I can’t stop buying things for my daughter. Granted, it’s all things we need (like pants, socks, and a hat that fits), but I certainly spend more on her than on anyone else in the house (David and my wardrobe is quickly becoming threadbare). In fact, it’s a long standing family joke that I never spend money on myself and have 28 years worth of birthday and Hanukkah presents in the bank (I do, actually). But tempt me with something super cute, well-made, practical, and a good deal for my daughter and I just go crazy. A non-shopper suddenly becomes a shopper.
Take our new stroller. Several friends highly recommended Maclaren strollers (quality! style! durable! lightweight!), but I thought they were outside of our budget (I mean, who spends over $200 on a stroller?!). Then I found a great deal on a model from last year with free shipping and no tax and, well, I just couldn’t help myself.
Rather that reprimand myself for a few modest purchases (lol), I guess I should instead focus on how proud I am of myself for the restraint I’ve exercised by not buying every single item on our gift wish list and every children’s board book at our local bookstore… and trust me, I’ve been tempted!
We read every children’s book in the house every single day. Usually twice. Yep, we Spritzer Leyba’s love our books. Thank you to everyone who has given us so many fantastic books! (For her complete library, see the list in our sidebar further down this page.) We are so enjoying them!
Special thanks to Alexis for buying us the board book version of Harry the Dirty Dog. Miss Leyba gets SO animated and smiley when I break it out. I think that’s her favorite book right now. It brings such joy to my eyes seeing her so excited about books!
Here we are reading another favorite, The Very Hungry Caterpillar:
(Thank you to Stephanie and Andy for this Eric Carle classic!)