6 Months!

Another month gone by and so many milestones happening around here.

Right after her five month mark, Penelope got two teeth, one right after the other. On the morning of July 4, P grabbed my finger to suck on (as she often does) and I felt a tiny tooth poking through on the bottom.

This was almost immediately followed by the one next to it, but this one took more than a few days of crying, Tylenol, ice cubes and drooling before it made its appearance.

It feels like one {very} long month+ of teething since now we are already working on the top two!

Penelope has also started sitting up on her own! The first time she did it I had her on the couch next to me propped in the Boppy and suddenly she just sat straight up and started playing like it wasn't no thang. Since then, she sits and plays for hours...I set her up with the Boppy behind for support and lay all of her toys in front of her. Sometimes I'll set her up on the edge of the playmat so I can hang toys from that to play with.

P has turned into such a happy baby and it really is a joy to watch her discover new things everyday. This month we took her to the beach. She dipped her toes in the water and in the sand. Though maybe she didn't quite love it, she definitely didn't seem upset by it either (and this photo below is one of my all time favorites. I know when she is older, she will love having this photo of her and her Daddy at the beach!).

We also finally started on solid food this month. Let me tell you, this has really been fun. At first, she didn't quite know what was happening, but she has certainly gotten the hang of things and now loves having her food at lunchtime.

I've started one new food every few days or so. For her first food, I went with sweet potatoes since it is one of my favorite foods (Aside: Mom has since gotten significantly better at not a) getting it all over her face and b) letting P have the spoon).

 

We've also tried bananas, butternut squash, sweet peas, peaches, pears and applesauce. So far, I've made it all myself aside from the applesauce (i didnt see the sense in all that work for applesauce so we just picked up the unsweetened kind where the only ingredients were apples and water and one additive for color).

I have had so much fun making food for P and I am simply loving the weekends when I am home to give her lunch. I think wel'll be upping to more meals per day after her 6 month appt on Friday, so I'm hoping that will let me give her dinner during the week. If there's interest I can do a post about making baby food (so.much.fun. But I'm also a nerd like that).

The last big news, which I've already shared, is that P started daycare. This has been a tough transition for me (and a longer lasting transition for me than I expected). P seems thrilled with it though, so I'm trying to just follow her cues on that front and stay strong. Perhaps I'll do a longer post on that next week.

So here we are after 6 amazing months! Can't wait to see what next month brings :)

For more baby updates:

One Week

Six Weeks

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

and check out our Baby Talk page for more baby fun!

Pineapple "Tiramisu"

How was your weekend? We were very busy and I'm writing this from my couch after finally making it back home, rushing around to unpack and prep for the week ahead and collapsing... sunswept, sleepy and so not ready for Monday. I am fairly certain that the best way to combat Monday is with a treat, don't you? Today is also my Secret Recipe Club reveal and I'm very excited that I picked a no-bake, summery treat to share on this Monday morn. This month's reveal kind of snuck up on me, but since we had a lobster boil at my friend Erin's house on Saturday night, I decided to save my dessert-making for the event. And since I of course couldn't dig into the pie beforehand (apparently that's just bad etiquette or something), I also made a tiny version for Shaun and I to share back home.

When I started searching Manuela's blog, Manu's Menu, I found so many amazing and gourmand-looking options. Manu's cooking is no joke. I was in awe of her homemade pork sausage, pear and gorgonzola risotto, and many, many more. But when I saw this easy pineapple dessert - that seemed just like a tropical tiramisu - I was all about it.

Pinapple "Tiramisu"

*Adapted from Manu's Menu

24 ladyfingers

1 can pineapple slices + juice

1/2 C water

1 tub Cool Whip

1 pkg. instant white chocolate pudding mix

1 C milk

Mix the pudding mix and milk together until the pudding mix is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Gently fold into the Cool Whip; set aside.

Drain the pineapples, reserving the juice. Mix the juice with water in a shallow bowl and set aside.

In a pie plate, or square baking dish, spread a bit of the pudding mixture in the bottom. Dip the individual lady finger halves in the pineapple juice mixture and layer on top of the pudding mix. Top with pudding mix. Repeat. 

Once you've used all of your ladyfingers (I had 2 layers of them), add the large pineapple rings to the top of the 'tiramisu'.

Refrigerate and devour.

To see other great recipes from Secret Recipe Club members, visit the links below!

1. Plum Snack Cake  2. Unicorn Poop Cookies  3. One Bowl Mac and Cheese  4. Chocolate Chocolate Chunks Muffins  5. Chicken, Artichoke, and Arugula Casserole  6. Glazed Donut Strawberry Shortcake  7. Fried Banana Fritters a la Mode  8. Yellow Watermelon Salad  9. Smashed White Bean & Avocado Spread  10. Lemon Lavender Sour Cream Pie  11. Smoky grilled corn  12. Blender Cupcakes with Fudgy Frosting  13. Cafe Mocha  14. Maple Honey Wheat Bread with Apricot Spread  15. Japanese White Sauce  16. Pineapple 'Tiramisu'  17. Frijoles Negros Cuban Black Beans  18. Pesto Meatballs  19. Marinated Mozzarella  20. Fresh Fig, Walnut and Rosemary Upside-Down Cake  21. Salmon with mustard cream and cheesy breadcrumbs  22. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CREPES!  23. Bourbon Pork Chops  24. Spanish Rice  25. Brown Butter & Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies  26. Berry banana coconut muffins  27. Apple Bacon Crumb Bars  28. Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup  29. Fresh Peach and Sunflower Seed Muffins  30. Scrumptious Shrimp Scampi  31. Blueberry Peach Tart  32.   33. Frozen Smore Banana Pops  34. Funnel Cake  35. Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Four Things Friday

{enjoying a gorgeous summer evening from the luxury box @ Arm & Hammer Stadium; no ballgame is complete without ice cream in a helmet cup}

It's Friday yet again. This week has felt very long indeed and I really cannot wait for a great, summery weekend ahead. We are going to a lobster boil tomorrow, followed by a day at the shore on Sunday. This week, I spent a lot of time stressing over work things and residual stress over Sweet P's daycare situation and so I'm trying to focus my energy on the little things (only four this week!) that have really helped brighten my days. 

{it's the beginning of the end and I can't believe it's almost time to say goodbye to Heisenberg}

{developing a love for liquid water enhancers, esp of the lemonade variety, making it oh.so.easy to down some extra H20}

{beautiful autumnal temps have replaced the scathing humidity of last week}

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

What are your favorite things from this week?