As a scrapper, I had all these dreams about the intricately beautiful and detailed pages I would make for my daughter when she came home. That was before she was actually here and before I realized that I would be lucky to carve out ten minutes a week to work on a scrapbook layout. We have been home six months and I have only completed six or seven pages and have a photo box full of photos (and hundreds more that need to be ordered from snapfish!)

So I have realized two things: I need to find time to work on Ella’s scrapbook and I need to be content with making simpler layouts. Not every page needs to be full of embellishments and lengthy journaling; I will try to be happy with getting my pictures down and a brief summary of the day they were taken.

There are many companies out there that cater to adoptive parents and create lifebooks, which are essentially baby books for the adopted child. I couldn’t find any that I really loved so I decided that I would scrap a page a month with a picture of Ella at that age and list her milestones from that month. So far I have completed two of them, but I’ve been diligent at keeping notes so when I go to do the others I won’t be scrambling to remember when she said what and how much she weighed at what month.

I have read a bit from other adoptive parents who created scrapbooks for their kids and one idea that I really loved was to create a book for you and a book for them. By creating a special little scrapbook that tells their life story, you will be encouraging communication and pride in their adoption story. And making the book suitable for young hands will let them look at and read it at their leisure.

Have any of you created scrapbooks for your kids? If so, I would love to hear about them!


Related Links:
An Ethiopian Album: Scrapbooking for Your Kids, from the Ethiopian Adoption Blog
Sponge Art and Scrapbooking from the Older Child Adoption Blog
Passing On My Love from the Open Adoption Blog