I had a box full of goodies! Not just any goodies, but baby goodies for my cousin who was having her first baby. I found onesies, jammies, socks, washcloths, a neutral baby outfit, and my favorite baby soaps and lotions that I used on my babies when they were small, but my gift just didn’t have anything “personal”.
My cousin Emily who is 4 months older than me was having her first baby near Washington DC, and I was living in Phoenix, Arizona. Her mom, my Aunt, was hosting a baby shower in Indianapolis, Indiana. So I had a choice… Fly to the baby shower, or fly to see the baby when he/ she arrived. Easy choice, I wanted to hold the baby! Not so easy choice was to find a gift to send that would make it to Indiana, then to be transported back to DC.
So I have a box of baby stuff, and it’s just missing something. I’m not sure what, but I’m running short on time, and I can’t mail it until it’s just right, and I’m pretty sure I was a day from the “2 day guaranteed delivery”.
That afternoon while picking up groceries, I see it… The absolute perfect baby gift from a photographer. I grab it and excitedly call my aunt on my cel phone to tell her I just found the best baby gift in isle 7 at the grocery store. And I’m pretty sure she asked how much caffeine I had that day. She didn’t see my vision yet!
In my hands was a baby safe photo album that was going to be so fun, yet practical that I just couldn’t stand it! It was perfect because our family was spread across the county, so I could fill it with pictures of the baby’s grandma and grandpa, aunt and uncle, great grandma and even a picture of the baby’s cousin “kitties”. The baby (whose gender was yet to be known) would be able to see pictures of her family that was far away! So perfect. I called and had e-mailed to me just the right snap shots to fill the album. Except one… the cover picture.
I packed it all up in the box, I had 20 minutes before the last pick up so I dropped it off to be mailed to my aunt and kindly called and asked for her to stuff it in a gift bag, as I kinda ran short on time. My aunt, who knows me quite well, and I’m sure after 30 years she probably expected as much! 
Since I wasn’t at the shower, I got phone call from my cousin, and expectant mom. They had just opened my gift and I could hear the laughter in the background. As I hear, my gift came up and she opened it carefully, and there wrapped in tissue, she pulled out a baby photo album, complete with my smiling face on the front! My mom said everyone laughed and knew that was definitely something to expect from me.
Baby Mallory was born that January, and last I heard she LOVED her photo album and still carries it around.
The message of the story is; Photos not only preserve your memories, they can create them.
If you wanted to give a fun baby photo album for your special baby to play with; Here is the one I purchased: Baby Einstein Just insert your face on the front!
by Jamie
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