When my twins were born, my goal was to make each of them a scrapbook chronicling their first year. Well, they are turning three in less than a month, and those books are still not finished. Now that I have a third child, I figured it would take me until he got married to finish his first year book!

Then I heard about How Fast They Grow, an online scrapbooking company that claims that you can create a scrapbook page in seven minutes using your digital pictures and their free online Digi-Scrapbook software.

Seven minutes? It seemed too good to be true, but I had to check it out.

I joined the site (free), uploaded some pictures, and got to work. Sure enough, I was able to crank out some pages that I am really proud of in five to ten minutes per page, depending on how long I spent thinking about what to write.

The sample page I have below is just one of six I created in under an hour.


How simple is the process?

1. Upload pictures to Digi-Scrapbook (the most time-consuming part of the whole process).


2. Choose a layout from over 480 page designs.


3. Drag your pictures into the page - it is easy to zoom in or out and move around as necessary.


4. Type text on the page and add your own title.

That's it! Once your page is finished, you can publish it to share online with family and friends or print. Printing costs just dropped as of December 1, and now pages cost just $5.50 each. When I think of the time saved and the money not spent on more scrapbook supplies, it is definitely worth it for a busy scrapbook lover, especially for such a great finished product. The 12”x12” pages are printed with Kodak printers on 110-lb. cardstock, and they should last for generations if well-stored.

If How Fast They Grow sounds like something you or someone you know might be interested in, check out their website for a ton of great example pages and to view all of their templates. The company is currently running a special with free ground shipping on gift card packages using the code GIFT4U. Each package comes with the gift card as well as a sample 12”x12” page to see the quality of their product.

Maybe there is hope yet for my little one's baby book! - Sara I.

Baby’s first Christmas is often filled with such love and wonder. It is the perfect occasion to being building traditions to last a lifetime.

A great way to mark the first Christmas milestone is to begin a tradition of giving the child an ornament each Christmas. The ornaments can be holiday-themed or be given to remind the family of something special about the year.

(My two boys will be getting ornaments from the movie Cars, which was the first movie they ever watched. We saw it on a family vacation and they were obsessed with it for the rest of the year.) When the child grows up and moves out, she will have a set of ornaments from each year of her childhood.

There are a lot of very unique ornaments that can mark the holiday. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Baby Girl Stocking Ornament: This glass ornament is hand painted and then decorated with glitter and ribbons. Bright and festive, it is a great way to celebrate a little one’s first holiday season. Available for baby boy as well. | $24

Holiday Ornaments by Beehive Kitchenware Company: Handmade of lead free pewter, this partridge, tree, and pear would all make beautiful additions to any tree and should stand up well over time. | $16.50 - Sara I.

It is often hard to come up with gift ideas for new parents, especially when a second or subsequent child arrives - when the parents are stocked up on all the clothes they could need. I am always in search of ideas that will be genuinely appreciated by the parents, something they may not have even realized they need. Once you dig past the boxes of diapers and packs of onesies, there are some unique ideas that new moms are sure to love!

CLEANING
After each of my children, I have been given the gift of a cleaning service for a few months. I have to say, this is one of my FAVORITE gifts. Not having to worry about trying (and failing) to keep the house clean is such a stress relief! Hiring a cleaning service for the new mom or offering your own cleaning services is a great way to help her keep stay sane for those first few weeks.

FOOD
Almost all new moms will be happy to accept meals for their family. Just like with the house cleaning, it is a huge relief to have dinner taken care of. Offer to bring a meal or organize a group of friends to bring regular meals for a few weeks. The effort will not be taken for granted!

NOTECARDS
A great gift idea is personalized notecards for the little one! New parents have tons of thank you notes to write, so your gift will definitely come in handy. There are many places to find notecards like this online, from etsy.com (search personalized notecards) to stationery stores like swankypaper.com, where I found the Gerber Daisy notecard pictured to the left.

PLAY DATES
For moms with older children, this one is a sure winner. Invite the older children out for a play date (or two, or three...). It doesn’t matter if you have your own children. Find something that you can do with the big siblings to make it a special outing for them, whether it is playing at your house, eating dinner at a favorite restaurant, or going to a movie. The siblings get some time to be in the spotlight, and mom and dad get a little time to relax.

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS
As my husband and I recently held our 2.5-week-old while stuffing envelopes, licking them, and sticking on stamps and address labels, he commented how it almost seems like a cruel joke that new parents are expected to get out birth announcements so soon after a new baby is born - as if we don’t already have enough to do. You could offer your services to the new parents, everything from taking the picture, ordering announcements, and stuffing the envelopes could be part of your gift.

These are just a few unique ideas for new baby gifts. Do you have your own go-to gift for new parents? Share your ideas here! - Sara I.

Looking for something better than those plastic birthday banners? Look no further - I have your reusable and handmade solution right here. The Polka Dot Tot Spot carries several versions you'll be delighted to pull out year after year.

I love products that reinforce family traditions, and your kids will get extra excited for their special day when they see you hanging the family birthday banner. And you'll be happy knowing that it both looks great and isn't something that will clog up the landfill for hundreds of years. I call that a win-win!

The Polka Dot Tot Spot is also happy to do custom orders for different colors, different words on the banner, and almost anything else you can dream up. Right now if you order a handmade birthday banner ($38) you get one of her adorable birthday shirts for half-off.

She also makes soft fabric balls and blocks, so you can get some serious shopping in while perusing her store. I see the balls and blocks as the perfect emergency gift to have on hand if you anticipate being invited to a lot of First Birthday parties in your future.

- Erika

When my twins' first birthday rolled around, I struggled to find ways to begin building traditions that could last through the years. I wish I had known Edda Pacifico, a photographer based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the idea she has used for five straight years with her girls!

Every year on their birthday, Edda has taken a picture of her twin daughters all dressed up and having tea at their tea table. Now that they are five, Edda has a fantastic series of pictures that will be precious to her entire family for years to come. (You can find all five on Edda’s blog.)

The photography series is something that any family can embrace in order to celebrate a birthday or any special occasion. It could be a pictures in a favorite location, with a special birthday hat, or even with the family over a cake. The options are endless!

Do you have any photographic traditions that are special in your family? - Sara I.