Monday, May 18, 2009

Mom Tip Monday: Record keeping- tracking the race horse pace of childhood one letter at a time.


:Tips for tracking the race horse pace of your child's life:

With kindergarten looming on our horizon I've been a bit nostaligic lately. Trying to remember the sound of his baby coos, what his first words were and how they sounded, the first time he dressed himself, those first free thoughts that I had nothing to do with.... you know the moments that count in their life that never make it to the doctors chart or records. 

I started a small journal I keep by my bed when he was still in the womb. Now every few months it seems,  I pull it out before bed and try to catch up. Or when something really funny happens I try to write it down. I'm so bad at remembering to do it and I feel those memories slipping away. Both equally disappointing. And the second child is worse off than the first, my own fault I know, but still a burden I can't seem to lift.

So for those of you just starting off, or wanting to catch up, here are a few great products to help you get writing and stop having to spin your wheels remembering those "adorable-nesses" of your little ones.

  1. Baby and Toddler Tales by Tiny Tales [Perfect for jotting down quick thoughts, any event, anywhere! We heart Lara at Tiny Tales.]
  2. Baby Gift Book Set by Loralin Design [Stylish journals for tracking events, feedings, and gifts]
  3. School Years keepsake book by Chronicle Books [I had a book almost identical growing up, and I've got this one on it's way here for each of my boys.] 
  4. Baby's Life Calendar by Pulp Factory [The most stylish yet affordable baby calendar I've seen on the market- no sheep, no ducks, just coolness and a simple way to mark daily or special events.]
WIN: Leave a comment on any of this month's (May) Mom Tips and be entered to win an Organic Reusable Tote from Bel-Kai Designs.  Comments must be left by 5.30.09 11pm CST. Winner chosen at random and announced on this blog and by twitter on 6.01.09. Winner will have 3 business days to claim prize. Must live reside in USA to win.


9 comments:

  1. oh, enter me! Great tips. I'll have to look into getting something for Andie--I've got a journal going now, but I'm doing a terrible job keeping it current.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello! I had the typical baby books, but the ideas are much more clever! The School Year's
    keepsake book is fabulous. Many thanks, Cindi
    jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi! great tip...I love keeping track on my blog. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I totally know what you're talking about. I get another year with our oldest, being that she's an Oct baby, but the thought of her turning 5 brings me tears.

    I started a journal for our oldest 2...the twins will get theirs soon too...and it's fun to write about the funny/not so funny/cute things she does.

    I love the ideas you've posted.

    Tiff

    ReplyDelete
  5. ChristinMay 18, 2009

    Love the ideas. I've gone through a different method with each child. First attempting the traditional baby book, only to have it still sitting half completed 7 years later. Next, I attempted writing things in the Baby/Toddler years journal, a bit better at tracking, but still incomplete. I've now moved on to cute leather bound journals, and I'm still a bit spotty in my recording, but at least now a bunch of blank pages marked for specifics aren't staring me in the face. I am most definitely getting the school years books for all the kids. I had forgotten about it after first seeing the new/retro version at an airport boutique a few years back. Thanks for reminding me of it! Keep all the mom tips coming.
    Christin
    mielkec@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great ideas and a great giveaway! Thanks a bunch!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great ideas! They really grow up so quickly. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, those are great ideas! I also-half filled a baby book for my first as well as being very sporadic with journal entries in a blank book. With the second, I feel like the baby book isn't even going to get written in at this point.

    But I did find a great journal for writing down the funny things my toddler says, and I write in that at least once a week or so and try to remember all the funny saying and phrases we can think of to record.

    ReplyDelete
  9. great ideas. enter me! :) my best tip is to add pockets inside all my books, mainly because we had those school books growing up too and I loved the pockets then!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing!!