Photobooks to the Rescue!

I love pulling out my oldest son's scrapbooks. As I flip through the pages, I recall special memories and fun times that we had.

By the time my daughter came along we had invested in a digital camera - needless to say, she did not suffer from the "less pictures of the 2nd child" syndrome. However, I wasn't so good at actually scrapbooking the pictures - that would take more time and creativity than I could muster with two little ones.

And poor baby number three, not as many pictures and nary a homemade scrapbook!

I did have good intentions with my sweet 3rd child. I had even purchased a complete (and completely ADORABLE) scrapbook kit - album, matching pages, stickers - the works! But after he reached his first birthday and I still had not produced even one page, I loaded it up with my "things to consign" stash - and I headed to my favorite photobook site.

Ah, it was so nice to just sit down at the computer, upload my pictures and drop and drag them into place. A couple hours later I had a photobook of his first year. A few more clicks and that book was on its way to me. No agonizing over which sketch to use (they have pre-selected layouts to choose from). No need to lug all of my supplies out (all I needed was my computer).

I know, it's not the same as creating a book of memories with my own hands, and I admit, I do prefer the homemade pages that I created for my older children. But at this season of my life this option fits the bill. I get a tangible book filled with memories of my childrens early years.

And guess what, my kids love flipping through these books just as much as they enjoy the scrapbooks that I spent many hours putting together.

Who knows, maybe someday I'll have the time and creative energy to do more paper scrapbooking. But for now, I'm sticking with my photobooks.