Active and well dressed

Olivia's been exceedingly active lately. She scoots, climbs, grabs, throws and speaks in a yell. I think she's just trying to express herself. She also screams silently. I don't know where she gets this, but when she's angry, she screams, and it sounds like she's trying to belt a high note that's too high so nothing comes out but air. Don't get me wrong...we are thankful that she screams like this, because I can't imagine the headaches that would come with the alternative. It's just weird, that's all.

Anyway, yesterday we spent all day running errands and visiting with people. Olivia napped about two hours, total, all day yesterday. Which is a sharp decrease from her usual 4-6 hours of nap that she gets most days. She wasn't all that fussy, either. She just played hard and observed everything. She slept very well last night as a result.

Today is pretty much the opposite. She's in the middle of her third nap and has clocked more than four total hours of nap at this point. She's been exceedingly fussy and impatient with me when she's awake.

I think she may be bored. I think she hates it when we stay home all day. Maybe I'm not stimulating her enough, or maybe she just wants to be somewhere where she can see new things and play with new people.

So how do you do this? I know I could schedule more playdates, but honestly, yesterday was exhausting for me too. I need a recuperation day. I need to do laundry and pick up around here. I need gasoline to not be so expensive because 95% of our friends and family live ten to forty miles away, and that's not conducive to frequent playdate scheduling.

Bleh, I'm finished complaining.

So this morning, when Olivia hadn't yet decided to be upset with me for being so incredibly dull, she and I were putting away some 6-9 month clothing that we just picked up from a friend who is lending all of her little girl clothes to us as Olivia grows into them. As I was putting the 200th adorable little t-shirt onesie in her drawer, it occurred to me that this child has had at her disposal more cute and fashionable clothing choices in her short lifetime than I've had EVER. I am not complaining...I am stating a fact. And it occurred to me that I wanted to share with the internet how amazingly wonderful this baby share thing is.

When we were anticipating Olivia's birth, friends came out of the woodwork to empty their closets and basements and storage areas of all the baby items they no longer needed. My husband commented just yesterday that, besides diapers, we have had to spend VERY little on baby stuff. The list of things we have that we did not have to buy include:

Crib, bedding, changing table, baby tub, assorted toys, carseat (which was only 6 months old), bassinet, pack-n-play, rocking chair, and other assorted items. Also:

LOTS and LOTS OF CLOTHES!!

We currently receive hand-me-downs from three sources...all friends with little girls who are a bit older than Olivia. These are marked and can be passed back when we are finished, thus eliminating our need to store massive amounts of clothing that she has already grown out of.

This is absolutely the best way to clothe your child. I'm serious. I'm all for buying new things to doll up your kid, and Olivia has some of that too, but for the everyday clothing needs, this is brilliant. The kid has no idea she's in someone else's clothing, and since she'll grow out of it faster than she'll wear all of it, there's absolutely no reason that we need to be spending extra money.

So, if you are having a baby, make friends with people who have recently had a baby of the same gender. Trust me, you won't be sorry.