It’s All About Your Perspective, Sponsored By OneDay

I’m excited to partner with OneDay for this post. This new, easy-to-use app (which has great new updates!) creates magical movies of and about your children—and other loved ones—in a matter of minutes.

Perspective. Everybody’s is different, which is what makes each person’s story so very fascinating. I mean, that’s why there are thousands upon thousands of successful blogs. Shelves upon shelves of soul-stirring paperbacks. Channel upon channel of thrilling programming. Perspective.

As a mom, I’m learning new ways to love and understand my kids’ points of view. Big is starting to see the world through more grown-up eyes, but still with the foggy lens of someone trying to define and understand the rough edges. Little is finding his voice and writing me notes day in and day out to help me—and help himself—understand what’s important, what’s unnerving, and what’s thrilling. Pink uses imaginary play with her dolls and stuffed animals to express her ever-expanding mind. I can’t help but notice that she mirrors my words, mannerisms, and behaviors while trying so hard to find solid ground that’s all her own.

And that’s just today.

Tomorrow it will be something new, something entirely different. I know because I’ve seen how quickly my kids can abandon the very things that I come to believe define them. (In Pink’s case, I happen to hope morning tears will be the next to go…)

So, I do my best to capture these fleeting, but funny, quirky, insightful moments—with words, photos, and videos.

And, while the boys are both in a phase where they’re shying away, Pink is game. “Mommy! My babies want to make another video! Ask them the questions.”

Yep. Months later, she’s still obsessed with the (still free!) OneDay app. (I am too…shhh!) I ask the questions in a particular category, tape her responses—and her dolls’—with my phone, and then the app instantly creates an awesome personalized video, set to music. We’ve gotten to the point where even her “babies” are pros. They know how to nod, how to answer in their own voices, and when to let Pink go ahead and take center stage.

From my perspective, it’s a great way to engage her silly personality. From her perspective it’s a fun way to examine her thoughts and body language when she watches the videos back (which she does…a lot). And from my mom’s perspective…well, getting weekly texts filled with her precocious granddaughter’s wisdom? That’s good stuff.

And while I love watching yet another video of Pink and her dolls as much as the next guy (ok, waaaay more than the next guy), what I’m most excited about right now is the updates to the app…

• The user interface has a lot more direction for people who are new to the app.
• Seasonal question sets with fun graphics and music—Happy Halloween for now (here’s ours…yes, Little’s knees are always that dirty) and What I’m Thankful For is on the way.
• Question sets for parents/grandparents—think About Your Childhood, Your Wedding, Your Influences.
• And even a couple question sets showing off baby’s tricks before he can talk, like How Cute Am I?.

Don’t tell my mom or grandmother, but with these new question sets, they’re next up. I really wish I’d had the foresight to interview my dad on film, but I never knew what to ask or where to start.

So from my perspective, this is more than an app. It’s a great way to help us understand what our loved ones think about the world around them. And, if you ask me, that’s more than entertaining, it’s a gift.

Disclosure: I was compensated by OneDay to write this post, but all opinions and obsessions are entirely my own (and Pink’s).