Frugal Friday: Frugal Baby Books

With my first baby, I was very disappointed at the baby books on the market. They were fairly expensive and had silly categories that didn’t always pertain to us or seemed repetitive. I couldn’t find anything that allowed us to record the memories that truely make my little girl so special.

I spent the $30 on the obligatory baby book and filled out all the questions and it is a nice keepsake, but I recently started a very frugal alternative. I purchased a notebook from the $1 bin at Michaels that serves as a journal. When inspiration strikes I jot down a memory or anecdote from our day to day lives. The journal serves as a love letter to my little girl and will hopefully one day show her how treasured she was by her mom and dad. It is also a great way to remember all the little things that make her unique.

A recent example is how proud she has been to learn all her body parts. In the bathtub I name off different things like nose, knees, toes etc.. and she loves to point to each. She often takes the game out of the bath and will point to a stranger in glasses and yell “eyes!” We recently had company over and as I entered the living room Adriana came running over pointing and yelling “Tubby!” She was referring to my 34 week pregnant tummy of course, but yes tubby would be accurate as well.

I also have a great cookbook that has recipes for tons of basic foods. I got it as a wedding gift and use it as a reference constantly. Since I have always been jealous of people that have recipes handed down from generation to generation, I decided to start my own tradition. I make notes on everything I cook/bake from the cookbook and hope to pass it on to my little girl when she gets married. I make notes like “Greg loves this with Cheddar cheese” or “Try with dark chocolate not milk.” I also write things like “delicious– served at our 5 yr anniversary party.” I can’t give her a wealth of secret family recipes but I can at least send her off with the basics.