I made a photobook documenting our daughter’s first year of life and ordered copies for her grandparents as well. Then my son came along, and my health declined, so on top of juggling a newborn and a toddler, I had begun a new chapter in my medical saga. So, I didn’t immediately get around to making that first-year book for my son. It really bugged me that I didn’t get that done in a timely fashion. That is how making a photobook for my son became a goal on my Forty Before Forty list.
I’ve made smaller photobooks for him, but not quite on the scale I did for our daughter’s first year. I’ve also written and illustrated a story just for him, which I had printed and bound. For his tenth birthday I presented him with a scrapbook that highlighted his first ten years on Earth. Yes, I am sharing all this because while I have Mom-guilt about a specific book, he has not been neglected in the area of specialty books.
In hindsight, I wish I had used Blurb to make his photobook. This is the service I used to make our daughter’s book over a decade ago and their tools were much better for what I wanted to do and the book came out beautifully. Past me had begun a few different iterations of a photobook documenting our son’s first year or so of life using Shutterfly’s tools, but none were finished. So, I chose the one that looked the most promising and decided to finish it. Despite the headstart, it took me ages to compile photos and dates, as well as organize it all in an aesthetically pleasing manner. I ended up highlighting his first five years, instead of just the first one, because that is what past me had chosen to do. That definitely made the project harder.
Instead of searching through one year’s worth of photos, I was delving into five years’ worth. Those five years took us through multiple moves, and the photos were saved on different devices and then backed up at some point. My brain felt fried when I got to the end of the book and was ready to put in the order. Then I saw the price and I wanted to cry. I was about ready to do an about face and start from scratch with Blurb after all. Unfortunately, time was of the essence in more ways than one. I wanted to get this book done before my birthday, yes, but I also wanted to give it to our son for his birthday. His birthday is two days before mine!
So, my husband and I both grimaced as I submitted the order. I then prayed that it would arrive in time for my son’s birthday, because the window of estimated delivery said it could arrive a few days after. Lo and behold, it was delivered on his birthday! I thanked God when I saw the delivery on our ring camera, and slipped away a little later to wrap the photobook since we were about to have our kiddo open his gifts.
~It arrived on his birthday! (July 18, 2026)~
I got to flip through it after he opened it and was disheartened to see some printing errors. Where I had put a Mom & Me sticker, it said oM & M. Some of the pictures are cropped wrong on the edges, but I don’t know if that one is my fault or not. They aren’t cropped in the preview, though. Unfortunately, I don’t know if complaining will rectify anything because I don’t think my son would be happy with me returning his birthday present, despite the errors. Still, for the price it was especially frustrating to see. Plus, their editing tools need some work because it was really hard to see the text to edit it, and I noticed multiple typos on my part now that I can read it.
~That definitely doesn’t say Mom & Me… (July 18, 2026)~
~Flipping through his new photo book from us. (July 18, 2026)~
I did mention before that these last few goals have been a bit of a bumpy ride, and this one is no exception. It was nice to finish it, and I am grateful it arrived on time, but I am also disappointed in the quality of the piece. So, it is a bittersweet check mark on my list.
Goal Accomplished: July 3, 2026 (the day I ordered it)
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