Playing Catch-up

My friend Catherine posted something on her blog that I have been thinking about a lot over the past few weeks. I thought it was such a huge coincidence.

I was the oldest of 4 kids and my baby book is about as jam-packed full of stuff as possible. The "first" of everything is recorded. Haircuts and teeth are taped in it, as are napkins and invitations from birthday parties, pictures, drawings, etc. It won't even shut properly because it's so full. My sister was born a couple of years after me and while hers isn't nearly as full as mine, she does have some fun things to look back on in there. Then comes my brother with much less in his. Then my youngest brother - his book is sadly pretty empty. Maybe his birth stats and a couple of other things. I always wondered growing up why my mom didn't take the time to lovingly complete my siblings' baby books in the same fashion that mine was made. I never understood - until I had kids of my own that is!

When my first daughter was born, I decided that I would scrapbook a baby book for her first 3 yrs. She has TONS of pictures, all neatly scrapbooked along with her "firsts". She has a complete scrapbook of her first 3 years of life.

Then came daughter #2. I started her scrapbook and worked on it over the years, but I'm sad to say that it STILL is not done. Needless to say, I have not even begun to make books for daughter #3 and my son - and now I'm having another baby in a few weeks. I will NEVER catch up!!

I may have had an easier time if I had not chosen to scrapbook their baby books. I am not a scrapbooker - although looking through the drawers of paper, stickers, and tools you wouldn't believe it :) I just never feel like I have a big enough block of time to myself where it would be worth it for me to pull the stuff out. And if it is pulled out, the kids are all over it. Besides that, there is the monumental task of arranging it all in order first -and before that, ordering the pictures!! Now that all we use are digital cameras, I rarely even order pictures anymore.
All of this being said, I have decided what I am going to do to try to catch up. I will try to finish Kate's scrapbook since it is nearly done. Then I will get on mypublisher.com, choose the pictures I want and ORDER the scrapbooks already bound. I figure this will not only save me time (and probably some money) but it will make me feel better as a mom. Lexie (#3) sometimes looks through her sister's scrapbook and wonders why she doesn't have one of her when she was a baby :(

Just another thing to add to my growing to-do list for this summer :)