You Ate Cereal Today!

Today, you dragged the crock pot
to the patio!

I am happy to say I filled out a baby book for Liam. It's not complete, but I did my best to write on most every page. There's one child who won't need therapy! Baby #2 is another story. I'm the second born and I remember the day I found my sister's baby book. I found a second book right under it and started thumbing through, excited to read what my parents wrote about my first months of life. Alas... the book was for the dog.

I'm not bitter though...

I have always struggled with journaling on a consistent basis, so I knew that any kind of record-keeping for my children would probably face the same fate. Then I heard of a neat idea. A way to "journal" some of the special moments in a 21st century kind-of-way. Create an email account for your child and email him or her when you want to share something special. Then on a particular birthday, you give them the username and password. They get to peruse the emails you've been sending them over the years and laugh, cry or blush. I know, I know. Who knows if that particular email provider will be around in say, 16 years when you give your child this "gift" but it's worth a shot, right?

I love this because, thanks to my phone, I can email Liam at a moment's notice with a special thought or message of love. It also makes me send him more "minor" things and I think those emails are the ones that will really mean something special. He won't just know when he got his first tooth or what his first few words were, he'll also know, for example, that on February 20th, 2013 he ate cereal with milk for the first time! He's eaten dry cereal before, but this was the first bowl, spoon, cereal & milk event. It was Honey Nut Cheerios (yes, I should have opted for regular Cheerios) and he got to drink the milk afterwards too. He LOVED the milk! I love that I will be able to share how I'm feeling about his special moments, too. Anxiety over his first day of school or excitement in the lead up to his First Holy Communion. It's a great way to share how God is leading you in your parenting. You can even share what prayers you've said over the years.

If your child is already 7 or 10 or 15 years old, start this anyway. It will mean something to them. I guarantee it!