Christmas Eve

Christmas was pretty hectic this year. Especially considering we moved 3 days before Christmas...but luckily all worked out and everything was unpacked and put away for the big guy in red showed up. Can you imagine how much noise he would've made having to unpack his big red bag and tip toe around boxes?

On Christmas Eve we decided to do something different. In my family we always opened one present on Christmas Eve, and on Drews side they open pajamas every Christmas Eve...so we thought we should break the mold and do our own thing. So we opened ALL the presents on Christmas Eve. I LOVED it! Then there was extra space for Santa to leave his gifts and Christmas morning we could just open Santa presents. I really enjoyed our new "tradition."

I didn't put up and ornaments on my tree this year. Good thing it's prelit otherwise it would have no lights either. The big red bow is from the bow that was on our house when we got the keys to it. The BEST Christmas present ever!

Autumn was a lot of fun this year. She really didn't care what was under the wrapping paper. She just wanted to open it. She was a big help with unwrapping all the presents and getting them all out from under the tree.

Weston was more enthralled with the wrapping paper and bows. Luckily he has such a helpful big sister who helped him unwrap his gifts when he was going a little to slow for her liking!

The kids were spoiled by both sets of grandparents. They got lots of toys, games, and clothes. They made out pretty good. My favorite gifts...Cricut cartridges. I got many great gifts, none of which I got a picture of...just these. :)

After opening all the presents we had hot chocolate and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was so nice spending Christmas Eve with just the 4 of us. I am loving having a family of my own that I can start new traditions with. And surprisingly, it was easier being away from my family than I expected. Obviously we missed them, and wished we could be together but it was really nice having it just be the 4 of us. My own little family, making our own traditions and memories.

Just a Little Lovin!

We had some friends come into town earlier this week. It was a lot of fun. I think the funnest part (aside from the fact that I have known Sara almost 10 years and we are still great friends, despite the fact she lives in WY, so it's always great to see her and her family) is watching our kids play together. Her son is 7 months younger than Autumn and her daughter is 1 month younger than Weston. The four of them were instant friends. Just see how Autumn and her new "friend" were acting the day they were leaving.

Yep! Hugging and kissing! They needed a little persuasion the first time, then after that they were very comfortable with eachother.

Here's all four of them playing by the door.

It was a lot of fun! A little cramped at times, but so much fun.Thanks for coming to visit S & S!

Latest Hardy Update

We have been SO busy. My living room and Autumn's room and her closet is full of boxes, and it's all just crazy timing. We close on our house Nov. 25th, yes, the day before Thanksgiving, but we aren't going to move until the 28th. Plus I was at Target everyday last week taking advantage of deals I post on my other blog, check it out HERE. I just wanted to share some pictures of the house, which is why I have been so busy and failing to blog. (These are pics from the MLS listing...I haven't taken any yet...)

The front:The Backyard: (this is a big yard for AZ)Living Area (all of the house is tile except for bedrooms and den)Kitchen: (can't wait to update kitchen appliances and stain the cabinets!)Guest Bathroom:

Over 1700 sq ft of space! 4 bedrooms plus a den! It's been a long time coming, and something we have wanted for a long time. The good thing about closing around Thanksgiving is the Black Friday sales which I want to buy new appliances and home decor (hopefully at a great price). Very exciting. I am thrilled to have a guest room (no one has to share with Autumn anymore) and the kids will have a play room, their rooms can stay cleaner and so can my living room! Plus an actual laundry room, a pantry (the things you give up when renting...), and a yard. It's 2 blocks from the elementary school, so it's far enough that I miss the traffic, but close enough that in a couple of years I can walk Autumn to school.

Did anyone notice I deleted the last post when we announced we were buying a house? We backed out of that one! :) Thankfully, we waited! The house we are buying now is the same price and way bigger! The other was 1200 sq ft and we didn't know how we would fit!

Anyways! Here's hoping the next week goes quick and we can move in and be settled in our own place. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Halloween with the Hardy's

We have SO much going on right now. Half our stuff is in boxes, everyother day we are signing more papers for our house, and so Halloween took a step back this year. I had bought Autumn a costume last year during an after Halloween sale, and it was a 2T Witch costume. Really cute! BUT I was out shopping with my mom when Drew called me (he was getting the kids ready for a Halloween trunk or treat party) and said that the costume was tiny, and wouldn't have even fit Weston (who wears 9 months). I was shocked! Luckily, I didn't pay much for it, and I had a back up. So, Autumn was the same thing she has been the last 3 years. Notice a trend??

Autumn at 5 months:Autumn last year, at 18 months:

Autumn at 2 1/2 years:

Did you notice the trend? She has been an ASU cheerleader, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, and a Raiders cheerleader. I HOPE next year we can have her be something else!

My cute little baby boy was a fisherman. I have had this outfit since before he was born. He hadn't worn it yet, and all I did was make him a fishing pole. I had a "Gilligan's" hat for his head, but he would've kept pulling it off. But he loved his stick and fish!

We didn't go trick-or-treating. We will go next year when both kids can walk, and Autumn can clearly annunciate "Trick or Treat." I didn't want the candy in my house, and Autumn doesn't know the difference, so we went out for dinner and went shopping (the stores and restaurant were empty) it was a perfect Halloween for us!

Time with Family

When my parents were in town we got together with my sister, bro-in-law, and my nephew and met at the mall to let the kids play (and do some shopping). There was a cute small carousel that Autumn and her cousin had a lot of fun on (despite the face Autumn is making).

Autumn in the train:My nephew in the boat:My nephew had a lot of fun on this (slow) moving horse:Autumn, not so much:She prefers still placed cars:Autumn and her cousin in the Hot Dog bus:

We had a lot of fun letting the kids play and spend time together. Afterwards we went into the Disney store, where to Autumn it was like being at DisneyLand (which makes us very excited to take her). She touched and wanted just about everything!

Weston at 9 Months

I can't believe Weston is already 9 months! Robin said it best, these last 9 months have gone by a lot faster than the 9 months of pregnancy.

Westons Stats:

Height: 29 inches ( 76th percentile)

Weight: 21.5 lbs. (51st percentile)

Head Circumference: 46 cm (51 percentile)

They checked his iron levels, which were fine. The dr. was impressed with his two little lower teeth and his swollen upper gums. He is right on track with pulling himself up, walking around furniture, and his eating and sleeping patterns. He is just a hair behind Autumn, she was taking steps at 9 months and then running at 10 months. He stands for a sec. and walks with support. But I know it won't be long before I have two kids walking and running around me!

Here are some cute pictures of my kids to document Weston at 9 months! My BIG boy! (Autumn wasn't over 20 lbs until she was 1...)

Autumns Play Date

The other day I got to watch my nephew for a few hours and we had a lot of fun. Autumn loves her cousin. I watched him twice a week for a few months and even though I was super pregnant at the time I always looked forward to it and Autumn loved playing with him so often. So what a treat it was on Mon. to have him all to ourselves for awhile.
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First thing we did was go to the park. Drew manned the double stroller with Autumn and her cousin in it and I had the single stroller with Weston. We walked to a park about a 1/2 mile away and it was so much fun! Autumn really enjoyed playing there with her cousin. And he is quite the daredevil. Taking both Drew and I by surprise! He was very photogenic. I didn't even have to touch any of these up. I got a bunch of great pics of him.

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First up the swings:

He liked it! I didn't know what to expect because last time I saw him in a swing he didn't show much like or dislike. My little man!I tried to get a group shot. Autumn wasn't into it. She wanted to play on playground equipment.Future Rock Climber??Now the equipment. He was so busy and all over the place.Autumn always right behind to watch and see what he is doing.Taking on the big slide in the over 5 area!Parker wanted to go also. Don't worry. Drew is right behind him.He loved it! He went down several times. Once by himself! Otherwise Drew or I were holding his arm as he went down.

Afterwards we came home and while I was making their lunch they watched TinkerBell in Autumns room. For lunch, fish sticks and bananas.

Here is my favorite picture of the day. Christy you are going to love this! Staci used to make faces like this when she was a kid.

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Playground with Autumn

Before this weekend the weather was actually really nice. We were able to go for long walks and take Autumn to a newly remodeled playground. The playground is in a neighborhood just behind us. It has some really nice covered equipment now. She loves the slide, and the area designated for children under 5. Every time we leave I have to drag her away kicking and screaming. My big girl taking on the slide all by herself!Here is Weston just hanging out in the stroller, fully entertained by his sister. (Check out those two teeth!)

Weston's 7 month pictures.

We hired a photographer to take Autumns 2 year pictures, Autumn was really hard to get good pictures of. So our photographer agreed to do another session to make it up to us. Autumn had pink eye the weekend of the photos so we just did them of Weston. Which made the photo session ten times easier.
Check out the rest of the pictures HERE, I am really happy with them. Even the ones where he is talking and crying! It shows all sides to his personality, even though he rarely cries like that. He was hungry and mad that I woke him up from his nap to take pictures. Thank you Becca!

Playing In The Rain

I had gotten Weston ready for bed yesterday and was just about to do the same for Autumn when I heard the rain outside. The monsoon season is here but they have been calling it the "non-soon" because of the lack of rain we have recieved this year. Since Autumn rarely gets to play outside because of the triple digits I figured while we were waiting for Drew to get home from work she should get to play in it. She liked it, you can't tell though. She was upset because she wanted to strip her clothes off, but since we were out where people could see her it wasn't appropriate. Which when Autumn doesn't get her way even if she is enjoying herself, she won't show it. :)We have this Welcome bear on our porch. She always says hi and bye to it when we come and go from our place.Here we were when she had finished playing and we were waiting for Drew to show up, watching and smelling the rain.