Capture their life & personality in a BOOK!

My former boss gave me advice that I will be forever grateful for…  create a journal for each child.  Now I don’t invest the time or resources on making this all cutsey.  I would never get around to journaling if I waited for just the right paper or matching stickers.  These journals have become literally a “scrap” book where I paste in things like Brayden’s very first drawing, his sparkly Band-Aid and what I learned from him through his visit to the doctor’s, a mini envelope of his hair clippings, funny stories, and gifts and talents I observe in him.  Every now and then I’ll order some Costco prints to be delivered to the house and then I’ll simply glue them in – hopefully adding in some captions.  I like to keep the journals OUT, somewhere where I’ll see them regularly to easily update.  I also keep a stash right by them where I can throw things I want to sometime glue in.  I’ve heard of some moms having a binder for each child with sheet protectors where they can quickly slip in journal worthy items to later “scrapbook”.   On our fridge, it helps me to keep a list of journal entry ideas as I think of them so I don’t forget when I sit down to write.  They have already become such a treasure in our family. I feel like this helps fortify their sense of identity and it makes for a fun Sunday activity to flip the pages.  As our kids grow up and get married, I plan to give them their journals as a wedding gift!  If you already have older kids – don’t worry about catching up the last several years – just start now.  Don’t stress about it being perfect or waiting until you have just the right pictures… Just start doing it, and you’ll be so glad you did!  You'll feel really behind sometimes, but it's okay... at least you have something to work with.