here’s to your first cupcake,

your first close encounter with fire,

your first birthday…

and many more firsts together.

(taken on his birthday, one month ago)

We got him many stuffed animals, but for some reason, he really loves the gorilla he’s holding in this first photo.  We wanted him to like this little lamb (easy to carry around), or even this floppy giraffe, but there is just something about this gorilla that makes him squeal with glee when he sees it.  He hugs it, kisses it, wrestles it, and rolls around with it.  Jonathan ended up buying him that giant one and as expected, Cameron loves it too.  There’s no getting in between a baby and his best friend(s).

They get into trouble together, but always have each other’s back.  See no evil, hear no evil, and speak of no evil… because he’s busy eating.

And then we got him another one, just in case something happened to the original one.

Silly rabbit, you’re not a gorilla!

…no more monkeys jumping on the bed…

Happy new year, everyone!  We just got back from an incredible trip to Thailand, where I shot the most fun Thai/Scottish wedding.  Can’t wait to share!  We’re all still suffering from jet lag, so thank you for your patience as I adjust.  In the meantime, I wanted to share a highlight from our trip.  We got to play with baby tigers!  Cameron was in LOVE.  Seriously, we had to hold him back.  He tried to lay on them and hug them (like he does to our dogs).  Cameron basically broke all the rules:

rule 1: do not approach the tigers head on, always from behind.

rule 2: stay away from their head and face

rule 3: stay away from their front paws

And I’m sure there’s something about not hugging them and rolling around with them.  I wish I took more photos, but I was honestly too preoccupied and scared.

And to prove me right, Cameron took a bamboo reed and hit the tiger on the head.  This tiger ran away and Cameron chased it, pulling it by it’s fur.

Even though I was a bit nervous through the encounter, it was such an amazing experience.  Watching Cameron’s eyes light up is one of my favorite things.  I’m also glad we have a few of these photos to show him.

p.s. the tigers’ trainer was there the entire time.  the tigers were better trained than cameron, so i was more afraid of cameron provoking something than the other way around.

Dear Cameron,

Happy birthday, my little man.  I can’t believe a year has flown by already.  One year ago at this time, I was hours away from meeting you.  I was excited to have you in my life, but I can honestly say I had no idea how much joy you would bring because I had no idea this much joy even existed.  Since you’ve entered my life, I have experienced every emotion on a whole other level.  You’ve brought so much laughter and happiness into this home.  This home is literally warmer & brighter now, figuratively speaking and because thanks to nesting, we redecorated and got new windows (installed while we were at the hospital).  Thank you for giving us the best year of our life so far.

Love,

Mom

P.S. This calender was the favor from your birthday party… individually printed and cased.

P.P.S.  I’ll post photos from the party later, but for now, here’s a little sneak peak of the same-day-edit from our very talented friends at RainbowFish!

Cameron Tran // Our First Year from RainbowFish on Vimeo.