.5 inches long. It was a pretty long day, but mommy and baby made it through and everything went perfectly and we have a healthy little girl! We went in at 9am and started the induction medication around Noon. Nothing really progressed quickly from Noon-5pm, so I went ahead and got my epidural and then they broke my water. So about 5 I got my epidural and then about 7 they broke my water and then a couple of hours later my contractions got really strong, so they decided it was time to start pushing. I pushed a few times and she came right out! I must say I am very lucky to have two really good deliveries. It is always a comforting thing to hear the first time they cry! She was so blessed to be greated by her immediate family and her VERY PROUD BIG SISTER, LILY!! I don't think Lily could have been anymore excited to meet her new baby sister. She was the first one to meet her. Everyone who was waiting said that as soon as she heard the baby cry she was ready to come back....too cute! Here are some of the pictures below that we have taken, but there will definitely be more to come. I am going to try my best to keep up with the blog weekly, so please check back often to see what is new with the Hardwick family!

Link to pictures below:

Laney Jane Hardwick

Just the 3 of us one last time!

2011-06-10T15:13:00.002-04:00

Again, this past week was all about making it special for Lily, so our last night before checking into the hospital the next day to have Laney, I took Lily to the store to pick out something that she wanted and I found a few other goodies for her that she could open as a gift from Laney. She had a good time shopping and a good night sleep before welcoming her sister the next day! This is the last family photo we took of just the 3 of us!

Lily's fun before welcoming Laney

2011-06-10T15:07:00.002-04:00

We tried to make the last few days before welcoming Laney special for Lily. I took one day off work to spend with her and we went to the park, got our hair cut, and played in the sprinkler with Uncle John. Another day she spent with Papaw and Gramma Corson and got to go to Eagle Creek park. I think she ended up having a pretty special week before bringing her new baby sister into the world. Here are some pictures of the fun!

Getting her first medal @ gymnastics

2011-06-05T14:37:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that she has been in gymnastics now for 1 year and that this last 8 weeks has gone by WAY too fast! At the end of this session, each kid got a medal. Lily was kind of in a funk at the end of gymnastics this time, so she was probably the least photogenic out of all the kids in the class and didn't seem very excited about her medal that she was getting. We will be taking a break from gymnastics this summer and maybe getting back into this fall. We figured with the baby being here, that it would take one more thing off our plate.

Fun in the sun

2011-06-05T14:29:00.004-04:00

For those of you that are in Indiana, it seems as though we skipped right into mid-summer and out of spring very quickly! Let's just say that I am glad we are not having this baby in August, I would definitely be WAY miserable! We have been trying to enjoy this last week with just the 3 of us and doing some fun things with Lily. We are all ready! Especially me! I went to the doctor last week and I am about 3cm dilated, so really I could go anytime, but my patience is wearing down VERY quickly! Due date is this Tuesday, June 7th. I delivered Lily 4 days late, so lets see when this one will decide to come! Lets hope sooner than later! We will keep everyone posted!

All ready to go to help Papaw at the track

Having a great time at the Plainfield Acqautic Center - first of probably many trips we will be making there this summer!

Track time

2011-05-30T08:38:00.003-04:00

Well if you are wondering...still no baby. I am so glad I was able to go to the race yesterday for the 100th anniversary! It all worked out as planned, so now she can come whenever she wants. I feel like after yesterday I am ready for her to come. Just the waiting game now. I will see the doctor on Friday, so we will hopefully know more then. Due date is June 7th, so we are only a week away. Lily seems to be getting excited.

Lily had a great week last week with the sitter and also got to go to Community Day at the track with Papaw Corson. She is going to be our little race fan. She loves to go see the racecars. Not too much longer and she will be able to go to the race, but we still have another 5-7 years...just a long time to sit for a little one. Luckily we were under cover for the race, so the hot weather didn't seem to bother me as much, but my feet and ankles were definitely VERY swollen by the end of the day. All in all, successful May for 2011! Hope everyone has a great week and we will keep you posted on any baby news!

Last week

2011-05-22T18:36:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures from last week...blowing bubbles (one of her favorite activities when it gets warm outside), planting and watering plants and flowers (a new found love for Lily - she did this at Tipton's house and our house), and just playing outside (this is also one of her favorite places to be when it starts to get nice out, especially at the Baute's b/c there is so much to do there outside...she even has some really stylish camo mud boots to wear). All and all, we had a fantastic week and ended it with a trip to the track today. It was great! Now just hoping our little baby girl will wait to come into our world until after the race next weekend. I have my weekly appointment tomorrow, so I should know more, but just waiting on pins and needles day-by-day and week-by-week (only about 2 weeks left).