Peter's 2nd Birthday

As Mom it is only natural to reflect back on the day of Peter's birth when his birthday rolls around.  Yesterday was Peter's second birthday.  Not only can I reflect on his birth in my mind but in pictures.  I was so blessed to have his birth captured by my friend Amber at Life in Color photo.

About 2 years ago as we were gathering for some sort of event and I was very pregnant Amber was just getting into following her passion of photography professionally.  She made a comment about wanting to do birth photography but needed to practice on someone as she looked my way.  I told her I would love it.  No crowning shots though right?  Of course not she said.  I told her I would talk to Jeff and was actually surprised that Jeff was on board.

So when labor began and we were heading to the hospital we gave Amber a call.  She came, she took pictures, and kept me company.  Peter arrived 1 minute before his due date.  Yep, you read that right, he was due on Valentine's day and was born at 11:59 February 13th.  Many were disappointed he wasn't a Valentine's baby, but I wasn't.  I wanted him to have his own day.  The staff at the hospital called him a Valentine's baby, they said he was close enough, so instead of the normal blue and pink striped stocking cap he got a special red one.

Peter was 9lbs 12oz.  He started out big and his growth curve went straight up from there.  He is 2 years younger than Lachlan but people often ask if they are twins.  He is a funny boy.  He makes faces to make you laugh, at 2, I find this pretty impressive.  He is a mini version of me.  Lachlan looks just like his Dad and Peter just like me.

Peter and I share the same birthday month.  My birthday is February 28th.  So in 2011, when Peter was born, Jeff and I were trying to come up with something to do to celebrate my birthday.  Amber had put together a slideshow of the photos she had taken and we hadn't seen any of the images yet.  I thought viewing these images for the first time would be a perfect birthday celebration.  So we found a sitter for Lachlan and Jeff and I, along with brand new Peter, went to Amber's, sat down on the couch in her basement in front of a big projector screen and were moved to tears.  If you want to see the slideshow you can see it here.

I feel so blessed to have these images to cherish always.  If you are debating whether or not to have a photographer at the birth of one of your children, I say do it!