Don't you have those moments where you crack up at your baby or kids and say, "I have to write that down", but you never do? Maybe they said or did something hilarious or super sweet that you want to remember forever. I tried journaling both on paper and on computer, but it just got overwhelming to keep up with it. I'm still trying the photo albums, but I just have a pile of pictures in my folders. You don't need anything fancy or elaborate. You just want to remember, so you can share them with your babies when they grow up.
I just discovered 2 ways of doing this from 2 super dads.
1. Your phone!! My good friend, Troy, keeps an ongoing log of these events and phrases from his kids on his Blackberry note function. When it happens, he just types away. When we were on a business trip, he shared memories from when his kids were 2 years old! They are now 8. So, he kept this method up for a long time. Here are some of his entries:
3/9/2005 - (4 yrs old daughter, a day after her doll’s rocking chair had been taken because she was abusing it) "Daddy I think we need to review the rules of the house. When someone says 'please' that means you should do what they ask. Like 'please can I have my rocking chair back.'"
02/08/2008: (3.5 yrs old son) - Wanting to play with a new Lego set labeled 7 - 15 yr olds, I explained that the pieces were too small and he could play with it when he turned 7 yrs old. He ran off to his room and came back saying "Daddy, I am ready for the game - I have my binoculars so I will be able to see the small pieces!"
2. Google Word Doc!!! Today, my hubby just shared with me a Google Word doc of all the funny stories about lil' K. I had no idea he was keeping something like this. It melted my heart. Lil' K will grow up with all of these sweet memories. Now, we share the document on Google, so I can add my stories to it throughout the day. Here is an excerpt from it:
1/10/2009 (23 months) We were watching Sesame Street and they were showing a clip of children playing on the beach. Being the dead of winter, you were wanting to do something outside too, so you put your hands together and put them palm up to the TV as if you were receiving something and said, "Open, open...please" because you wanted to go play on the beach in the TV. Hilarious.
April 2009 (26 months) My #2 potty training story for you. You went pee fine, but you waited for that perfect moment to go poo poo. I read that mommies should show kids that they poo, too. So, I took that opportunity to show you. I called you over and said, “look! Mommy went poo poo! Look!!” You peered into the bowl, which wasn’t much lower than you and you responded, “(gasp) Good job, mommy!! You get a BIG treat!!!” and you start clapping.
Again, nothing fancy and no huge grand stories, but memories that are EVERYDAY, simple, and meaningful. It's all about just capturing the moments when you remember them. Don't stress out about the form it takes. I'd love to hear YOUR fun memories! That would be a great contest...and the prize would be just laughter from everyone b/c we all can relate. :)