Not a Scrapbooker

I am not a scrapbooker (much to my husband's dismay). I stole an idea from a friend who is also not a scrapbooker: rather than try to make folders or big books of all the fabulous artwork and events and vacations she and her children participated in, she used boxes. I grabbed empty totes that I had (nothing too huge) and stored Hayden's important milestone papers, artwork, items to reminiscence over (when my baby boy is HUGE! and gone; tear...), etc. I've done this for two years now: one for his birth through first year of "school" and the second one for his second year of school (ages 2/3). I love it because I can go back through the boxes that I've marked and ooh! and ahh! over each piece, and I did my best to date his artwork. I do not print pictures and put them in books like my grandparents did (again, not my thing and we have this awesome thing called technology, so I usually only print the pictures I really want to display or else I whip out my handy smartphone and just show him off that way!).

Now that we're in Canada and I'm getting to be a stay-at-home mom for a bit, I find myself missing picking him up from school and all his fabulous creations. And thanks to Pinterest, I have found some great ideas, while others have left me feeling like a mother who is not involved enough (sigh). I know there's no way to do everything I find, and when we either have or adopt another baby, I want to be able to do similar things to remember these sweet, sweet "baby" years. There are definitely pictures, art projects, memories, etc. I wish we'd done with Hayden. But I'm trying to not let it be too late for other ideas. For Christmas 2011, we made gifts for everyone from Hayden. I've already found the project I want to do this year. In fact, we'll probably get started soon. I just love being able to give gifts that may not be able to be used but are given for their sentimental value. Hopefully, it shows we've put more thought and time into our gifts than "Oh, look! It's another tie." or whatever habits we fall into with gift giving. (And no, I'm not sharing what we're doing this year as many family members tend to read this. If you're not family and you're curious, let me know!)

I'm definitely trying to mark the holidays or other important days with projects Hayden and I create. I remember holidays as times where my sister and I spent hours with our mom in the kitchen making way too many sweets and Chex Mix and yummy goodness. Hayden loves art projects and he helped me make quite a few last year--you can see our footprint turkeys on Facebook if you're really interested. I want him to remember growing up as a time where mom sat down with him and made stuff (even if my OCD nature craves perfection and his toddler/little boy personality does not!); I can't always take him where I want to (ie., Disney now). But we can make memories like I have planned for next week--a morning at the sprinkler park four blocks away with a picnic lunch; movie dates at home with mom with dad is at football practice; a photo scavenger hunt of various shapes.

So now, if you've read this far, you might be scratching your head wondering how my not being a scrapbooker ties into all the mumbo jumbo you just deciphered. Well, here's our big project #1: a handprint/footprint ABC book. This will be something he can look back at when he's older and I'll have to cherish always. Once we finish the alphabet, I plan to venture into the months, seasons, holidays (as they come up) and numbers. Google some of this stuff and see what you find. It's overwhelming!

See what I mean?! Some of this I stumbled across accidentally. I'm creating a binder with sections for all of our handprint/footprint art. I can't wait to see how all of this turns out. Happy creating, everyone!