When I was pregnant, I searched for that perfect baby journal. A month before I gave birth to my lil’ Lily, I found exactly what I was looking for! I absolutely love Lily’s baby journal. It’s simple, classy, timeless and has plenty of room for my notes, pictures and special mementos. I love going through her journal and taking in all of those moments again. Perfect way for me to remember that time in our lives and how much has changed since then. This morning, I was reminiscing about Lily’s early days, with the help of this book, and I came across the hand and foot prints of our lil’ baby. She was three days old and we had just came home from the hospital. She was sound asleep and we decided to start filling out her journal. I wanted to do her hand and foot prints first because I was afraid she’d grow too fast and we’d miss documenting how tiny she was {as if she would grow within a few hours…} Michael got a stamp pad and I held Lily in my arms in amazement. We got the foot print perfectly on the page, but the hand was a different story… She wanted to keep her hand in a fist, so it was hard to get her hand flat to get the ink on there and then when it came time to print her hand on the page, it took three tries. Michael and I laughed about the whole ordeal while Lily just slept through it all. Didn’t phase her one bit. Of course immediately after, I had a lil’ freak out while wondering if the ink would come off her skin, but just as Michael promised, it came off without a problem. {give me some slack…I was a new mom!} Looking at those lil’ prints today brings back so many memories and I’m just amazed at how quickly she’s grown and how fast things change. Lily is such a blessing to have in my life and I am so thankful to have this baby journal as a keepsake – not only for me, but for her as well.

Edited to add: Since writing this post, I’ve had several people write to me about where I found Lily’s Baby Journal. I got it a little over four years ago at Barnes & Noble, but after some searching, I found it on Amazon this evening! It’s simply titled “My Baby’s Journal.” Enjoy!

I’ve been looking forward to a good snow in St. Louis for quite some time now and I got my wish! It started snowing last night and this morning I woke to about six inches of snow. YAY! I felt like a kid who couldn’t wait to go play outside in all that glorious, beautiful snow, but the best part is seeing Lily’s reaction to it all. Totally makes my day! I made a nice hot breakfast for Lily and I and then we bundled up before heading outside. I spent the majority of the time shoveling while Lily dug tunnels in the big mounds of snow I was building, but after that it was all snow angels and snow fights. It’s so nice not having anywhere to go today so that we can just enjoy ourselves and the beauty wonder nature has brought our way. For those of you who aren’t quite as lucky…drive safe and try to enjoy the views before it’s all gone.

I just adore family heirlooms. So much history and sentimental meaning. These gifts passed down through the generations are truly priceless to me and pieces that I will always cherish. This piano was Michael’s Great Aunt’s. It was such an honor to have this musical instrument passed down to us. Every time I see it or it’s played, I think of Emma. I can visualize it in the corner of her living room and Lily trying to play it like a big girl – turning those pages with her chubby baby fingers gingerly before pounding on the keys. I think of the stories I had heard of Emma and her sister playing piano and how they even had the piano bench reupholstered to match their wing back chairs and couch. The piano doesn’t look like it’s aged much even though it’s been in the family for years {Emma was 100 years old when she passed}, which is proof of how much love and care was given to this beauty. It brings me such joy having this piece of history in our house and I feel that a part of Michael’s family runs through my fingers every time I play this Cable Nelson and for this…I’m thankful.

St. Louis Product Photographer