As some of you know, it was Brandon’s first birthday at the end of October. The family was in Banff at the time, so we celebrated his birthday there. I can’t believe the first 12 months of his life has gone by so fast !
Where do I begin. Brandon had a love/hate relationship with me. He loved to hate me. Well, that’s how I felt since he was born. If you haven’t already, you can check out the post I wrote shortly after Brandon was born. Those who are parents can attest that the birth of your child is truly a miracle. The whole process of conception to delivery is just mind boggling. And as a photographer, it was very exciting to photograph Brandon in his infancy, literally. The first breath…first cry…first look…first everything. At the same time, I was being a very supportive husband through Jeanette’s labor.
In the last few months of Jeanette’s pregnancy, we had a lot going on. We bought a house back in 2007 and it was finally ready for us to move in for August, 2008. The timing was pretty good. We sold our place in downtown, so we were packing every night for the last month before closing. I moved everything on my own since our closing date was during the weekday. That was crazy. Never again will I do anything on my own. It’s all about outsourcing haha When we took possession, I hired the painters to paint the entire house in preparation for the kids moving in. I just didn’t want any of the fumes in here.
Here’s Ethan helping with the cleaning..my God, when I look at this photo, I can’t believe how much Ethan has grown in 1 year too !
From a young age, he was already a superstar in the making. He landed a national campaign with Leon’s for their 100th Anniversary commercial. We were so proud of him ! He did awesome, despite the awful schedule they had set for Brandon and the back up baby. It’s obvious, none of the people on set had children lol But it was an experience. Since then, he’s been shooting for Zellers and The Bay quite a bit. This week he had another shoot for Zellers recently that should be out at the end of the year or early January.
Admittedly, I probably didn’t take as many photos of Brandon as I did with Ethan. Mainly because I was taking care of Ethan the entire time while Jeanette was with Brandon. But I still took a lot of photos of the cutie.
As a result of the arrangements at home with Jeanette taking care of Brandon and myself with Ethan most of the time, Brandon looked different to me every day. It’s only when I look back at the photos I took of him every month, that I start to remember what he was like at that stage of his life. If I didn’t have these photos, I would have a very faint memory of his mannerisms and dispositions. He’s such an adorable boy. He’s a ham…much like Ethan. Thankfully, Jeanette did manage to take a photo of me and the boys once in a while.
…Yes, daddy picked that shirt for him.
1st Easter:
Baptism:
1st Christmas:
1st haircut:
The most adorable poo-face:
Love these shirts from Holly and Matt:
As I mentioned earlier, we celebrated Brandon’s birthday in Banff, Alberta. Jeanette ran out to the grocery store to buy some cupcakes. The candles were bought in Vancouver and we lit them up for his birthday song. We celebrated lunch at Boston Pizza…
Here he is reading the birthday card from grandma and grandpa.
and again for dinner…
Here’s Brandon and I in front of some lake that was apparently on the old $10 bill. It was a beautiful sight !
His 1st Birthday PARTY !: Jeanette had come up with the whole polka-dot theme. She even got the boys and I matching polka-dot tie shirts ! So funny ! The cake was made by a good friend of mine, Jenny, who not only made our first cake as a couple (the wedding cake), but also retired from her kitchen with Brandon’s birthday cake being the last one she will ever make. She’s been amazing. A big special thank you to my wonderful wife and party mama for making this happen ! She had made all the plans and took care of everything while I was in Greece photographing a gorgeous wedding.
It’s been quite a journey for Brandon and I. And now we’re inseparable…really ! Brandon cries all the time when I’m out of sight. While some may think him being so clingy to me is not a good thing, I’m LOVING IT ! After not having it for 12 months, this is definitely a new beginning for us. This is catch up time.
I love my two boys so much and am so proud of them. I love how they are able to play with each other and not kill each other. And now with Jeanette back to work, it’s Daddy Daycare over here. I’ll be watching the two of them on my own and getting the chance to spend countless hours with them. This is one of the perks about being self-employed
You can bet I will be posting more about the kids and my time with them at home.
As we speak, Brandon has started to walk ! And finally calls me DA-DA ! My heart melts when I hear him say that.
Brandon, when you’re old enough to read this, Mommy, Daddy, and Ethan love you very much and hope you got everything you wished for.
We love you.
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