Something different

I have been preparing to bring our new daughter home from china. Among the flurry of other things, I have been working on her life book. I made the images in flash, no they aren’t animated, but I find it easier to draw in that program. I seem to enjoy the malleability of computer art. I am very excited about this book. I decided to share it with other families. I call it “my first year home”.

This book highlights some of the significant events in a newly adopted child’s life. It is inspired by “Parenting your internationally adopted child”, Patty Cogen (A book I wish was around when I was a child)

Titles of pages:
My first year home
History
1st photos
1st day home
The day we left my birth country
My new home
Firsts
Past nurturer’s day (day before mother’s day)
Mother’s day
Past nurturer’s day (day before father’s day)
Father’s day
Family birthdays
My birthday
Anniversary
1st day home
Handover
The day we left my birth country
My adoption day
My life changes
What I know about my life

Note: 3 page photo (my life changes) is my favorite. It documents the Big Change of this child’s life. Patty Cogen recommends photocopying these 3 parts in the child’s life arranged on one page a dozen times and leave them around the house to normalize the child’s history and help explain the big 4 questions. What happened to me? Who will take care of me? Did I make this change happen? Will everything change again?
I really wish I had something like this when I was young.