Right now, Father’s Day in our house looks like scribbly hearts, wonky stick figures, and glitter stuck to the dog. The kids are 2 and 5 — they can’t quite write a full sentence yet, but they’ve got plenty to say.
The little one yells “DADDY!” like it’s a full story. The big one draws elaborate pictures of their dad rescuing them from lava or flying a spaceship to the supermarket.
It’s chaotic, messy, and exactly the kind of thing I don’t want to forget.
Why I Made a Keepsake Book (Even Though They’re Too Young to Write)
A few years from now, I probably won’t remember that this year’s drawing showed Dad with six arms and hair made of triangles. Or that our two-year-old contributed a single sticker and a crazy scribble before wandering off.
But if I write it down, if I keep it, we’ll remember.
That’s why I made our Father’s Day Keepsake Book.
Not because the kids are old enough to craft the perfect letter. But because these early years, the ones filled with scribbles and half-sentences, are part of the story, too.
One Page a Year, Until They’re Grown
The idea is simple:
Each Father’s Day, we add one page. Just a little note, a drawing, a photo. Sometimes I write down what the kids say word-for-word - even the weird stuff, especially the weird stuff.
Like:
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“You’re the best at cutting my toast into squares.”
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“You smell like car.”
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“I love you bigger than a tractor.”
Twenty years from now, those pages will be priceless.
Not because they’re perfect.
Because they’re theirs.
The Gift That Stays
I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make every holiday magical. But this tradition is quiet. It doesn’t need planning or Pinterest. Just ten minutes, once a year, to sit down and mark the moment.
Because it’s not about the perfect photo or card.
It’s about giving our kids, and their dad, a way to look back and see how much they’ve grown, year by year, side by side.
If Your Kids Are Little Too…
Start now. Start with the scribbles and stickers and one-sentence declarations of love.
It doesn’t need to be fancy. It just needs to be real.
And when you look back in twenty years, I promise — these are the pages you’ll treasure the most.