Whether it’s the first day of school, their first time riding a bike, or the many birthday parties you throw for your kids, parents want to remember and save every special memory. However, there is often so much going on, from their first days on earth after you give birth to the panic of getting all their school clothes together, that saving these memories is something you might forget.
How You Can Capture Your Kids’ Biggest Moments (and Show Them Off Later!)
Have no fear, though. If you get ahead and know how you want to record your kids as soon as possible, you’ll be able to squeeze these moments in whenever they experience something amazing. If you’re stuck for ideas, here is a useful list of options, and you can use as many or as few as you like.
Record Them Early
Your child’s first few days are a whirlwind of overcoming the exhaustion of giving birth and friends or family stopping by to meet the newest addition to your household. This gives you the perfect opportunity to record them early, and you don’t even need to be the one running the show.
Use your phone camera – or even someone else’s to snap those precious moments where you and your child are lost in one another’s eyes. Don’t just settle for sentimental photos, though. These memories should capture everything. As gross as it might sound, the first nappy change or the first time they spit up down the back of your favorite blouse should be cherished, because the first time only happens once.
Write Down Funny Things They Say
There’s a reason that Kids Says the Darndest Things was such a popular TV show. Every parent could relate to the often-strange and always-hilarious quips that kids come out with, even if it sometimes bordered on downright embarrassing.
Take a small notebook or diary and write down the funny things they say once they learn how to talk. This will be a record of some of the odd things that come out of their mouths, and you can collect everything into a proper book that you can store on the bookshelf, complete with a range of photographs and more.
Take To The Skies
Photographs and home videos are a staple of many families. They are a fantastic way to kill an afternoon where everyone’s too lazy to do anything, and instead, you can sit back and reminisce on a period where everything seemed simpler.
But these only tell one side of the story. Many families are taking to the skies with a video drone to capture moments and memories differently. Whether it’s birthday parties or family get-togethers, this modern approach makes sure everyone makes an appearance. You can learn more about how to properly use a drone to make sure you capture all the best moments from a perspective you’d never see otherwise.
Create A Scrapbook
As much as you think you’ll remember everything that happens in your child’s life, you’ll soon realize that these memories fade into something you can barely hold. This is why a childhood scrapbook is so useful. YOu’ll be surprised how many much you can capture your kids’ biggest moments for years to come!
Buying a large, blank book with a strong cover means you can cut and stick whatever you want inside. This could be copies of their birth certificate or ticket stubs from their first trip to the zoo or a football game. If you don’t have the time to start this scrapbook as soon as they’re born, still make sure to save everything important, because they can help you when they get old enough to be trusted with glue and scissors.
Record The Entire Journey
Your journey as a parent does not just start when you give birth. Most parents will tell you that the first day you know for certain that you’re pregnant is where the journey begins.
So, you’ll want to include this when thinking about your child’s (and your) biggest, most important moments. A daily photo will show your bump growing in real-time. Likewise, after they are born, you can take weekly photos to show how they grow. Make sure you post these photos or at least save them somewhere because you’ll want to look back on them at some point.
Their First Day of Anything
Your child will experience hundreds, if not thousands of firsts during their childhood. These first can include walking, talking, going to kindergarten or school, or even their first home run in Little League.
And the last thing you want to do is forget about this, so keeping a record through photos or little notes in your parenting journal will guarantee that it’s a memory you can cherish forever. Carry a small notebook around with you, or keep a notepad on the refrigerator to write down the when and the what to save for later.
Treasure Boxes
Sometimes, it’s impractical to save some of your child’s favorite things in a scrapbook, and this is why many parents have embraced the treasure box to accompany it. You can go as big or as modest as you like with this, but whatever you choose, you’ll have a safe and secure place to keep some of the most important things in your child’s life.
Whether it’s their favorite blanket, outfit, or even their baby teeth, this treasure box will be the perfect keepsake, and you can pass it on to your kids (sans the baby teeth, probably), once they are ready for kids themselves.
Letters From Them
Grandparents and other relatives won’t be able to spend all their time with your child, but this shouldn’t mean they miss out on the big moments.
Writing letters addressed to relatives from your child even before they can write or talk is a cute and fun way to keep others in the loop. This way, no one feels they are missing out, and they can watch your child grow, even if they aren’t alongside them.
Smile
We all know that kids can often get too wrapped up in their lives and it’s fun that they don’t want to sit and have a photo taken. Still, there’s always plenty of opportunities to capture their biggest moments whether they realize it or not. You can save these for their 18th birthday, their wedding, or just to pull out and embarrass them when they bring their friends over.