Christmas usually comes and goes in the blink of an eye and I’m too focused on getting clients their albums, prints, canvases, and files that I totally neglect our own family Christmas card. You know the saying, “shoemaker’s children go barefoot”? Every year I vow to actually get one printed but lo, it never happens.

As a tiny consolation we have been good about capturing portraits of Statler and printing Valentine’s Day cards to hand out to family and friends. February is a much more relaxed time of year in the photography business.

I had to tell my mother she “was right”. You really don’t understand the love of a parent until you are a parent. I look at these photographs of my boy and my heart swells in a way I just can’t explain. All the love and adoration I could possibly feel for anther being is his. Everything he does, even what may frustrate me sometimes, is a blessing and his existence in my life has changed it forever. Seriously, he’s the most awesome child and I’m so happy he’s mine!

Creating photographs of him is something I don’t do nearly often enough but when I do it’s the most meaningful work I create. Knowing we’ll have these beautiful portraits of our child for the rest of our lives, freezing his smile and presence in this moment here and now for us to reflect on later, is simply priceless.

Here are Statler’s one-year-old and two-year-old valentine cards! Oh, he’s just sooooooo cute!!!