Every year on their birthday, I take my kids’ picture in one of Matt’s white dress shirts. I started doing this when Olivia was 2 and Gabe was 1 and I plan on doing it through their 18th birthday. I write them a letter on their birthday too (or a blog post) and I plan on making them each a book for graduation. It’s so fun to watch them grow. You can see below how much they’ve grown…and that my photo skills have gotten much better. And because I like to keep it real…I can’t find the ones from Matthew’s 1st birthday or from Olivia’s 7th and Gabe’s 6th. I’ve been looking all day and I can’t find them anywhere. Do you have a traditional picture that you take every year to show how they’ve grown?
It was weird this past birthday to see that Gabe could actually wear it as a…regular shirt. Won’t it be weird, and kind of cool, when the shirt is too small?
Elastamom's Excerpts 
this is such a cool idea and i’m so jealous that i didn’t do the same thing! i did however (with both my kids) take a picture of them on the couch next to the same bear every month on the same date for the first year.
btw- that first picture of olivia is my absolute fave! sooooo adorable! LOVE it!
oh how i wish i could go back and do this! what a cool idea đŸ™‚
What a great idea! I love the photo of Gabe wearing his daddy’s shirt and looking out the window. It looks like he is just waiting for his dad, his hero, to come home. Too cute!
I’ve never seen this done – what a NEAT idea!!
I wish I had thought of this! Great idea, and the kids are all so sweet đŸ™‚
What an absolutely adorable idea. Oh I wish we’d done something like this. I suppose I could start now…but I have zero faith that I’d remember to do it each year AND execute it. (I’m often good at remembering things…but very bad at follow through. Ugh.) Anyway, love love love this. !!!
I write my kids letters, but I never thought of the shirt thing. That’s such a great idea! And look how big they are now!
Love this idea! The one with your big kid wearing his dad’s shirt and it fitting was so bittersweet.
Oh, My. Goodness. I love this idea! And I loved seeing the development of your kids as they grew and the shirt started to fit a little better. What a terrific idea, Tiffany! xo
Wow. I absolutely LOVE this. I love the idea. I love seeing your kids grow before my very eyes. They’re all so beautiful. Lucky lucky all of you.
What a cool tradition! Love this.
I love, love, love that in each photo you can see glimpses, more so with each passing year, of the woman and men they will one day be. Fabulous. Just like Olivia’s fuzzy pink boots. =>
Sometimes the thoughtfulness of other parents really inspires me. This is one of those moments đŸ™‚
The dress shirt is such a great idea! A wonderful way to show how much each of the children have grown. Putting all these together into an album, I’m sure, will be a treasured keepsake.
That’s such an adorable idea! I’m tucking this away for when I finally pop some kids out đŸ™‚
Fantastic idea. Wish I did something creative like this with my girls. But at 3 and 11 months, I suppose I still could…hope you don’t mind that I steal this! đŸ™‚
I love the tradition. What a great way to memorialize their growth!
What a brilliant idea! It’s a delightful way to see their growth, and I bet they love these pictures when they’re older. It wouldn’t surprise me if they decide to carry on the tradition, too.
Wow. So cool.
Such an amazing idea. I just make my kids hold up the appropriate amount of fingers. Which, of course, will become challenging after next year. I LOVE this! What an amazing gift!!
I wish I had done something like this yearly. I did the first 12 months of my kids’ lives. I put them in a white onesie and in the bouncy seat with a sign that said how many months. So you could see by a year just how big they got because they were in the same seat. I scrapbook so in their baby books for each month there is a page with these pics and comments on what they were each doing at that month. Thanks for sharing these pics.
Breathtaking and cry-making.
I love these, truly love them. How I wish we had done something similar. It’s such a beautiful way to watch them grow!
That is such a great idea!! Can I please copy you? And by golly miss molly those are some flipping adorable children!!! How did you do that?
What a creative idea! Something so special to look back at one day and possibly a tradition they might pass on to their children .
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