guest write a message on a small piece of paper and then collects them in a jewelry box. “The message can be a favorite Bible scripture, a serious personal message, or a favorite motto or quote,” she explains. Walker-Craft says she and her daughter enjoy reflecting on the memories and the messages, particularly the ones from Walker- Craft’s late grandmother. Stacy Haynes is a mom whose kids, ages 10 and 11, each have a simple plastic storage bin for memorabilia. Organizing them is easy; Haynes simply drops the most recent items on top. “We have everything from soccer shirts to baby teeth and school report cards, all in two bins. So on moving day, after college, and when they move into their own place, their memories are already packed away.” The simple box is a family tradition; Haynes says
her mom gave her the memory box from her childhood once she was married with children. 4. Film them. There is nothing quite like a video to preserve a moment. At the end of each year, Bailey Gaddis, mother and author of Feng Shui Mommy, creates a “Year in Review” video montage of all the short takes she’s recorded of her four-year-old son throughout the year. Not only does the video showcase milestones and random sweet and funny moments, Gaddis loves that they double as holiday gifts for the grandparents. As an added bonus, videos won’t create clutter. 5. Collect them (Dr. Suess style). My husband bought each of our kids a copy of Dr. Suess’s Oh the Places
You’ll Go. Once a year, he makes sure it’s signed by the important people in their lives, including ourselves, extended family, close friends, regular babysitters, and teachers. The inscriptions are reminiscent of the sentiments you’d see in a yearbook. My husband plans to give the girls their books when they graduate high school. Meanwhile, the books have been sitting on my desk for four weeks, and my husband has been gently nudging me to write my annual messages. I can only be responsible for one thing, it seems. (See #1). There were many things I did not know before I became a parent. One thing I did know was that I never wanted an abandoned baby book in my home. It turns out, there’s no one right way when it comes to parenting or capturing memories.
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2024 FALL | PINK&BLUE 17
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