Book celebrates Bay babies

Teenagers have a year book and now Western Bay babies have their very own baby book.

The Bay of Plenty Times is launching the first annual Baby Book to celebrate the birth of all babies in 2011.

The collection of photos will be published in February and will be a permanent keepsake for Western Bay families. As well as a photo of your baby, you will get to include his or her name, birth date, weight, and a brief personal message.

Bay of Plenty Times general manager David Mackenzie said the newspaper was proud to introduce this annual keepsake to celebrate the special arrival of the new faces to our region.

"This glossy publication that can be cherished forever will be inserted into a selected February edition of the Bay of Plenty Times so all family and friends will have the opportunity to obtain a copy of this memento.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity if you have had a baby in 2011."

Photographs of local babies will be taken at Bayfair Shopping Centre from January 16 to 21, between the hours of 10am and 3pm.

The cost of being in the baby book is $25 and you will receive a free copy.

Additional copies can be ordered for $1.40.

By being in the baby book, your child gets free entry into the Baby of the Year competition to win a free portrait and to be on the cover of the 2011 edition.

Alternatively, you can email the Bay of Plenty Times at localclassifieds@bayofplentytimes.co.nz to request an entry form and submit your baby photo.