Our Weekend: Kielbasa Festival

This past weekend we went to the Kielbasa Festival in Plymouth, PA which is a a few towns over from where we live now. It was my first time there and oh boy was it a blast from the past! You'll see what I mean in a minute...

Smoked kielbasa with sauerkraut. So good!

Jambalaya! Sooo spicy but very good.

Ok so here's what I'm talking about when I say blast from the past. This town hasn't been touched since the 60's or maybe 70's. There are no chain stores or restaurants anywhere to be seen, all local shops- such a rarity these days. 

A COLOR TV specialist?!?!

After eating all of that good food we had some quality family snuggle time. Aubrey loves her snuggles. 

Look what I found! Time to baby proof!

Nap time on Sunday. So now a days, they say no bumpers in the crib but then this happens. Not to mention bumping of her head on the hard wood headboard and rails. This seriously scares me. What if she twisted her leg before I could get to her and really hurt herself? I know that the bumpers are a no no because of the risk of suffocation but now that she can roll and move around I wonder if it's really that much of a risk anymore.
Please tell me- what did you do? Did you put the bumpers in when your baby got older or did you not use them at all?


Vacation Recap post coming soon...

Monthly Milestones: 6 Months

Wow! I can't believe that my little one is 7 months old today! 

As always, here is a summary of the previous month, month 6.

 Month 6

Weight & Length: about 17 lbs. about 26 1/2 inches 

Clothing Size: 6-9 months and even some 12 months!

Diaper Size: Size 2

Sleep: At the beginning of the month she was waking every 3 hours or so. They say that when they are about the hit major milestones they practice in their sleep and wake themselves up so I'm guessing that's what we're dealing with here. Toward the end of the month she went back to sleeping for 6-7 hour stretches though. She still wakes up during the night though for at least one feeding. I know I should probably drop her nighttime feeding but she wakes up crazy hungry. I think she's so busy playing and moving around all day that she doesn't drink enough during the day and makes up for it at night. I can't seem to get her to finish her bottles during the day sometimes but she is gaining weight... lots of it! Her bedtime has switched from 9pm to about 7pm. She gets tired around 6:30-7 so we start our bedtime routine around 6pm. She sleeps until about 6:30 or 7am, waking at least once around 2am. 

Feeding: 41/2-5 oz bottles of breastmilk, fruits, veggies, and rice cereal

Hair Color: Medium brown with a golden hue. Her hair is really starting to come in now. I may be able to get a clip in there soon enough!

Eye Color: Hazelish- dark blue with flecks of brown- a perfect combo of mine and my husbands eyes.

Milestones & Firsts: She fed herself her first bottle! She can sit up by herself and play with toys now. She's really close to sitting herself up from a laying down position too. She's also starting to pull herself up so the crib will be lowered really soon; the pack-n-play was lowered yesterday already. She has been getting up on her hands and knees rocking all month and just yesterday- the day before her 7 month birthday- she crawled!!!!! She can really get some distance too. Game over. Baby proofing is on the agenda here this weekend. She loves crawling under things like benches and chairs. She adores her musical glowing panda bear too and she especially loves rubbing it's tag and ear when she falls asleep. She also went on her first vacation- to Ocean City, MD.

Nicknames: Aubster, Aubs, Aubstalina, Lobster, Aubs Lobs

Ramblings of a Makeup & Shopping Addict: Stripes!

Hello Danielle's readers!

First I want to thank Danielle at the opportunity to guest post on her blog!

Danielle is one of my favorite bloggers and I've been following her since she started her blog!

I watched her plan her wedding, have her beautiful baby girl, and now watching her design her own home. It's amazing!

My name is Vanessa and I have a blog over at Ramblings of a Makeup & Shopping Addict.

This is my fiance & I.

I blog about all sorts of things and almost feel like I'm coming up short posting on Danielle's blog. 

So, I decided to blog about a recent outfit I wore over the weekend for shopping and a date night with the fiance. 

 

 JCPenney black t-shirt, Charlotte Russe skirt, eBay clover necklace, Movado watch, and a pair of black sandals. 

I blog about hauls, outfits, and DIY. 

Come over a visit me, I'd love to get to know Danielle's readers!

 

Juice Cups & Jewels: Mix & Match

 Hi there! My name is Jessica from Juice Cups and Jewels and I'm so excited to be here while Danielle gets some much needed R&R.

While the summer sun begin to fade it leaves me in a tough a spot while shopping, buying up clearance summer items or investing in warm sweaters I've been dreaming about? The happy medium for me is buying quality items that can mix and match from summer to winter with just a few layers!

 I feel in love with this Anthropologie dress and waited very patiently for it to drop down to my budget and then snagged it! It's a gorgeous dress worn just as it hangs but adding a few layers can also let it transition into my fall and winter wardrobe!

 Dress Anthropologie/ Boots Gap Outlet (last year)/ Necklace Groopdealz/ Jacket A lucky leftover from someone that previously visited my house (no one has claimed it yet!)/ Sweater Jcrew/ Flats AE/ Belt Betsey Johnson

 How are you planning to transition your new purchases into fall?

Beaching it: The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful

The good: Aubrey did fantastic with the drive to Ocean City, MD. She slept most of the time and when she was awake she kept herself entertained with her toys. We have a beautiful condo with an amazing view...

The bad: I'm less than thrilled with the job that the cleaning crew did (or didn't do). I called to rental office to let them know how unhappy I am and they're supposed to send someone out. Our AC wasn't working and it turns out it was due to a filthy clogged filter, that was fixed yesterday. There are cobwebs, coffee  stains, sticky floors, etc. ... To top but off my allergies are killing me! I'm sick and I think it's because of the dust. 

But...

I'm laying here in my lounge chair with this beautiful view watching the waves crash. Total perfection, right here.

Aubrey's getting plenty of naps with all of the walks that were taking.

It rained yesterday so we hit the outlets. I picked up some things at J.Crew. I'm in love with these jeans so I couldn't wait to share them. The fit is perfect!

Well Aubrey just woke up from her nap so time for lunch and a little beach time. 

Beachy

So it's almost midnight and what am I doing? Everyone is sleeping. We're leaving for the beach at 4:00 am to beat shore traffic and I'm up finishing packing, doing my nails, and curling my hair. Every. Year. Same story. I have to admit the peace and quiet is really nice. 

Anyway, just wanted to let you girls know that while I'm away a couple of my favorite bloggers will be guest posting so watch for their posts next week! 

Anyone else make a ginormous packing list, like this front & back baby right here? 

Aubrey is clearly thrilled about all of the packing. 

I'll be back to regular posting (hopefully) when we return on the 25th. So stay tuned for a vaca recap.

We're going on a trip...

...in our favorite rocket ship, and by rocket ship I mean our Jeep. This is the song that we sing to Aubrey every time we buckle her into her carseat. Sound familiar? Little Einstiens theme song! Hello?! She isn't always a fan of getting buckled in and this song calms her down sometimes, other times we just keep singing it until we're in the car in hopes of calming her down to calm ourselves down. Does that make any sense?

Anyway, it's finally vacation time! Aubrey's first time at the beach and we couldn't be more excited. Lots of sun, sand, food, fun, and relaxation. Needless to say, I won't be blogging next week. I plan on doing nothing but soaking in all of the sun that I can, playing in the sand, eating like a queen, sneaking away to Seacrets for an afternoon and one night too (hopefully Aubrey is good for her grandma!), and showing Aubrey just how awesome the beach is. 

Aubrey's 5 & 6 Month Favorites

• #1 Bright Stars Lots of Links- She loves playing with these and chewing on them. We keep a set attached to her car seat and it keeps her busy while we're in the car. 

• #2 Munchkin Fresh Food Feeders- This is the best invention. ever. So far she has only had strawberries in her fresh food feeder but the possibilities are really endless. Aubrey sucks out all of the juice and has a blast and a half doing so.

• #3 Infantino Vibrating Grape Teether- We went through a teething phase and this thing was so comforting for her. It vibrates when they bite down on it. She bit down on it so hard and I really think it helped relieve some of her discomfort. 

• #4 Foscam IP Camera with Night Vision- In addition to a regular baby monitor we use this camera to check in on her. The coolest thing about this is that you can actually pan around the entire room using your computer, phone, iPad, whatever. I can check in on her from anywhere. The picture is so crystal clear and it even has night vision for when she's sleeping.

• #5 Playskool Panda Glofriend- I don't know if every baby is obsessed with lights or what but Aubrey loves anything that lights up. This little stuffed animal lights up and plays music- two things that she loves in a toy, plus as an added bonus- it's her little snuggle buddy. 

• #6 Sophie the Giraffe- Aubrey wasn't a fan at first but once she started teething she quickly became best friends with Sophie. This is easy to hold and perfect for chewing. Aubrey likes to hold her legs and chew on her antlers and ears, other times she flips her over and chews on her legs. Pretty much whatever is easier to get into her mouth at the moment is what she goes for. 

MMR: July 2013: Favorite Lip Products

Question of the month from Mehreen: "What are your top 10 lip products (balms/glosses/lipsticks etc)."

So, at first I thought it was going to be impossible to come up with 10 but then I remembered that my purse and makeup drawer are filled with lip products. So here they are...

From left to right: Danielle & Company Organic Lip Balm in Pure Lime & Pure Almond, Nars Turkish Delight Gloss, Lorac Vintage Gloss, Philosophy Vanilla Cake Gloss, NYX Smokey Look Gloss, NYX Lipsticks in Fig, Pumpkin Pie, Thalia, and B52

Front: NYX Lip Liner in Natural

• Alison*Elle - Alison is obsessed with embellished dresses for summer weddings
• Beautygirl24 - Noelle attended her beautiful bridal shower
• Ella Pretty - Ella's picked up some wardrobe staples and designer dupes
• Lindsay J Everyday - Lindsay can't get enough of these recipes
• Love, Lipstick & Pearls - Kristen shared her Recent Purchases from those late night feedings!
• Schnelle Couture -  Danielle talks about all of her favorite summer beauty products.
• Sequins and Stilettos - Skylette does black and white in a cotton skirt
• The Currently Obsessed - Mehreen is having a blog sale! Tiffany, Michael Kors and Sydney Evans oh my!

Monthly Milestones: 5 Months

Month 5

Weight & Length: 16.5 lbs. (about) 25 1/2 inches 

Clothing Size: 3-6 months and some 0-3

Diaper Size: Size 2

Sleep: We are officially in teething territory! She's been sleeping from 9pm to about 6 or 7am and sometimes waking at 3 am for a snack. We had one really bad week of teething though and she woke every 2-3 hours during that week. She 

Feeding: Nursing, but when she has a bottle she takes 4- 4 1/2 oz. every 3 hours or so. She's eating rice cereal regularly now and she's tried sweet potatoes, squash, and green beans so far. 

Hair Color: Medium brown with a golden hue. She got a lot more hair this month! I'm going to kind of miss my little baldy. 

Eye Color: Grayish blue with flecks of brown

Milestones & Firsts: She's reaching for everything, exploring, touching everything and feeling the different textures. She started sucking on her toes and she does it all the time now. I think crawling is right around the corner for this one because she's lifting her butt up in the air, and pushing forward. She gets pretty far too so we really have to keep an eye on her now. She's sitting up and leaning forward all the time too. The days of putting her in the bouncer are over and the swing is about to be retired too. She can't sit up unassisted for long but she's close! She is becoming more and more mobile every single day. It's almost time for baby gates and baby proofing-- already! 

Nicknames: Aubster, Aubs, Aubstalina, Lobster

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Today is an exciting day! It finally happened...

I can finally shop online at H&M and I am beyond thrilled. They have so many adorable baby and kids clothes too that I am dying to add to my shopping cart. AND there is a "home" section too! 

In other shopping news... 

Buy Buy Baby is offering free shipping on Aden+Anais and there's a 20% off coupon at checkout too.

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