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This was the fastest year of our lives! For those of you with children already, you know how it is! Both of our girls turned one last month, so we wanted to round up some of our favorite keepsake items for the first year. Hopefully it will give you some good ideas to capture the wonderful memories with your little loves. We’d love to hear your ideas too! We are also sharing some of Alexa’s cake smash pictures below (photography by Carylyle Photography and amazing outfit by belle & whistle). belle & whistle is offering Little Listers 15% a purchase with code LLREADERS. Here’s to hoping Year 2 goes slower!

Favorite Year One Keepsakes

1. Carter’s Baby Book ($30): This book was given to me as a baby shower gift by one of my best friends and it has been so special this first year. Although it can be a task to write in the book, I have enjoyed reflecting on the past month and also reading a few months back to see how far Alexa has come in such a short time. I think this book is better than a lot I’ve seen in that it helps give you ideas on what to write about each month and for milestones too, and offers a good amount of space to do so. And it’s really cute too!

2. Mom’s One Line a Day Book ($10): This book was also given to by a dear friend and it has been awesome. You write one line a day (that’s doable most iof the time, right?) and there are five entries per date (so it’s for five years). It can get annoying when you fall behind on a day (or week), but I think it’s the best way to keep up with all those cute little things you don’t want to forget. Additionally, it’s getting really fun now (since we are in year 2) comparing this year to last!

3. Artifact Uprising Wood Block + Prints (just $24): I’ve been looking for a cute way to display some pictures on my desk, and I ordered this for a cool accent. I love that it comes with 12 pictures (so you can switch them up) or order more prints too. You can upload right from Instagram or Facebook too. And at $24, it’s a perfect gift price point too! Little Listers score 10% off with code BLGLL10 through 4/10/15. (there are lots of other great gift + photo options on the site too)

4.ThisLife Subscription (free plans available + then monthly or annual plans start at $8/month): Best investment ever. I started getting so overwhelmed with picture storage and making sure all my pictures were backed up. Yeah, so Alexa’s fourth month got deleted on my phone (much bigger deal at the time). ThisLife (by Shutterfly) automatically syncs with your computer and phone, so all pictures are safe on the cloud. We also have an Apple Time Machine (have had it for awhile) that backs up our computer’s pictures and other files, which I highly recommend too.

5. TimeHop App (search in your App store – it’s free!): This has been my favorite app as of recent! I know it’s not new, but it is so darn cool. I am loving looking at the last 10 years of pictures each day (syncs with Facebook, Instagram, your computer, and more). I love seeing pictures of a newborn Alexa from last year and then pictures from fun college nights out from 9 years ago. It’s so much fun and foolproof too!

6. Pearhead Belly Stickers ($13): So, I know everyone does these stickers, but I loved the ritual of them. I also love how easy it is to go locate a picture when “Alexa was 3 months old.” It’s right there for you on the picture! I can’t wait to frame them (hopefully in this Pearhead frame, which I think is so very cool).

7. Yassi’s Place Birth Stats Print ($18): I was so excited to order this once Alexa was born. I love having it on the wall in her nursery even more than I thought I would, as it’s a constant reminder of the special day I became a mom (and all of the details of my baby’s first day). I feel like it helps solidify all the details in my mind too (mamas have enough to remember as it is!)

8. Picture it on Canvas Unique Print Options: I have been looking for some unique ways to print pictures (a girl can only have so many Homegoods frames – they’re the best!) We are loving the idea of printing on metal or wood, and just ordered one for a grandparents’ gift! Score a 11×14 thin bar canvas for $17.50 (that’s 75% off) with code PIOCLITTLELIST75.

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Cake Smash-9 — The pictures before the cake! I absolutely love how this belle & whistle tutu and glittery personalized shirt came out in pictures (both in color and B&W)!

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