Because Babies Grow Up

I love journals. It’s the writer/storyteller in me that just goes wild when I get a new journal. As much as I enjoy opening a blank book and writing away, I love journals with prompts even more. I think I have a suppressed love of filling out forms. I don’t know where it came from, but it surfaces about tax time each year So I was really excited when Carrie Lundell agreed to feature her This Is Me journal as part of the Winter Wonderland carnival.

Aside from the prompts in the journal, I was drawn to Carrie’s slogan: Scrap the Scrapbook and Preserve the Personality! I have never been a very good scrapbooker and as the girls have gotten older and busier, I’ve fallen farther and farther behind in getting pictures in albums. Carrie’s slogan broke through my fog created by feelings of guilt and being overwhelmed and shone like the bright sun on a new day. I was pumped to share this journal with Sammi.

And Sammi did not disappoint! She was so excited that we got a book just for her and that she got to draw and write in it all by herself. Carrie had suggested reading the parent’s guide on the last page before beginning. So with an antsy preschooler at my side, I flipped to the back and scanned. The layout made it easy to ready quickly and absorb the tips so that in just a few moments I was ready to share the journal with Sammi.

I had her start by drawing her self portrait on the first page. In hindsight, I think I should have warmed her up to drawing herself before drawing on the actual first page. She grabbed her favorite color, pink, and scribbled away. After that, I gave her a piece of paper and talked about drawing herself and got a very adorable, 3-year-old’s perspective on what Sammi looks like to herself. I’m tucking that portrait in the pocket at the back of the book to keep to show her she did really draw herself, not just crazy pink lines.

We worked through the first few pages. I turned the prompts into questions I asked Sammi and then wrote down her answers. Some of my favorite are that her favorite thing about being 3 is going to preschool. But she doesn’t actually go to preschool! I haven’t found a program that has space so we’ve visited a few, but I’ve mostly decided to do preschool activities at home. Another favorite is that if she could have any pet, it would be an elephant. And then she drew this adorable picture of the elephant. It’s hard to see, but her elephant has seven legs and a tail. She was very pleased with the long trunk she drew (top left).

While we could get any book and so some of the same things, I would choose this keepsake journal for a few reasons. First, I love the design. It’s professional but appealing to kids. Second, the prompts are already there and, after flipping through the book, there are ideas I never would have thought to include. One last reason, because it’s already formatted and bound in a book, I’m more likely to finish it with Sammi over the course of the year and then keep it for her to look through in the future.

As part of the Winter Wonderland, Carrie is offering one This Is Me journal to a BBGU reader. Make sure you comment on the Join the Winter Wonderland post to enter the giveaway. You can also comment on this post for an extra in the giveaway. This giveaway is open until January 31 at 11:59 pm EST.

What memories have you preserved that are special to you know? Would they have been forgotten if you hadn’t done something to preserve them?