The gorgeous personalized children’s book above is by Sarah of Party Perfect. She used objects familiar to her baby to help teach first words. Ever since I saw it, I’ve been thinking about how nice it would be to make a photo book specifically for Hank.
I wanted an idea that would have the maximum impact if it was personalized. Because Hank seems intrigued by feelings lately, I decided to go with that. I’d really like him to learn early on how to identify his emotions and then do something constructive with them, and he already loves to talk about how his toys are “so happy” or “really cross” (thanks Thomas the Tank Engine).
I love the end result. Here are some examples of what I put together:
Shutterfly bought some ads on Mighty Girl, and they let me try their photobook service to lay out my book and print it. It actually ended up taking more time to choose the photos than to make the book. If you’d like to try it yourself, Shutterfly is offering codes to twelve Mighty Girl readers to let them print books for free. You can enter the drawing by leaving a comment about what you’d like to make.
The contest will run through August 24, and I’ll announce winners here. One entry per person please, I’ll have to delete duplicates for fairness. Good luck!
Mighty Girl 
I would love to make a book showing the development of the relationship between my two children. How far they have come as brother and sister in 4 short years!
LikeLike
I shall make a book about the awesomeness that is me.
(Actually, I’ll make one about my family’s summer vacation … but I like to fluff up my self-esteem every once in a while by blurting out narcissistic statements. It’s like conceited Tourette’s.)
LikeLike
It would no doubt end up being full of pictures of my cats.
LikeLike
I’d make a book for my son about the sibling he will (hopefully) have someday. I’d use the book as a way to reassure him that he is loved very much and that will never change.
Your book is beautiful and inspiring!
LikeLike
P.S.: I love the redesign, I love your writing, and I love the awesome deal you cut with Intel … and by “love,” I mean I’m psychotically jealous.
LikeLike
I’d either do a year in review for our family, or a book of trips and fun my husband and I had before we had our daughter.
LikeLike
I’ve been wanting to make a book for a baby on the way that teaches the ABC’s through pictures of my hometown. (A is for Allsup’s-the gas station; B is for Booker -the town; C is for…etc….K is for Kiowas-the mascot) I think it would be a good way to teach because everything would be so easily recognized.
LikeLike
Definitely a book about my five-week-old neice Olive. A little treat for her exhausted parents.
LikeLike
I’d love to make a book for my son with pictures of family who he doesn’t see often.
LikeLike
I think it would be a book for the kids I nanny. This is our last year together and it would be a nice way to leave them some visual memories of our seven years together.
LikeLike
ADORABLE. love it. and I’m your newest twitter follower! 🙂
LikeLike
That’s absolutely adorable. Storing the idea for the hypothetical future children.
I would make a book of wedding pictures, considering I just got married 3 weeks ago.
LikeLike
I would make a photo book of highlights from my MBA program that I just completed (in Italy!).
LikeLike
I’d like to make a book of photos that my boyfriend has taken–they are beautiful and deserve to be shown!
LikeLike
My girls, 9 and 10, are just leaving the time in their lives where they will ask me to “tell us a story about when YOU were young, Mommy!…” So I will make them a photo book of all their favorite stories, like the time I got caught writing my name in wet cement outside the chinese laundry, and the time I played SCROOGE in the third grade play…
LikeLike
Like most families, as the kids grow up, the once physically close and tight knit family begins to move apart. I’m the oldest and the last to leave home after having stayed in my hometown for college and leaving only now for grad school. My sister is married and my brother is a traveling rogue. Then to the south is where my mother keeps house. I want to make those three a reminder of what we used to be like before time and age put seperators in our lives.
LikeLike
I’d make a 2008 book, and then I’d make a 2009 one next year, and so on and so on. I love the idea of a book for every single year, and the thought of my grandkids pouring over them.
LikeLike
I’d make a book of school pics to help my son remember the early school days that are rushing by so quickly!!
LikeLike
I absolutely love your book – it’s great to teach about feelings, which is something that not enough people to do (especially with boys!)
I’ve always wanted to make a book of photos with recipes to give to people. My brother-in-law is getting married soon & we thought something like that would be a fun gift.
LikeLike
it’s so potentially uncreative, but i’d love to create a book with different family members. we’re scattered across the country and I want to make sure he remembers everyone.
LikeLike
Just FYI, and I’m sure you already know this because of your mighty awesomeness, but books that incorporate children’s own life experiences are proven to help them learn language more efficiently…makes sense right? (I’m a preschool speech-language pathologist, I make them for my students a LOT for this reason…) so…kudos Mighty Girl! PS Hank is way cute.
LikeLike
I love Shutterfly. I made an ABC book for my 1st daughter and I’d love to make one for my 2nd!
LikeLike
I’d love to make a similar book for Jasper- great idea!
LikeLike
I really love your book for Hank—what a great idea! I’d love to make a book documenting my boyfriend and I’s first two years together. I think it’d make a great gift. OK, probably more for me, but still…
LikeLike
My daughter’s “First Friend” just moved to Slovenia (where her parents are from) after living here her entire life. I made books for them chronicling their time together from infants until just days before they moved. They turned out fantastically, and I can’t wait to make more books. I would love to make a “Getting Ready for Bed” book for my youngest, using pictures of her and her sisters.
LikeLike
I’d make a book about the different nicknames my family and I call each other, and how we got them. Monkey, Bink, Super, Boy!, Beazley, Steindog…
@BeingSuper
LikeLike
I love Shutterfly books. I would like to make a book of the pictures I take while in India the next two weeks.
LikeLike
I would love to make a book of wedding photos!
P.S. I find your life list totally inspiring and I think that your Mighty Closet posts are pretty much the coolest things ever. I just thought you should know.
LikeLike
I’d make a book for my son of the first 3+ years of his life, pre-sibling, so he’d have a keepsake of his time as our only.
LikeLike
I just got married one month ago today actually! And I want to make a do-it-yourself photobook with all the pictures. This would be amazing!
LikeLike
I’m getting married in September and my boyfriend and I would love to make a book devoted to the wedding & the beginning of our life together
Thank you
Emily
LikeLike
The Book: Photos of loved ones — people nearby and far away, and those things that comfort him (like his frog rattle).
What a cool contest!
LikeLike
A photo book of family after our upcoming trip to the mainland for our daughter to meet her extended family for the first time. I want photos of my daughter with family and captions like “This is your Great Grammy,” “This is your auntie Erika,” etc.
LikeLike
I love Hank’s book. I’m sure he will too. What a great idea.
I’ve used Apple’s book making program to put together a portfolio of sorts for my jazz photography. I’ll use Shutterfly next time since they’re smart enough to advertise here!
LikeLike
I just found out that I’m 9 weeks pregnant, so I’d like to make a book of my growing belly with the grand finale being a new baby!
LikeLike
I want to make a book for my three-year-old twins about how they are different. People always lump them together even though they are separate, unique individuals with totally different likes and dislikes. In the end, of course, it would be about what great friends they are even though they are different people. Oh, they would love it.
LikeLike
I would make a book of all the important people in my children’s lives – especially their grandparents, first teachers, etc.
LikeLike
I’d like to have a book for each year, which documents not only each of our girls, but our entire family’s life.
LikeLike
I’ve been wanting to make a book of pics for my grandfather. He’s in his last days. He always loves pictures of us. He’s in CT and loves to tell the nurses that the photos came from *pause* California.
LikeLike
I’d make a book for my kiddos about being buddies. My 2 year-old is enamored with my baby boy, and I want to immortalize these moments.
LikeLike
How exciting! I’d love to make one of these for my nephew. 🙂
LikeLike
In the past two years, I’ve been lucky enough to visit both Peru and Australia but haven’t done anything with the hundreds of photos I snapped. In a book they go!
LikeLike
Maybe I would finally get around to making a baby book of sorts for my almost 4 year old.
LikeLike
Please enter me! Thanks.
LikeLike
I would love to make a book for my 3 year old, maybe showing her how to be friends with her new baby brother. Then again, if I made her a book, she wouldn’t let him see it, because sharing is NOT part of 3 year old big sister vocabulary!
LikeLike
I would make a book about my girls who are just now, at 15 and 9, starting to become buddies.
LikeLike
I have been planning on doing a project for awhile and this is what I need to get my butt in gear. I have my grandmothers cookbook and want to scan the pages and make books for my brother and sister.
LikeLike
My girl just turned 6. I’d make a book celebrating some great moments from her first 6 years of life.
Love that book of yours, Maggie!
LikeLike
I’d like to make about how to talk about your feelings or use your words and emotions in a positive way – my 4 1/2 year old daughter has taken to telling me how much she hates being a kid. Yes, you read that right. She’s four. So, you know … maybe a photo book about how much her life IS will do the trick?
LikeLike
Oooh, pick me! Pick me! This would be a fantastic present for my boyfriend for our anniversary!
LikeLike