For the Love of Little Girls

I was at Toys R Us yesterday. I was meeting  a friend for coffee and was early so I wandered around the store to see what I could buy. It's funny with the second baby...you realize just how little you actually NEED. Not just because you already have everything, which you do, but because you realize how quickly the stuff you do buy gets relegated to the closet or the storeroom. 

Which is why, while standing in line to purchase a $15 tray in order to extend the life of Kaya's Bumbo, I was behind a family with a loaded cart full of unnecessary items. The Deluxe Baby Bath Spa and Shower was one of them. So was the Video Baby Monitor and a $90 diaper pail. If I had been standing behind these people when Kieran was a newborn I may have been jealous, but this time I just thought they were suckers. 

Having said that I must make a small confession. I have bought almost NOTHING for our daughter. Ninety-nine percent of her clothes are either hand-me-downs or gifts. Basically, all I have bought for this child is diapers and formula. I have even been making my own baby food this time (a lot of it is peaches.) However a few weeks ago I saw the 1-2-3 Tea for Me Exersaucer. All of a sudden I felt really sorry for this little girl who sleeps on football sheets and uses toy cars as teethers. I wasn't being frugal... I was being cruel!! So, after thinking about it for a few days, Eric told me to just go buy it already. So, I did. And she loves it. And its pink. With a musical teapot and a little purse with fake/chewable money and a layer cake. So, I guess maybe I'm a sucker after all. 

One other item that Kaya has which Kieran didn't was a Christening gift from a friend of mine called the "Dream Screen." It's a little video player that attaches to the side of the crib and when the baby pulls a little bug it starts playing music along with a mesmerizing video.  I usually put this on for her during the day as entertainment rather than at night because it seems a bit loud and bright for nighttime. Although, the other night, she woke up and was inexplicably fussy so I turned it on for her and left the room. I came back a few minutes later to check on her and was slightly alarmed. In a dark room, the Dream Screen casts the exact same blue glow as a television. I half expected to look into the crib and see Kaya passed out in a bowl of Mr Noodles and the screen scene changed from a computerized nature scroll to a Singles Phone Chat Infomerical.  She's going to be ALL SET for the University years.