When I started writing the dear Ellerie letters I was drowning in newborn. And then, over time, we got things figured out and life became normal again. I kept writing, though not as frequently or urgently, because I wanted a record. (Edited to add : the photos in the book look DARK in these photos - in real life they are not at all. For some reason I couldn't quite get the light right when I was taking pictures for the post. Sorry about that!)
And I knew that in lieu of a baby book, these letters would be what I had to share. The above photo is of the dedication page.
When Ellerie turned one, it was time to make a photobook. In PSE, I wrote "dear ellerie" and "mama" in my handwriting with my tablet and then dropped each letter into place. I saved each letter as a .jpg and then combined them with photos from that first year.
Some are the ones that actually went with the letters. Some are photos Paul and I laugh at on my phone every few nights.
These are not ALL of the photos I took during year one, nor are they the best photos. They are unedited. They are not exactly in order. But they are telling the story.
I want to be able to give Ellerie more than a harddrive. I want to give her books. This is just one of them. (Here's another.)
I used Artifact Uprising because their quality is awesome and I needed a ton of pages (this book is 170). I am thrilled with how it turned out (so yep, that's an affiliate link).
It arrived quickly and Paul and I looked through it on the couch. I haven't re-read the letters yet but someday I will.
And someday Ellerie will too.
