A Baby Book Nightmare

This is so awesome and entirely too true.

Dear Daughter,

I'm haunted by this nightmare where you come to me as an insecure preteen and ask, “Mom, can I see my baby book? I need some dates and things for a school project.”

Choking back tears of shame, I dig out a dusty blue and yellow book. You pluck it from my guilty hands. A few souvenirs and ragged coloring pages slip out. To you, they look random, unimpressive, disorganized, but I remember: That's the first time you drew a circle. That smiley-faced blob there? The picture you drew of me on our third Mother's Day. That thumbprint collage? Your first preschool art project.

You flip through, and I know what you're seeing: A handful of haphazard photos, too many half-empty pages. I try to distract you with the highlights: There's an ultrasound photo — that grainy peanut is your very first picture.

There's a coming-home-from-the-hospital shot. You're swaddled, pink and scrunchy, in the striped hospital blanket.

Look, 26 pictures from your epic first birthday party… A few playdates at the park… And then we skip ahead to your first day of preschool (that stain there? definitely raindrops, not tears)… er, there aren't any from preschool graduation… OK, let's keep moving.

I didn't even finish reading this before I opened the little guy's baby book and made a few notes. It seems like just yesterday he was a newborn and today I have a toddler on my hands.

You can read the rest of this mom's letter on Huff Post Parents. When you're finished, leave a comment and share whether or not you've finished your little ones' baby books.