Important Advice For All New Parents

Obviously I'm a mom or I wouldn't be here trying to push my ideas on you. Being a "seasoned" professional with two grown boys (21 & 18) I can reflect and be able to protect others from making the same mistake. nn#1 Mistake: Not taking pictures or having a video camera.

My nephew and his wife have 2 darling little girls. Since they were born they fuss over them, taking pictures along the way and making huge brag books. In just two short years, they have a near-novel size book about their 2-year old and many pages started on their newest.

My 2 boys are now 21 & 18. I can laugh and reflect on the time my oldest was sleepwalking and tried to crawl inside an empty garbage can when he was 3 or when he thought he was in the bathroom and peed in the refrigerator. I can think about the time I caught them putting make-up on each other and how they begged me not to tell any of their friends. Birthday parties where the kids had to eat their cake and ice cream with no utensils, last-minutes travels to the mountains and the time my oldest screamed so loud on a ferris wheel they had to shut the ride down to get him off.

At the time I thought I'd remember everything. I didn't need pictures or movies to record. Then they grew up. Birthdays were faster in between, clothing and hair fads would have been a great addition to any brag book. I can't remember them all. I look at them now and regret not doing these simple things that would have been a great joy to me now and something I could show their kids.

My nephew is having the time of his life...and he has the pictures to prove it.