Yearly Photo Books from Shutterfly

I posted this photo on Instagram a few days ago and a couple of friends asked about the yearly photo books I make for the girls using Shutterfly. 

I started putting these together when Gracyn was born and am really glad I've stuck with it for each kid. It makes up for the half-empty baby books sitting on my nightstand. Which, by the way, I fully intend to fill in... some day. 

Until then, I'm glad I have this blog and these books to look back on! We just got Leighton's "YEAR TWO" book so it was perfect timing to get them all out of the closet and take a minute to look through them!

Also, Shutterfly has no idea who I am so this isn't a sponsored post or anything like that. They do have a pretty sweet giveaway going on on Instagram so I might try and win the grand prize but other than that, I'm just sharing because I really like 'em! ;)

Like I said, we juuuust got Leighton's new book and it arrived in this giant orange package. I always make a 12x12 hardcover photo book because I love the size of the pictures. Each girl has their own book for each year of life (Year One, Year Two, and so on) and follows "their" year in order. 

Gracyn's books run from February to January, always ending with her birthday. I need to put her YEAR FOUR book together which will start with last February (right after she turned 3 and end with her 4th birthday in January). 

Leighton's always follow the true calendar year (January - December). Her first page is technically Christmas because I like to highlight the major holidays but after that, it goes in order thanks to her December birthday. 

I'm a freak, I know. Feel free to arrange your books in a more sane manner. Ha!

Moving on. 

Happy mail day!

The cover is my favorite part because I love seeing how much they change throughout the year! Leighton as a fresh one-year old versus a two-year old. I then go cry in the corner because THEY CHANGE SO MUCH DURING THE YEAR!!!!!

The pages and layout are completely customizable so I usually go through and pick my favorite photos from each month and put them in a giant spread.

photo every month

The girls' first books are basically a recap of their monthly chalkboard/sticker photos (Gracyn / Leighton). G loves to have me read them and thinks it's so silly that she waited until she was  5 months old to roll over and laugh for the first time. Girlfriend took FOREVER to laugh....

Anyway, I just love them and they're such sweet mementos to have around the house. If you make one, or use Shutterfly for any other product, make sure to wait for one of their killer sales. You can usually snag them at 50% off plus free shipping (plus Ebates!) which saves a ton of cash. The 12x12 books are pretty spendy and I always end up adding additional pages but the discounts help for sure!

They're also great about mailing coupons or free offers (like a large 16x20 print or personalized calendar or something like that) and every once in a while Old Navy and other stores will hand out promo codes with your in-store purchases!

I plan to make books for Baby #3 as well. By the time the kids are grown we'll have 53424 photo books floating around the house but I'll be one happy mama! And surely the kids will appreciate them when it's all said and done, right?! ;)