About 6 weeks ago(?), we went down to Central NJ & attended this Hot Air Balloon Festival/Bret Michael's Concert - it was the craziest weather ever that weekend! Rain, thunderstorms... Extreme heat! I don't know what we were thinking going! :) Just kidding... We had a really good time, but we got so hot from being there, that we left before the big show!! The show is 200+ Hot Air Balloons all being launched at once! I'm bummed that we missed the launch... Maybe next year the weather will be more favorable & we can stay (??).

Here are a few pictures of the event...

 Hot, red & tired... But still riding rides! :)

 Ever since our Disney World trip... Aubree LOVES Rollercoasters! ;)

The countdown is ON!!!

Today Baylee is 11 months! One month from today my little bug will be ONE!!!

Let's see... It's been awhile since I've done a monthly update on B! She's 23.8 pounds, she eats EVERYTHING!! All types of fruits, veggies, beans, carbs, eggs, even a bit of dairy (yogurt, bits of cheese). Plus, I'm still nursing her about 4-5 times a day. She is sleeping through the night - about 10-11 hours straight. She took her first walking steps (6 or 7 at a time) almost a week ago, but has since reverted to the easy (fast) crawl. We do walking training with her almost every day - she'll do it easily when she's in the "right mood".

Her new "thing" is to climb into anything that she can get into. This includes laundry baskets, toy boxes and little cubby areas. She also likes to take things out. So, if she can find something with things in it, she'll happily get busy emptying it all out. She's a pro crawling up the stairs & this is kind of scary, we have the steepest stairs in our house - they're more like a ladder, they go straight up & God forbid, we leave the gate open because she almost gives me a mini-heart attack as I see her nearing the top!!! She's sneaky & fast!! I can't over-react because I don't want her to lose concentration, but I race up there to get her as fast & silently as I can! Since, we have been very diligent in keeping that gate closed, almost 24/7, it helps now that Aubree & Preston have discovered they can climb over it... It keeps it closed more often! :)

She's starting to talk!!  She says "Hey!", "Mama", "Dada" & she even says "Hey Dada" as she's waving - but she hasn't said "Hey Mama" yet. Oh well... She also says "Nana" & "Baba" - but not in reference of anything, those are just sounds. She LOVES to scream & she's louder than loud!! Her screams aren't angry, she just screams to scream... and so we call her our "Baby Mama" - she's held true to her nickname.

She has 6 teeth, but I think she's teething now. I think she'll have at least 8 teeth, by next month... We shall see!

So, we finally made it to this local arboretum that we can walk to from our house & it turns out it's a really beautiful treasure! There are gardens upon gardens, ponds, gazebos, bridges, creeks, all sorts of plants... trails, it's just beautiful! The kids go crazy in there running all around... Anyway, I'll try to post/take more pictures of it later, but we did take a few pictures of Baylee there & I thought... How perfect! These can be her 11 month pictures!!!! :)

My Mom just went home after a wonderful 2-week stay!! I'm soooo sad that she's gone! Not only was she a WONDERFUL house guest, she was also so, so, so helpful! Thank you Mom! Having a little break to get everything done (and going on a REAL date with Garrick), was more than I could have ever asked for! The kids cried a bit as we drove off from the airport... Goodbyes are so sad! :(

This morning we took a few pictures... and, I'm about to give up on these kids making any sort of a genuine expression in a group/staged picture anymore. Even my bribes get them nowhere!

Oh well, Mom we miss you SO much!! :(

 My Mom brought these glasses from CA & they were a hit the whole trip - Especially with Aubree who LOVES any sort of accessory!

The first weekend of August, we went to Virginia Beach, Virginia for a little vacation.

It was gorgeous, relaxing & almost perfect in every way!

We were fortunate enough to stay with some great company & at a beach house, just feet away from the beautiful beach! Every morning we ate breakfast together and then we packed up & headed down to the water... It was so, so fun & we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather!

It wasn't a long trip, but it was long enough to get in some much needed R&R and also some good tans - I love the summer! :)

Day #1:

 Bibbity is borrowing her cousin Marian's shirt she left... Thanks Nat! :)

You see, it starts already!!!!

 I love this picture of Aubree, she's looking at Joe, one of her FAVORITE people in the world! :)

 Bibbity exploring the upstairs of the beach house....

Day #2 - Baylee means business!!

The weather was absolutely perfect!

Baylee crawled ALL OVER that beach!!

Some candid family pics...



Baylee's first taste of sand (literally)
Sliding down the sand hill...
Me + my girls! :)
Baylee is my little buddy... I'm always on guard that she isn't putting sticks, shells & sand in her mouth.
And, a family picture before I took Baylee back to the house for a nap...
I was fortunate enough to have Rebecca take over & take some pictures with my camera while B napped. Looked like I missed out on some fun things!

Sand Castles...


These kids are so lucky to get pulled around all day on these things! Man... wish I was a kid again!
 After a long day at the beach, rinsing off in the outdoor shower... What a life! :)
The kids look soooooo funny/tired in these pictures! Haha!
 Hanging out before dinner on Chesapeake Bay & watching the Olympics...
These two... playing some sort of phone game...
The two pretty red-heads!
I definitely think Baylee's got a little red in her hair, like my Grandma Siggi! :)
Dinner!
Yummy Seafood! You gotta eat Seafood on the coast!
After dinner, we took a BEAUTIFUL walk on Virginia Beach. It was so, so lovely!

 We just love Joe & Becca! They were the best company!!


Our family...


 We weren't the only ones enjoying an evening on the beach...
 Preston is ALWAYS asking his Dad to throw him up! He asks me too, but I say "I'm too weak!" :) It's true... the kid is pretty solid at 36 pounds!!
 The kids running to me!! :)
Night-fall
Bay #3 - on our way home...
Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel... What a incredible man-made wonder! Two tunnels in the middle of the bay & miles, upon miles, upon miles of bridge. It took us at least 30 minutes to cross the bay (with no traffic)
 Virginia, just south of Maryland...
 We stopped for lunch in Ocean City, Maryland on our way home.
It's kind of funny, but there is a freeway (Highway 50), that starts in Sacramento, California & ends in Ocean City, Maryland. At the very beginning of Highway 50 in Sacramento, it says "Ocean City, MD 3,073 miles" - we used to drive by it, HUNDREDS of times & it was so bizarre! I don't know of any other signs in the United States with such a long distance city written on it. Anyway, we always wondered what Ocean City, MD looked like & what the end of Highway 50 was like. Well.... Now we know! We drove at the very beginning of Highway 50 in Ocean City, Maryland & saw the sign... "Sacramento, CA 3,073 Miles". We actually ONLY made this impromptu stop in Ocean City because of our days in Sacramento... But, I have to say the Crab & Seafood there was to die for!!!

 And... the famous sign! :( Makes me miss our old city... So, so many memories!!