“Do you remember me when I was a baby!?” my son used to ask me at three years old. “Of course!” I’d reply, though at the time I didn’t have anything tangible to show him.
Organising my children’s baby photos was a job that was weighing heavily on my mind. I felt so overwhelmed at even the thought of it and the special memories and photos were continuing to accumulate. I had to find an easy solution – and fast!
I wanted a way in which my children would enjoy looking through the photos, as well as a place where I could record special memories and details which I knew I’d never remember in years to come.
Then I had an idea – a poem photobook!
The idea came from a beautiful poem my mother-in-law wrote my husband and I for our wedding day of our journey up until that point, which in our newly married days I had put together along with photos in a photobook. That got me thinking about similar poems I had written for my Mum and Nana the years before, as well as one poem in particular that my Nana, a keen writer herself, had written about her many grandchildren and our unique qualities.
What a great idea – I could do the same for my own children as a way of capturing and recording the memories in a meaningful and fun way!
So, the poem photobooks began! They contain all of the special details about my children’s lives – their birth story, newborn days and every stage thereafter, their interests, personalities and funny phrases they have said. I’ve included photos, their artwork, awards, handwriting samples and snippets of funny stories they’ve written.
But you might be thinking, how on earth do I remember everything for the poems? Well, the truth is I don’t. To keep track and up to date, throughout each year I add any details to an email to myself and once a year I consolidate it all into a long rhyming poem and gift it to the kids on their birthday.
I have found writing the poems has really helped me appreciate my children’s unique qualities and personalities, helps me appreciate the little moments and reflect on how much they have learnt, grown and changed throughout the year. It’s great having a snippet of their entire lives captured in one little book.
I was quite behind on the photo side of things which felt very overwhelming but knowing how important it was, over a few months I slowly chipped away at the 19,000 photos on my phone for their updated editions. It’s more of a chapter book now with each book already containing around 100 pages each and they are only 7 and 8 years old! The latest editions are super cute at 15×15 size which I just love.
I have also created a larger sized family poem photobook for my husband of our family memories together (which is next to update!) and a couple of years ago I put one together for my parents and siblings of my own childhood, containing some classic 90s family photos and included all of the funny family stories that have been repeated throughout the years.
It’s exciting to think of my children’s 18th and 21st birthdays when all these little memories and funny stories of their childhood are recorded for them to look through, which I’m sure will come around faster than I can imagine. I’m already realising how quickly they change and develop and that cute phrase I felt like they were saying three months ago, was actually three years ago! How!?
It’s a great feeling having the latest editions up to date and I look forward to seeing what are in the future chapters. Now if I’m laughing at something the kids have said or done, they’ll smirk and say, “Well, I guess THAT’S going in my poem then!?” Yes, yes it is!
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