Recording the Little Years

Part of the reason I have this blog is to record our life during this time of having little ones around the house.  Miss A and Little J say some of the silliest and do some of the funniest things, and I'm sure the same will be true for Baby #3.  Sharing some of our stories and pictures here helps me keep a record of our lives.

I also try to keep physical records for each of the girls.  I've started to collect a few things for Baby #3 already (cards from sweet friends, ultrasound pics), so I've been thinking about what I need to get to keep track of our third little one and thought I'd share those ideas here.  (Reading through it now, I think it maybe sounds a little crazy, but it's working for me, and I plan do do each of the following things for Baby #3 too!)

1.  Baby Book

• I found the baby book, My Baby Book: A Keepsake Journal for Baby's First Year, when I was pregnant with Miss A.  What I liked most about this book is that it really focuses on the events of baby's first year.  The only pages I needed to fill out after Miss A's first birthday were her first steps and first hair cut (that one actually hasn't happened yet, and she's close to 4!).  There's a page for each month of the first year with space for a photo, stats and memories from that month.  I posted monthly updates here, and used the same photos for Miss A's baby book.  I loved it so much that right after I found out I was expecting Little J, I ordered the same baby book (and plan to again!).  I know many people say they didn't do as well documenting their 2nd baby's early days, but this baby book really helped me keep up with Little J's first year too (she's also missing the first haircut page though).  

2.  Quote Book

• This is another one I have for both girls.  My Quotable Kid is a journal for writing down the funny things little ones say.  Each page has a bubble for writing down what was said, as well as places for who they were talking to, where they were and when it happened.  I keep these in our living room so they are handy to write in whenever I hear something particularly cute.  E also adds to these books, which I think is extra fun to have stories from both of us.  

3.  Journal

• While I love that our baby books end at the first year, I wanted some way to record future years too.  A friend mentioned that she keeps journals that she writes in on each birthday, so starting on Miss A and Little J's second birthdays, I started a journal where I write letters to the girls telling stories from their year.  I may add other things as the years go on, but for now that's the only time I write in the journal.  I also add a picture of just me, E and the birthday girl.

4.  Portfolio

• Miss A and Little J both got the My Keepsake Portfolio for Christmas right after Little J was born, and these have been handy for catching all of the artwork that they bring home.  I try to date all of their artwork, and then file it in the portfolio.  My goal is to go through it at the end of each year and keep the best/my favorite 5-10 things, but I haven't quite gotten that far yet.  

5.  Box

• Finally, I have a kind of catch all box for each of the girls.  The boxes we use are basic white boxes from Ikea.  They are filled with birthday cards, notes from Miss Heather, birthday invitations and other miscellaneous things that I don't know what else to do with.  Like the portfolios, I have plans to someday sort through everything I've tossed in the boxes, but for now there's still plenty of room.