Preserving Memories of Our Children...

I actually had a notebook, like you mention, that I just kept in my kitchen and grabbed it real quick to write something down when it happened. But I didn't have one for each girl. Someday I'll have to go back and sift through it all, but that's OK. It's all right there. I haven't written in there since they were little though. Now I'm thinking I might just need to go look through all my status updates on FB and copy and paste them into a word document. I write a lot of the funny things my kids say/do on FB!

I set up a gmail account for each of my two and I e-mail them stories of things that they did. I also gave the e-mail address out to the family so they could send memories. I have pictures on picasa so they are linked. I am not very crafty.

I put the "funny moments" in the baby books.

I'm now creating scrapbooks to cover their lifetimes. Word of advice, mamas.....start it when they're young. I'm trying to cover 20+ years & it's taking forever!

Someone gave me a wonderful idea a few months ago. I write notes to my baby when he does something that I want to memorialize. One day he swallowed a piece of paper and sent me over the edge. I wrote a note to him telling him all about it...laughing. I write stuff like, "This is what I call you. I didn't mean for you to have a pet name; it just happened when I started saying that word. I wonder how long I'll call you that and how long you'll answer to it. So far, whenever I call it out, you look up and say, 'Hm?', and I just want to kiss you." It's like a journal that I write directly to him. I hope that he'll enjoy reading it someday. When I'm gone, I hope that he is able to use it (and other stuff that I'll do before I get outta here) to feel me close to him. I've described in notes certain rituals that we have, the special song that I sing to him. I am going to record myself singing that song to him over and over and his little giggle at certain parts. I can't always break out the journal every time, so I scribble the date and the event ("ate paper") on a piece of paper and write it out when I can take the time.

I just write the antidotes in the back of their baby book or on whatever black page I can find. It's crowded and in small print, but it's also dated and in my handwriting so they can see that too.

This won't help with your 21-month-old, but for your next one, I have a scrapbook calendar for each of my kids. Every month, I write down special little things like a new word, and put up pictures of that month. You can buy them on amazon, just search for first year calendar or scrapbook calendar. My son is 3 now, and I have one for every year of his life. I really love it.

Wow, what a great idea from MDmom, setting up gmail and sending them emails to sift through at a later date!

In fact, I wonder whether some clever mom has already thought of the idea of creating a 'bucket' type website where you can save/preserve writings, pix, etc. Hmmmm...

:)

I started a blog recording the things my kids say and do, mainly to keep my parents connected, when my son was 16 months old. I'm so glad I did and wish I had started sooner. Now, when I put together our digital photo books, I can go back and copy and paste blog entries into the pages.

Have you seen Project Life by Becky Higgins? It's the best format for easy memory keeping. It is a great set of products that will change the way you keep those moments! I started 3 years ago and love it! Check out her website and order on amazon! You can make it as easy or involved as you want too, and the results are so great. It started out as a picture a day project for me, take a picture and journal about it...I got another kit to go back and do my 12 year old daughter's first years...I'm not going to do a picture a day, but just use the format to document the pictures I do have. I think you'll love it...check it out :)

I'm a big scrapbooker so of course I'd say that :) I do a scrapbook every year of his life. So I started with birth-1, 1-2 & so on. I keep track of the good & bad things. At the end of the book, I write him a letter about his year!

Good luck & have fun!