My Black Friday Buys!

This year, Black Friday was a huge success! At least I think it was, I did the majority of my shopping online so I’ll be waiting to see how it goes once my items are delivered. I’m most proud of the fact that in all my Black Friday hustling years, this is the year I've shopped the least for myself. Now I definitely got myself some nice goodies, but I’m going to wait on some of what I snagged for myself and have Matt wrap it for Christmas. Most of my buys were clothing for the family, everyone really needed some cold weather items for the season. We did buy a few things for the house and a couple of gifts for the little ones in the family too. I’ve linked everything below- including a few items I picked up earlier in the week and items that were not included in the sales.

For myself:

Cocoon Sweater // Lightweight Sweater // LORAC Palette // NYX Lip Set // Pajama Bottoms and Top // Vest

For Matthew:

Henley // Sweater // Jeans // Plaid // Button Down

The Little Ladies:

Gray Set // White Hoodie Set // Pink Hoodie Set // Jumper

Peplum Top // Hooded Zip Sweater // Sweater Dress

Toys:

Disney Magiclip Princess // Play-doh // Lego Dimensions // Kitchen // Bow and Arrow

Doll // Matching Game // Book // Octoplush // Textured Balls

For the House:

Wood Frame // Silver Frame // Appetizer Dish // Pastry Board

Phew! Such great stuff, I really hope everything is just as awesome in person as it was online! I did end up going out around 9pm on Thursday night to get the few things that weren't available to buy online or were sold out. The shops were nearly dead!! I didn't wait in line to check out at Target or Toys R Us and it was so weird. I really love to shop Black Friday, but part of the joy for me is waking up in the middle of the night and being a zombie with my family and girlfriends. I'm really glad that this year so many places had deals that went all week- it was nice to shop without any crowds.

Did you do some shopping? What did you get?

Baby Must Haves: 6 Months

Hello! I'm so far behind on posting my must-haves, I thought to combine them, but it would end up such a long post I'll just post 7 months next week.

Ellie started saying "mama" and it absolutely melts my heart. She started saying it the week of Thanksgiving and said it all day long and into the night. Nothing makes those 3am wake up calls easier than listening to her call out my name for comfort. Now, she only says mama when she needs me, but for those first two weeks, she said it all the time and it was joyous!

We also started solid foods, which I made myself by steaming/baking her veggies and using the Baby Bullet to puree them. It's been really easy and Ellie loves everything she's tried so far which include; peas, zucchini (her favorite so far), yellow squash, butternut squash, and sweet potato. My sweet sister-in-law helped me and between her help and Kristin of Mama and Mou's post, I followed them both pretty closely. I may do my own post about the experience, but Kristin covered it pretty well so shoot over there if you're interested in making your own food as well.

Munchkin Baby Bath Ball: We love this ball at bathtime. I bought it a few months ago, but Ellie just started taking an interest in it recently. She loves to feel the water come out the holes and chewing on the soft plastic. There's not many bath toys available for young babies and this has been the best so far. What are your favorite bath time toys?

Baby Bullet Food System: We have a food processor already, but it's such a hassle to clean and I was gifted this at my baby shower and love it. It's so quick to puree her food, it's easy to clean, and I store everything together in the box in a spare closet when it's not in use. I would definitely recommend having one if you don't already have a food processor to use.

Baby Einstein Baby Neptune Ocean Orchestra Musical Toy: This toy is so much fun, it lights up and plays a variety of tunes. It also slides easily across carpet and Ellie really enjoys playing with it and is memorized by the lights.

Bright Starts Pretty In Pink My First Cookbook: These soft books have that plastic page(s) that make noise and it keeps Ellie busy forever. It's such a simple toy and she's used it for a few months and still enjoys the noise it makes, the plastic "cookie" to chew, and the tags at the bottom. We take ours everywhere.

Taggies Tag 'n Go Cart Cover: Now that Ellie can sit up on her own, putting her in a shopping cart is a total game changer. She loves to look around and see what's around her. It has made running errands a million times easier. Before I would either wear her at the store or put her entire car seat inside the cart, which didn't leave much room for what we were buying. These covers are awesome to put over the cart (and even high chairs) to keep their toys together, let them put their mouths on the fabric, and keep germs at bay. Plus, you can just throw it in the wash as needed.

Baby Must Haves: 5 Months

Ellie has grown so much this past month! I’ve been looking at her newborn pictures and seeing how much she has changed is incredible. She has so much more hair, she’s so much bigger (especially longer!), and has so much personality! Her sense of humor is really apparent, she has fully belly laughs, and reacts when you make silly faces or noises. She’s sitting up unassisted and reaches for you when she wants you to hold her or pick her up. It melts my heart each day when I get home to see her big toothless grin and her chubby arms reaching for her mama. I wasn’t kidding in my previous monthly must-have posts that each month is more fun than the last! They just grow and change so much that each day is something new and it’s an amazing experience.

Baby Einstein Musical Motion 2-in-1 Stationary Jumper & Entertainer 
 I got this saucer and some other products (that we gave Matt’s parents to have at their home since it would be double for us) from a moms Facebook group I’m in and Ellie absolutely loves it! It’s so nice to put her in it while I’m doing stuff around the house. She loves exploring the different activities on each side and can completely turn herself to each side on her own. Her feet don’t quite touch the ground yet so I’ve put a blanket underneath her for now. The moment she realized how to push the buttons herself was so fun! She had been trying to figure out how to make the music and lights go off and she finally figured out how to push the button, I was so proud of her. It’s the little things in life.

Dish Drying Mats
We have a bottle rack for all of her bottles and my pump parts, but sometimes there’s just not enough room. I didn’t want to buy a 2nd drying rack for bottles and when we were at Costco a few weeks ago they had a two pack drying mat for $7.99! They’re awesome! Super absorbent, can be put in the wash, and folds up nicely to fit in a cabinet for storage when not in use. The picture and the link aren't the ones we bought, but similar to what we found.

Fleece Pajamas
It’s still pretty warm here during the day, but it dips down pretty cold during the night. I thought Ellie’s pjs alone would be fine, but one night she kept waking up and I noticed that her ears were cold and so were her feet (even though her feet are covered) so I picked up some fleece pajamas for her and I’ve noticed she’s slept better and longer in them now that she’s warmer.

Palmolive Pure and Clear Dish Soap
Since I was pregnant, we started switching over all of our products to safer ones. We started with our laundry detergent and then to this dish soap and I love this soap! It smells great and we use it for all our dishes and her Ellie's bottles and my pump items.

Bright Starts Grab and Stack Blocks
I think these are Ellie's favorite toy right now (the activity balls are a close second!). Two of the blocks jingle and the other two have that plastic scratch stuff and she loves all the details on each side and knocking them over after I stack them for her.

Baby Einstein Roller-Pillar Activity Balls
These balls are great for her motor skills and each one offers a different stimulation. When they roll away from her she reaches to far to get it, it will be so much fun when she starts crawling and gets after them.

Munchkin Fun Ice® Chewy Teether
This are such a blessing. When I can tell Ellie's gums are bothering her, I just hand her one of these teethers and she is so relieved to be chewing on them. They're cold and easy for her to hold herself and gnaw for a few minutes.