Roadtrip to Portland, Oregon

Me and hubby generally head down to Portland at least once a year to do a little shopping and to get away. Finances unfortunately have not really allowed us to venture away too far. Nevertheless, we try to make the best of it! Shopping in Portland allows us to maximize our dollars since there is no tax and we are able to shop at outlets. This year was a little different though since we have our new little addition. Hubby's parents came along, which was fine with me since they definitely helped to give me and hubby a little more freedom. The purpose of the trip has shifted though...it definitely was all about the baby! I would like to call this trip "Spoiling Jory 2011".

Something that I was surprised about when heading down to Portland, was their use of this sling contraption for baby car seats. There were many versions of the "sling" but the general concept is that a car seat can be placed on top, and it would be secured in the same fashion as how the base of a car seat would secure the actual seat in the car. I found a photo of one of these slings. I thought this version was best since it is also a high chair but the seat flips down to allow it to become a car seat holder. Now the real question is...why don't they have these in Canada?

Unsurprisingly, we also had some fun at Carter's (both me and Grandma). I guess we just couldn't resist. We may have gone a bit overboard! For a little under $100, this is what we ended up getting (top picture is the items that fit baby right now and the bottom picture is for future wear):



We also purchased many other little things for baby which I will not bore you with the details but a big purchase we made was a new car seat for Jory since he is quickly outgrowing his infant car seat. We ended up getting a Britax Boulevard Convertible car seat for $260US. I saw the same one at Babies R Us in Vancouver and it was priced at $340. After tax, I believe we probably saved pretty close to $100 so I'm pretty happy with the purchase.

All in all, it was a tiring but fun trip for the family!