I have two sons who delight me to no end. My older one is very easy going and always has been. He was an extremely happy baby and a delightful toddler. Even today, he's very even-tempered, sweet, and creative. He is always ready to lend a helping hand. He is a lot like my husband.
My younger son, on the other hand, has taught me much patience. He is a character- and he always has been. We've never known what he would say or do. This boy has challenged me at every step. He's also very loving. He has an extra dollop of sweetness to balance out his. . . spunk.
I made this book to show how much he grew in one year. When you read his accomplishments, they may
seem like small things, but I remember them as being
really big. :)
The title of this book is, "Look How Far I've Come This Year."
On the cover, I placed large letters that spell out Look, and I tied a small tag to one of the letters that says my son's name.
I used a matchbook style album.
The cover is pretty basic with just one piece of pattern paper, chipboard letters, and one piece of ribbon tied around the edge.
The first page of the book says the whole title.
I covered 3/4 of the page with pattern paper. I printed the title out from the computer and placed colorful eyelets at the corners.
I used the first layout as my dedication page. There's a photo of my son on the left.
On the right is a little note I wrote to him that says:
Ethan, you've grown up so much over this past year. You're not my baby anymore. Everyday you do or say something new. You are such a creative and smart little boy. This book is celebrating how far you've come this year from age 3 1/2-4 1/2.
For each layout, I covered both sides of the background pages with pattern paper 3/4 of the way. On the left I adhered the paper at the top so the background page peeks out at the bottom. On the right page, I did the opposite by placing the pattern paper at the bottom of the page. That left room for my title at the top.
The title says, "You write your name and everybody else's too!"
The journaling says:
Last year when signing your name, you made a big E with extra lines that sort of resembled the bottom of a rake. You got very frustrated when I tried to work with you on writing
the rest of your name.
This year, you not only write your name legibly, but you can write all the
family members' names, too.
When I planned this book, I made a list of the milestones my son had accomplished, then took photos to show each point.
The title says, "You wear socks with your shoes."
The journaling says:
Last year I had the hardest time getting you to wear socks with your shoes. You absolutely refused. So every school day, you wore tennis shoes with your bare feet. Let me tell you, it only took about a week before your shoes started smelling awful. I tried, Daddy tried, and even Uncle J. tried to convince you to be a big boy and wear socks. You refused.
This year, you didn't even challenge me about it. You put on your own socks and shoes before school Your shoes don't smell nearly as bad!
On each layout, I placed a photo on the left side that goes with the journaling.
The title says, "You enjoy drawing."
The journaling says:
Last year, you took very little time with your pictures. Your drawings of people consisted of a
head (without a face), arms, and legs.
This year, you take more time and add more detail. Your people have eyes, ears, fingers, and sometimes even hair. We love to see your delightful pictures!
I placed one embellishment at the bottom corner of each photo.
The title says, "You take your time when coloring."
The journaling says:
Last year you were a speed colorer. You didn't care what the finished product looked like. Sometimes you just used one color for a whole page.
This year you take your time coloring. You color inside the lines and choose appropriate colors for things. You make beautiful pictures!
For each title, I used letter stickers for one word, then used my own handwriting for the rest.
The title says, "You can ride a bike."
The journaling says:
Last year, you couldn't even ride a trike.
This year you quickly became a tricycle master, and after riding your trike so hard that you broke it, you moved up to a bigger and tougher bike. Although you still have training wheels, you ride like you're in a race.
I chose a set of pattern papers to use in this book.
They were so busy, I felt I didn't need much else on the pages.
The title says, "You play well by yourself."
The journaling says:
Last year you always had your brother around, so you had a constant companion.
This year with Sam starting Kindergarten, you have had to learn to play by yourself. At first it was difficult for you. You were ready to go pick up Sammy by 9:30 in the morning, even though he wasn't done until 2:40. But you've gotten much better. If you have a string or a rubber band, you stay entertained for quite some time.
For each journaling card, I typed the stories, then printed them out. Then I just trimmed them to fit in my album.
The title says, "You know how to spell some words."
The journaling says:
Last year the only word you could spell was your own name.
This year, you have developed a keen interest in writing. We are constantly spelling something out for you to write. Many of your pictures have captions. We get written apologies from you when you've broken something or poked somebody with your plastic sword. We always know they're coming because we've spelled them out to you, but it still melts our hearts when we see your little boy handwriting spelling out your feelings.
This is a pretty basic album. You can see that I used the same layout on every page. There weren't many steps to complete it.
The title says, "You can use the computer by yourself."
The journaling says:
Last year, we would not have even let you sit by the computer without constant supervision.
This year, you are such a big boy that you can play games all by yourself. It's fun to watch your little hand moving the mouse.
This album would be easy to reproduce. You could do milestones that your child accomplishes in his or her first year, second year, or even his or her senior year of high school (a page for homecoming, SATs, Prom. . .).
The title says, "You are so thoughtful."
The journaling says:
You've always been a sweet boy, but his year you have become so thoughtful. You make personal creations for everybody. You make beautiful hand drawn birthday cards. You make love notes. At Christmas, we stood in line for over thirty minutes so you could give Santa the beautiful picture you made for him.
My son is twelve now, but I still love reading this book and remembering
what he was like at this age.
The title says, "You are so grown-up"
The journaling says:
I am so proud of the young man you're becoming. You've grown so much so quickly, and I look forward to watching how much you grow over this next year.
Always try your hardest and be your best. Love, Mommy
For the last page of the book, I added one final photo of my son.
There are lots of pre-made albums out there. You could easily take photos of your child and make an album like this. You'll treasure it always- I promise!
Thanks for stopping by and God bless.
Blessed are all those who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:18
