“Slow down…” Recently, I’ve found myself telling my two girls to stop growing up more than once. Anyone else feel that way?
One recent day at work, I even found myself in tears after watching the music video for Nichole Nordeman’s new song “Slow Down,” an ode to childhood going way too fast. It spoke to every mama’s heart. (If you missed it, just Google it; the video had 7 million other mamas bawling their eyes out in just three days.)
The whole thing got me thinking about how my little baby girls are growing up so fast in front of me. My youngest lost her first two teeth and started riding a bike without training wheels and my oldest daughter got her temps and is driving. How can I get them to slow down?
Now, I’m a sentimental mama and I love saving moments from their lives to look back on, but after watching that music video I wondered what more I could do to capture those special everyday moments. Here are three unique ways that I’ve found to create and keep some precious memories.
1. Video or record your child reading. Is there anything cuter than the voice of a child at a young age? My youngest is 5 and her voice is right at the prime age of sheer “cuteness.” I want to bottle it up and save it forever. Since my daughter is reading now, I decided to take the opportunity to record her reading. It’s something different — we have videos of our kids playing sports, singing, dancing, etc. — but learning to read for the first time is special. I bought a very cheap iPhone tripod on Amazon and set up stage for recording. It’s fun to choose a book like “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” or “The Giving Tree” to record. You’ll love looking back on the videos or listening to the recording to hear their little voice read for the first time.
2. Teach your child something new and help them write and illustrate a book about It. About a year ago, I had the opportunity to chat with one of my favorite recording artists, Lauren Daigle. She told a story about her mom teaching her how to plant a flower outside. She went on to say that after they planted the flower, her mom had her write a short story and illustrate planting the flower in her own words. Isn’t that beautiful? It’s always so neat to see and hear how kids explain something back to you — and having that memory can be very special. Add this idea to your summer bucket list.
3. Start a keepsake gift for them. Does anyone still do Hope Chests? I don’t hear much about them anymore, but I do love the idea of starting a keepsake for the kids with the goal of giving it to them when they’re older. Pinterest is bursting with ideas, but this is one of my favorites: grab a copy of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss and have their teacher sign it every year. I know this sounds tricky and can be a hard secret to keep through the years, but it’s a very clever idea and a unique way to give a meaningful gift once they’re older.
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