Photo Albums and Scrapbooks

Albums and scrapbooks can capture a great deal of emotion and delight, making lasting keepsakes for parents and children alike. If you're artistic, you may want to create your own special scrapbook or album. Otherwise, you can easy rely on a scrapbook kit that conveniently includes decorative papers, borders, stickers and more to jumpstart your creativity. If a book with dozen of pages seems daunting, take a cue from the following ideas to keep the memory making manageable. Make mini - versions of scrapbooks or photo albums; they can be fun to put together and are just as satisfying. Simply choose a theme such as "My Baby's Smiles," or "Through the First Year: Our Days in The Park," or "Our Playful Baby." Combine words and pictures in a small book or 24-page photo album. Collect your photos and write down your thoughts, then put them together as you find time and soon you'll have a collection of mini-books that reflect some of your life's most special moments. Mini-books and photo frames make terrific grandparent gifts, too. 

Pregnancy memories

Special moments and the feeling you never want to forget!

Pregnancy is a time to dream about the baby - or babies - on the way. Becoming a family, whether through birth or adoption, is an emotional, wonderful and surprising event. How will your child know what you were thinking while waiting for her, and during your first days and weeks together? How will he someday know what gave you the greatest pleasure, brought tears to your eyes or had you laughing out loud? Many parents are turning to journals and scrapbooks, as well as taking and preserving photos to capture their feeling about those memorable moments. Here is what some are doing to explore and hold on to the details - great and small.

Pregnancy journals and Beyond

Mom of two, Suzanne started a journal during her first pregnancy. In an 8x10 leather notebook, she recorded how she felt, how her pregnancy was progressing, when the baby first kicked and more, writing a short paragraph once or twice a week. To keep it simple and do-able, she concentrated on capturing flavour instead of minute details. Once her son Russell, now two-and-a-half, was born, she kept writing. She has charted his likes and dislikes, what he's learned to eat, who his little friends are - even what kind of "trouble" he's giving her. Occasionally she adds a cute birthday card or note from someone. One journal page holds a lock of hair from his first trip to the barber. And she plans to keep going. Her intention: To give the journal to Russell on the day he is married or perhaps she'll wait until he has his first child. She's doing the same for her second child, Jane, having started her journal at birth. Suzanne admits, "It's harder to keep up now that I have two children, but I'm determined - and I love doing it".

Birth-Day Time Capsule

If you're looking for a fun tradition to start when your baby is born, try creating a time capsule full of items that mark the day to be opened on your child's 16th, 18th or 21st birthday. Use your imagination to add to the items suggested here:

♦the day's newspaper
♦a tape or CD of the number-one song of the week
♦a book from the top of the bestseller list
♦an ad - and a review - of a hit movie or play
♦a fashion magazine that reflects contemporary clothing styles
♦a photo of the President and First Lady of the United States
♦photos of members of the family taken on or around the child's day of birth
♦a photo of the place you live
♦letter to the child from parents, grandparents and other family members or close friends