Pink Pig 2009

Today we took Collin to ride the Pink Pig at Lenox Mall, a Hardy family tradition. I went to ride the Pink Pig in downtown Atlanta when I was a little girl and I love to share this experience with Collin. We normally go after Christmas to avoid the long lines. Collin was much more aware of what was going on this year. He was a little hesitant to get on the ride but was fine once one of us sat down beside him. He looked at all of the scenery along the ride and ran to get back in line once his two rides were over.

Merry Christmas

What a great Christmas we have had! Collin gave everyone the best gift of all by sleeping until 8:00 am, which is unheard of for our little man. Mommy, Daddy and all of the company really appreciated that! As soon as he woke up we took him to the playroom to see if Santa came. Look at everything he left! Someone must have been a good boy this year!



As soon as Collin walked into the room and saw the Fisher Price Big Action Garage Santa left him, he got so excited. He had the biggest grin on his face and was looking around at everyone to see what was going on. After a few minutes of clinging to Mommy, he got busy rolling his new cars on the garage. It took him about thirty minutes to realize there were other presents on the table too. He was so excited about his new Chuck dump truck that talked and Mr. Potato Head like the one his speech teacher Mrs. Lorissa has.





Santa was not the only one who brought Collin lots of presents. Grandmommy and Granddaddy surprised him with some WOW cars and puzzles and Papa and Robin literally got Collin everything he had on his "Wish Registry" at Toys R Us including Collin's favorite gift of all...a red Cozy Coupe. Collin was all over Daddy while he was putting it together and climbed in Dukes of Hazard style (through the window) as soon as he was done and ordered us to push him.





Collin also made a new friend this Christmas. Papa's wife, Robin, brought her daughter Autumn who Collin loved.



Mommy and Daddy got spoiled pretty good too. We got a new LCD television for our bedroom, a GPS, and lots of other goodies including the Creative Memories digital scrapbook software for mom and a huge Home Depot gift card for Dad. We were so blessed!

The best part of Christmas, however, was knowing the true meaning of this special day and getting to spend the day with our families who mean the world to us. We are so blessed to have a big, close, loving family who make every Christmas memorable and fun! We love you all!

Twas The Night Before Christmas...

Christmas Eve has been busy around here. All of our family got in early this afternoon to celebrate Christmas with us. We had Grandmommy, Granddaddy, Aunt Brittany, Uncle Jon and Aunt Lotis come over for dinner. After we all ate, we explained to Collin that Santa was going to be coming once he went to bed and we needed to go and put the reindeer food out on the front lawn so he would know where to land the sleigh. Collin was so excited about going outside, but decided it would be a lot more fun to run up the street and see the monster truck instead of sprinkle the reindeer food. After we caught him, we were finally able to get him to help throw the food out. Let's hope it works!

Mmmm, Cookies

This morning Collin helped Patrick and I make cookies for Santa. I had made the cookies the night before and had Collin help me ice and sprinkle them this morning. It was a lot of fun but very messy! I think more sprinkles got on the floor than on the cookies. Collin also tested about half of the cookies he sprinkled, resulting in a lot of them in the trash. All in all it was a lot of fun and Santa is sure to love them tonight.

Choo-Choo

Last night Patrick and I took Collin to North Point Mall to ride the holiday train. We boarded the train right in front of Santa and then went all around the mall. Collin and I sat in the car right behind the conductor and Collin was in heaven watching him. He loved hearing the horn blow and looking at all the people and stores we passed.

PMO Christmas Party

Today Collin's PMO class had a Christmas Party for all the kids and their parents. Patrick and I were so excited about it and getting to see how Collin acts at school. As soon as we got there the kids sat down with their parents for circle time. The teachers sang "Jingle Bells" while the children shook some bells they had made. It was precious. We then all sang the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" together, said a prayer, and has lunch. Things were going good up to until this point when Collin decided he was having no part of lunch. He was thinking that whenever Mommy usually comes to school she takes me home, so it must be time to go. He refused to sit down and eat and did everything in his power to try to get us to take him home. It was slightly embarrassing, especially since I am a former teacher and now I have "that kid". I keep telling myself he is only 21 months old and things will improve with age. Let's hope so! The children surprised all of the parents with a special gift bag containing a glitter filled ornament and a reindeer dish towel. We will treasure these items forever, especially since they are the first ones we've got handmade by Collin.

Birthday Weekend

Whew! This has been a busy weekend. I am sad to say I have officially hit the big 3-0. To celebrate we had a fun filled weekend with family and friends. Friday night Patrick and I headed to Perimeter Mall to meet up with my favorite girlfriends from college. We had a great time catching up and chatting about anything and everything you could imagine. Luckily Patrick's parents were in town and were able to watch Collin so we could enjoy the time with friends without worrying how much money we were going to owe the babysitter. It was so great to celebrate this special milestone with these group of girls. I love them all dearly!

Saturday night Patrick and I went on an actual date. We don't have those a lot anymore! We got dressed up and headed to Dante's Down the Hatch in Buckhead. It was so nice to be able to sit and have a non interrupted conversation together in a romantic setting. The food was delicious and we will definitely be going back soon. Patrick surprised me with a pair of diamond earrings, along with a Sony SLR camera I picked out on Black Friday.

Sunday we met up with my dad, his wife, my sister and my brother for a family celebration. We ate at the Olive Garden then had one of the best cakes I have ever tasted from Publix. I told Patrick it looked delicious on their book club commercial so he ordered it and it was to die for!

All in all, I had a great weekend. Although I was a little bummed about turning 30, I am so blessed with everything in my life. I have the most wonderful husband, son, family and friends anyone could ever ask for. Thank you all for everything!

Santa Claus 2009

This morning we took Collin to Bass Pro Shop at Discover Mills. The main reason for the trip was to let Collin sit with Santa and get a picture made. However, I should have known the store was going to be like heaven to Collin since he is 100% boy and loves all things boy.

Collin loved the fish, the North Pole themed electric train, the remote control monster trucks, the Fisher Price ATV, but Santa Claus.......not so much!











The minute Patrick put Collin in Santa's lap he begin to scream and turn bright red. He sat in his lap all of maybe thirty seconds. What a memory! I hope Santa isn't to upset and decides to still come and visit Collin.

Where Does He Learn This?

Last night while we were watching television and folding clothes, Collin took off out of the playroom on a mission. He came back a couple of minutes later carrying his frog potty. He sat it down, then went over to his bucket of books and picked out one. He then proceeded to sit on the toilet and read all of his books. Where in the world does he learn this stuff? Such a little man!

Date Night

Last night Patrick and I got a much needed date night. We headed down to the Fox Theater in Atlanta to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. It was so good and definitely got us in the Christmas spirit. After the show we ate dinner at Wildfire near Perimeter Mall. It was nice to be able to sit down and enjoy our meal rather than trying to put it down as fast as we could so we could tend to Collin. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Collin had a blast too playing with Grandmommy and Granddaddy at home. We are pretty sure he ruled the house and got to do things Mommy and Daddy don't allow:-)

Happy Thanksgiving

Today Collin celebrated his second Thanksgiving. Grandmommy and Granddaddy came up to visit us for the holiday and this morning we headed over to Papa's new house in Newnan. Collin LOVED going to see Papa! However, I think it was Papa and Robin's dog Abby that he loved the most. Collin spotted the dog as soon as we pulled up to the house and wanted to go see it. Collin and Abby played together most of the day in the yard. Collin would throw her tennis ball (with help from Daddy) and she would go and chase it. It was very cute! They also went on a hike around the woods by Papa's house with Collin and the dog Abby leading. We also got to visit with Aunt Brittany and Uncle Jon. We had a great time! Everyone brought their speciality dish over for us to feast on and it was delicious!

Reflecting back over the past year, our family has so much to be thankful for. First and foremost we are thankful for God's grace. We are also thankful for our precious and healthy son, Patrick's job, our wonderful families and friends, and good health just to name a few. We are all truly blessed when we take time to stop and reflect on all that God has given us.

Fall 2009 Pictures

On November 7th, we headed to Poole's Mill Park in Cumming for a photo session with Jen Hanley. We decided to try someone new for Collin's year and a half pictures and absolutely LOVED her.

Fall Fun

Collin absolutely loves being outside and this weekend the weather was perfect! Patrick and I took turns pressure washing the driveway while Collin had a blast playing. He kept going from his swingset, to his inflatable, to the big pile of leaves in the neighbors yard. He kept stomping on them to hear the crunch and laughing so hard at the sound they made. Collin is also quite a popular little guy on our street. Every time he goes outside all the elementary aged boys and girls run over to play with him. They treat him so delicately like he is a little baby and he eats it up. He chased them up and down the street today laughing the whole time. It is so cute to watch him try to keep up with the big kids and play whatever they are playing.

Jump Around, Jump Around

Last night Patrick and I headed to Toys R Us to buy Collin an inflatable. Collin is obsessed with playing outside and loves playing on our neighbors inflatable, so we decided to get him one of his own. The plan is for us to set it up in the garage throughout the winter so he can still run around and get his energy out without him or Mommy freezing. We are going to buy a space heater and let him play out on it as much as he wants.