Why I love craigslist....

So craigslist really has changed out lives. Sounds a bit silly, but it's true! We save so much money buying everything used. Most of the time we buy things for a great price, use it for a year or two and are able to sell it right back for the same or more than we bought it for. It helps us to be really frugal but also to still get the things we want. And its not like our kids don't ding or break everything within a few minutes of bring it home so the few things we buy new always looked used in minutes!! I thought I would show you a little of our deals in the baby department. And most of it looks brand new and was only used with one child (oh the joys of living in california where everyone buys things brand new and then is done with them!)

Crib, mattress, bedding: Retails for $800, we paid $230.
Changing Table, changing pad, & cover: Retails for $150, we paid $20.
Shermag glider & ottoman: Retails for $250, we paid $50.
Baby Swing, Bassinet w/ sheets, Bouncer, & playmat: Retails for $340, we paid $135.

Bottom line: We paid $435 instead of $1540 plus tax!!! Best of all we used money from all the baby stuff we sold when we moved so we didn't have to use any from our regular budget. Man I love craigslist:)
(Unforunately because of the style of the crib when its at its highest setting you can't see how cute the bedding set is because the wood drop down gate is blocking all the cute embroidery! The middle of the bumper looks like the window hanging and so does the bottom of the crib skirt which you also can't see!)

Projects

So in getting ready for this baby I have had this massive list of things I wanted to get done or accomplished before he came. Maybe I have this feeling I might not ever have free time again, crazy I know:) One of those (if you haven't already noticed) is to get all caught on our blog so when he comes we can blog about!! Whenever I think about blogging, I always remember all the other things I still haven't blogged that need to come first and then I usually don't end up doing anything. So hence the three months worth of blogs in the last week. We really will try and keep more on top of it in the future I hope.

This is my latest creative project. I made some super cute burp clothes since I couldn't find any that I particularly liked or was willing to pay that much for. Then I also made cute little squares for the changing table so if there are any messes you just wash the little square versus having to have multiple covers (which are quite pricey). And if you are like us and have to drag your laundry down the stairs and down the walkway to the laundry room you try to never make extra trips even if the baby has blown through things!

Karate

UCSD has a bunch of kids classes they offer for pretty cheap so we signed Coby up for Karate & Gymnastics. Here's the little man in action!

Gymnastics

Here he is at gymnastics. The teacher would actually have him do some more advanced skills then some of the other kids since he was able to master it faster. He really liked gymnastics so we are going to sign him up for the next level in the fall. I was also impressed that he knows some lingo like a straddle, open pike, closed pike, and c-body(not sure what that is but its some kind of jump) and can demonstrate them all to me.

Balance Beam

Rings
Trampoline

Pregnancy Pictures

Just for fun.

4 months

5 months
6 months
7 months

8 months

USCD Student Housing

So for the month of May I went on a total cleaning streak. (Nesting anyone??) Seriously, I was edging all the carpets and cleaning every nook and cranny I could find. Jacoby even humored me and used the carpet cleaner on all our van floor mats so it too is looking nice and new again. (He did a lot of other jobs too like the shower, the oven, etc.) I like to take pictures of each place we live in to remember it later so since it was sparkling clean I decided it was the best time to do. Of course now we have packed in tons of baby things so it looks quite different but here's just a glimpse into our 800 square feet of heaven (well on a good day!).

Our Bedroom

KitchenPatio - Great view huh? We love all the trees behind us!

Front Room

Front Room angle 2

Boys Room

Boys Room angle 2

Bathroom - Which I must say I am so proud of finally get all the finishing touches to it. It's been half decorated for, oh, the whole time we have lived here, so like 10 months!

Mothers Day

There is nothing so great as day all about you! Jacoby went out of his way to make it a special day, making me one great meal after the next. He got me some roses and See's candies (which I preceeded to haul through!) and the boys made me a variety of items from handprints to a flower garden. Church was awesome in that the last 15 minutes of relief society the elders quorum brought in cheesecake and we all sat around and chatted! What a great day!!!

Baby Shower

Okay, so when you are having your THIRD boy you really don't need a baby shower, but it sure was fun to have one anyway:) My sweet cousin Megan offered to throw me one "since every baby is a reason to celebrate" and it was wonderful. She did such a great job on the food and the decorations. It was seriously so cute! And after unpacking all my old boys clothes, I was super grateful for all the new, non-stained ones!

More pictures to come when I get them:)

Megan & all her cuteness

Liz & Megan
Julie & Christy

Jen & her sweet babe, Sean