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A First Grade Memoir {& Giveaway}

As the end of the school year approaches, there are still field trips to be taken, spelling tests to complete, and homework to be done; but I can’t help feeling emotional about my first born finishing first grade. He’s going to be entering a whole new chapter in his life, and with his 7th birthday on the horizon, I have already caught glimpses of the little boy in him fading. His baby smile has been partially replaced with some big boy teeth in the front. He has traded his love for Ninja Turtles for a real interest in science. And I swear I can hear an occasional crack in his sweet little voice.

We have been through so much with reading specialists and therapists these last 10 months, which was definitely trying at times, but that can’t shadow the many improvements and milestones he has achieved throughout the year. I wanted him to see for himself, just how much he’s accomplished.

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Every year, since Ryder was in a two’s program, I’ve have taken it upon myself to create a yearbook for his classes. This memory book features many of the fun activities they were a part of in school that year, including pictures of class trips or major milestones. This year, in addition to the class book, I turned to Mpix to create a special book for Ryder’s monumental first year of grammar school. After receiving some great prints from Mpix two months ago, I was excited to use their photo book option for our keepsake.

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I sat up one night and went through every single photo I had taken since September, trying to pulling those special enough to include in the book. With so many activities, and so many great photos, it was tough to decide which pics would make the cut. In fact, picking the photos was the hardest part! Making the book was simple, as I simply uploaded my photos, and the software laid them out, on each page, with different layouts. Sure, I changed a few photos to fit with each event, but that plug and play layout definitely helped, saving hours of design time.

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For Ryder book, I decided to choose from Mpix’s newest photobook layout, Premium Panoramic Photo Book. I adored the lovely linen cover and opted for a skinny dust jacket to go along with it. Having ordered many different photo books over the years, I can tell you that Mpix truly has an unparalleled quality of products and services. I wanted to have the book ready for Ryder, and considering that I built this book last minute, I was very impressed with Mpix’s turnaround, as the book shipped out within a 24 hours of my order.

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I thought would wait until Ryder officially finished school to share the book with him, but I couldn’t take the suspense. The book was so well done, that it inspired me to make full class books for his teachers as an end of year gift. With the super quick turnaround, the books will arrive for our last day of school, celebrated with a family day in the class room. This year was so so important for all of us, and I want make sure we will always remember these triumphs.

I am so happy to have teamed up with Mpix and we are giving away a photobook of your choice to one lucky reader.

To Win:

Follow @strollerinthecity & @Mpix on Instagram. Leave a comment telling me you did so and I would love to hear which is your favorite Mpix Photobook! I will announce a winner on Friday 8pm EST.

Thank you Mpix for sponsoring this post and for making these precious keepsakes. 

Join The Conversation - Comment Below

16 thoughts on “A First Grade Memoir {& Giveaway}”

  1. What a great idea for teachers for an end of year gift. I’ll have to keep that in mind and try to REMEMBER to take more pictures throughout the year!

  2. I’ve always heard nothing but great things about MPix and this would be a great way to try them. I absolutely love the premium panoramic photo book.
    Sweetinsahmnity at gmail

  3. Following both pages on Instagram @nat5732. I am loving the PREMIUM PANORAMIC
    PHOTO BOOKS from their site. nlevdan3 (at) yahoo (dot) com

  4. Stephanie Phelps

    I Follow @strollerinthecity & @Mpix on Instagram. @my4boysand1
    I love the PREMIUM PANORAMIC PHOTO BOOKS

  5. I love it. It looks great. Do they offer covers other than the skinny dust jacket? A linen book with the skinny dust jacket seems odd for a photobook that is going to be passed around by family at gatherings. I can see that dust jacket just floating to the ground and getting mangled. I think it would be a great look for a wedding album, but not for a fun book that should be handled, passed around, and enjoyed by kids, young and old.

    1. Yes! There are options with no dust jackets. All of the photo books I make for my kids are kept carefully on our bookshelf. There are times when they want to look at them and they do but these are keepsakes for when they are older so they are always handled with care. They are other options with soft covers.

  6. Thanks for this post. Quick question for anyone who would know: Is the linen cover with the small dust jacket the only option for this photo album. Does MPix offer a hard cover with a photo finish hardcover?

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