7 Small Ways I’m Documenting The Lives Of My Children

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we are living through one of the most extraordinary periods in history… at least when it comes to documenting our lives.

Think about it. Our parents might have a handful of photographs from an entire month of our childhood. Meanwhile, I am over here taking infinite photos of my kids as they enjoy their breakfast.

On day, my kids will be scrolling through some smart device (I don’t dare say smart phone, right?) looking back through photos. They’ll know exactly what their bedrooms looked like, what the backyard looked like before the trees grew in, and what they wore on a random summer afternoon.

They are effortlessly capturing their entire lives without picking up a journal and a pen. WHAT?!

I can already hear them saying something like, “Hey mom! Dad built our playhouse for us 10 years ago today!” That kind of record never existed before. This is mind blowing to me! We are the first generation in history whose children may be able to remember almost everything, if we preserve things right.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized that photos capture what happened, but they don’t always capture what it felt like. They miss the hilarious things your kids say. They can’t preserve the way your two-year-old pronounces certain words. They don’t explain why your daughter suddenly became obsessed with collecting sticks, or why your son wakes up every morning saying, “Hi, I’m Baymax.”

And honestly, those are often the memories we end up missing the most.

So I thought I’d share a few of the small things I’m doing to preserve the parts of childhood that my camera can’t always capture.

1. Tinybeans
I upload photos of my kids daily on this app, and I have since the day my first was born. But what makes Tinybeans special isn’t the photos, it’s the sense of security, the throwback reminders, and the ability to share them with everyone regardless of the social media profiles they have or don’t have.

2. Quotes
Someone, years ago, gave me a “quote a day” journal and I’ve been using it to capture the fun things that my kids say. There are five lines on each page, one page for each day of the year, and I only add a quote when it’s something I know I don’t want to ever forget.

3. Printed Photographs
Not only have I been good about refreshing the photos on our walls, but I’ve also created photo cubes for the kids to be able to really remember what each of their aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents look like. This keeps them connected when proximity unfortunately can’t.

4. Voice Recordings
Voice recordings are a hidden gem, truly. Not only are they a way of preserving their little voices in the dark, but they can easily be used as ringtones and notification sounds on your phone.

5. Birthday Interviews
This one is a future goal of mine, and it’s something I cannot wait to do. You simply film your kiddo, ask them how old they are, what they want to be when they grow up, and whatever else you’d like. This will preserve a part of their history that can easily be lost with time.

6. Saving Their Artwork (Digitally)
There is one piece of my artwork in particular that I think back on fondly, and I’m pretty sure it’s lost forever. The idea of keeping their works of art forever warms my heart to no end.

7. Letters To Them
I’ve started writing the kids letters. Not for birthdays or graduation, but just because. I tell them what they are like today, what they are struggling with and what I hope they never lose about themselves. And I know that these letters may become the most meaningful thing I ever leave behind.

This is not to say that documenting your life is about preparing for death – far from it, actually. It’s about refusing to let the ordinary disappear. One day, today’s ordinary moments will be the memories you wish you could visit just one more time.

See you,
Amy