I have SO much to write about Disney World. Since we got back I’ve been in a frenzy sorting through photos, ordering prints and making photo books. I’m so proud of myself for actually being on top of it for once. I knew if I didn’t get to printing off the pictures immediately I’d never get around to it.

I really need to go back and do that for my kids’ baby photos. Do you ever get started with the realization of how quickly your child has grown? Who doesn’t? Every day at some point I’m taken aback by my daughter and how she’s grown so much over the last four and a half years. I’m constantly thinking “I can’t believe you came from me!” about both of my children.

That first year they grow so much. One thing I enjoyed most was capturing some of those fleeting moments in as many ways possible. Capturing those first moments to share with your family and friends on a birth announcement is exciting. These Tiny Prints cards were the first physical keepsakes I had for each of my children. But I didn’t stop there.

If you want ideas for more ways to capture and cherish those little features after the cards are sent, I’m here to help. Here are five fun ideas to document your baby’s first year.

1. Baby Journal: It can be as simple or as complex as you want. I bought a journal for each of my babies but confession: I didn’t complete them. My blog essentially turned into a journal where I have logged their growth and milestones. I plan to print out some of the things I’ve written for them soon. A regular journal works just as well to write down your thoughts during your baby’s first year.

2. Letters: These can be done in a variety of ways. I’ve heard of moms writing letters and keeping them sealed, intended to give to their child at a certain age. Another idea is to create an email box for your child and send emails to them periodically. Some day it could be fun for them to search that email box looking for the story about their first blowout.

I wrote a variety of love letters to my kids overlaying photographs, and others that were monthly letters during their first year of life.

3. Daily/Weekly/ Monthly Photos: I was obsessed with daily photos when my kids were young. But this can be as extravagant or as simple as you want. With my son I set the number of days old he was next to him every day for his first year of life. I really need to finish uploading all of these here, but the ones I’ve saved so far can be seen here.

Other ideas are using chalkboards or monthly onesie stickers to capture your baby’s growth from month to month.

4. Videos: You know I’m big on video. Originally I wanted to record 1-5 seconds a day of my son then string it together in a 365 second video, but I didn’t keep up with it. I still plan to take the videos I have and make something for his first year, because I have a lot more footage of him than of my daughter and watching his yawns, hiccups, and coos never get old.

5. Scrapbook: I don’t know if this is old school or new school. It’s sort of a combination of some of these other ideas using journaling and photos, but you don’t necessarily need to have a system down for how often you take the photos or how you do it. No two would be the same. I’ve heard of Project Life, which seems to be perfect for people like me who are scrapbook dummies.

I have a long way to go for taking some of these things I’ve been working on digitally and turning them into physical keepsakes. I love looking at the photos I’ve printed for photo books or birth announcements, and watching videos I’ve saved for easy access. Hopefully these will get you started on making memories you can flip through or watch and enjoy.

What are your favorite keepsakes for making first year memories last?

*This post was sponsored by Tiny Prints in Partnership with CafeMom. 

Tags: documentation, making memories last