Back in August, I shared some easy [and practical] baby shower games on the blog. It’s hard to believe that I am now blogging that my first nephew, Weston James, made his grand entrance into the world at 4:20am on October 21, 2018. He is a true blessing and joy to our family! My sister must have held him for 72 hours straight!

Weston has made two sets of first-time grandparents, two first-time aunties, one first-time uncle, and most importantly a first-time mother and father. Shout out to my big brother and sister-in-law for doing the deed and making this little miracle happen! I’m so in love and so obsessed. I gave him all the kisses while meeting him on my way to Florida to start my new chapter that I recently blogged about! Keep reading to see a picture of this bundle of perfection!

Now, what I did not share in the baby shower blog was all the amazing gifts he received. His Aunt Denise made him the most adorable name sign for his nursery, his Great Grandma Marge’s good friend crocheted him two beautiful blankets, his GiGi got him the cutest Dumbo crib-set to go along with the elephant theme his Mommy had chosen, and his Grandma Lisa got him plenty of baseball attire. Meanwhile, his Granddaddy refinished the high-chair that his Daddy and two sisters all used as toddlers… the list goes on and on.

Naturally, I want Weston to grow up and have pieces of all of us who love him so much. For me, that means that I hope he loves to read and loves the art of storytelling because it’s something that I loved as a young girl. As such, I got him his first book.

Wonderbly is a company that specializes in personalized children’s books. While there are many many “stories” to choose from, the “Lost My Name” series is the best-seller.

I have created and purchased four “Lost My Name” books over the years as gifts for the kids that I babysit for. I cannot say enough about the buyer-experience and how simplistic it is. While these books are a bit more expensive than your typical children’s book from Barnes & Noble, it is worth every penny with the quality of materials that contribute to a personalized book your child will cherish forever. One of the families I babysit for had to hide the book from their daughter because she wanted to read it… every. single. night!

The premise of each story is the same. Little Boy or Girl has lost their name (in their bedroom) and goes on an adventure meeting animal friends who provide each letter of their name to them. Check this video:

So here’s how purchasing works: You simply provide the child’s name, choose the child’s gender and what they “look” like (Side Note: I do wish there were more “looks” here but imagine this will come in time as the company grows). You will then select various animals/creatures that the child will encounter throughout the story. Each letter has multiple options… E, for example, had Eagle, Elephant, and Elk. Bad Aunt Mellie over here had missed the memo that his nursery was elephant-themed and ended up choosing Eagle. Anyway, the nice thing about this step is you’ll get to read the excerpt of that part of the story to see which animal encounter speaks to you the most.

Once you have made all these selections, you choose your format. I have typically gone with the cheapest option of softcover and the quality of that has seriously astounded me. The cover is thick and sturdy and definitely made to endure years of pulling and tugging from your little ones turning the page! However, I got my Weston a hardback and was so pleased with that decision. It is super nice and can stand up on a nursery dresser or otherwise as a beautiful feature in the room.

The last step is to write a dedication. Mine was:

Dear Weston, 

We meet a lot of magical and wonderful creatures throughout our lives. Always be kind to those around you and never be afraid to go on an adventure! I love you!

-Aunt Mellie

Continue on through the purchase… you know the deal, shipping/billing address, promo codes, card payment, etc. And my favorite part in this process is that you can set a delay on them actually starting your order. So, if you change your mind on an animal or want to make an edit to your dedication, you can go back and change ANYTHING even after you’ve submitted your order. They’ll send reminder e-mails letting you know that your book is about to start being created and that changes cannot be made after the window that you have set.

Weston actually heard this book at the baby shower because everyone loved it so much and wanted to hear the story, so I sat there like a kindergarten teacher in my sister’s living room and read everyone, and my nephew (still in utero), his first story. Literally his. And it made my heart so happy when his Mommy said that he was kicking up a storm the whole time.

And, I got to be the first to read it to him once he arrived. AGH! The way he is looking up at me at just two weeks old… again I am beyond obsessed with him.

This is seriously the sweetest little gift that will be perfect as they grow! The holidays are quickly approaching, and while Wonderbly is offering a ton of great promos, I also have a 15% promo code for the first person who comments below telling me that they are interested in getting a little loved one a personalized book!

Now, I’ll just be off loving on my nephew and demanding daily photos, videos, snap-chats, etc. I don’t care how sleep-deprived his parents are, I need my Weston-fix!

FEATURED IMAGE BY: WONDERBLY

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