A few months ago, my cousin sent me a link to the following article:
It's all about how hip it is to utilize hand-me-downs. One of the beauties of waiting until your are of "late maternal(and paternal) age" to have children is that you reap the bounty of hand-me-downs from all your friends and family members that have already had children. The generosity of all of those around us has been amazing! We couldn't even begin to thank all the people that have given us clothes, gear, and toys for Cally. It has been such a gift for us. So here is a tribute to all who have made our life easier and made our daughter cuter. We think about you all every time that Cally plays with particular toys, wears particular outfits, or is carried in various stollers.
Below is a picture of Anna and Josephine Gilman. They live in Hailey, ID. Cally wears their shoes, an adorable bathing suit, uses an adorable bunny towel every time she takes a bath and wears a very cute Hannah Anderson jacket they gave her daily. Their mom, Sara, was one of my roommates in college for two years:
Then there is Mae, who also lives in Hailey, ID. The day that her mom, Brady, found out I was pregnant, she packed up a box of maternity clothes and sent it to Vermont. Since then, she's sent a box almost every couple of months filled with adorable clothes. Including our favorite sweatshirt which says, "Highchair today, chairlift tomorrow".
And Kesley and Jameson, Cally's cousins. There is rarely a day that goes by that Cally isn't wearing one of Kesley's hand-me-downs. Paula, her mom, gives me a storage container full of Kelsey's clothes every few months. She's been amazing about having them organized by size and it's like X-mas every time we get a new container. And then there are all the toys, backpacks, strollers, swings, a glider, and more. As you can see, Cal thinks her cousin's are pretty cool:
More recently, we got some great shoes and outfits from my cousin Gregg's daughter, Zoe. She lives in London and has a particular flare for fashion. The picture at the beginning of the blog is of Cally wearing a recent outfit of Zoe's. Here she is wearing a hip Paul Smith hat:
About a month ago, my friend, Mary called. Her husband had just built shelves in her five year old twin's closet. She was ready to get rid of the boxes of toys, boots, and clothes that had been taking up space. So, I left her house with a carload of wooden toys, a wagon, musical instruments, and boots of every size for the next five years. Oh, and then her seven year old daughter, Claire, decided to throw in all the costumes that she had in her closet that didn't fit anymore-- tutu's, leotards, princess dresses, and all.
And then there are my dear friends Medora & Jen. About five years ago, they called me in a panic. They were having a yard sale to offload a bunch of the baby stuff that had taken over their houses. However, they wanted to set aside "stuff" for me. So, Jen called me , needing to to know if I wanted this REALLY nice co-sleeper that Medora had. They needed to know right away, because if I didn't want it, they wanted to sell it the next day.
I was a bit dumbfounded. At the time, I was renting a small room (maybe 8ft by 10ft) and I didn't even have a boyfriend. I could hardly find room for more than my own bed and a dresser in the apartment, let alone a piece of baby equipment I wasn't sure I'd ever need.
I lost out on the co-sleeper, but fortunately, Jen and Medora saved A LOT of other baby stuff for me--- clothes, a crib, a changing table, books, toys, etc.
I know I've forgotten other folks who have been incredibly generous in the hand-me-down department. Cally sure is one very well dressed, accessorized, and entertained gal thanks to all the friends and family who have been so generous. We've already done our best to continue the trend by passing what we are done with onto other babies.
