My little Max turned eight last month. I had found a link on Pinterest to this adorable pre-baptism photoshoot that someone had done with her daughter, and I thought – I can do that.

Max’s birthday just happened to fall on a Sunday this year, so on his birthday we got dressed for church early and he and I went over to take pictures. Just the two of us.

He really got into it. With his Book of Mormon and his suit, he looks just like a little missionary.

I had two of the photos printed out as 8x10s and bought frames for them. We had them on a table during his baptism and now they’re hanging on the wall in our dining room, on our “family” wall.

Aside from the fact that it’s adorable, the reasons I wanted to do it were twofold. One, I wanted to make a really big deal out of him turning eight and getting baptized. I wanted to make it something special that would stick in his mind, and start a tradition that I could keep up with my other kids as they turned eight.

Secondly, I wanted something that would help him remember his baptism day as the years passed. I think pictures hanging on the wall by the dining table qualify. Two years from now we’ll be able to add Charlie’s pictures, and three years after that we can hang up Tommy and Teddy’s.

Boy, I suddenly feel old.

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