Time seems to fly by when you’re a parent. It’s no wonder there are countless ways folks try and capture memories with their little ones while they can. Sometimes this involves lots of planning and forethought. Other times, though, the best traditions start naturally.
That’s certainly the case for this dad with twins. On Twitter, where he goes by Thinkwert, he goes into detail about the origin of the yearly photo he takes with his twin daughters. The very first one, which was taken in 2016, can be seen below.
2016 photo. A man’s back is facing the camera. He’s standing in a living room. He’s holding a twin on each side. The babies are facing the camera. Both of them look amused.
As you can see, Baby R (who is on Dad’s left side) and Baby C (right side) are very much still babies in this first photo. It was taken in April of that year for no particular reason — they simply thought it’d be a cute photo. In turn, he shared it on Facebook.
2017 photo. Dad’s back is toward the camera. His twins smile at the camera. It seems they’re in the same living room as their original photo.
If you have an account yourself, you likely know that, sometimes, Facebook shares a “memory” of a post you made in the past. When April 2017 rolled around, Thinkwert got remined of that sweet photo with his twins. Just like that, he got the inspiration to recreate the photo — and he’s been doing it ever since.
2018 photo. Dad’s back is toward the camera. His twins smile as they rest on his shoulders. A dining room can be seen at this angle.
After eight years of upholding this sweet tradition, Dad shared the photos on Twitter. In turn, folks had lots of questions. Luckily, Dad was happy to answer them! For starters, he let folks know that he always has the same twin on the same side each year. And, yes, they are identical!
2020 photo. Dad’s back is facing the camera. Both twins smile wide. They’re in a living room.
Another popular question has to do with the future of this tradition: Does Dad plan to keep this up for the unforeseeable future? What about when the twins are too big to hold?
2021 photo. Dad’s back is toward the camera. The twins smile, mouths open. They’re standing outside, trees in the distance.
“As long as I can,” Dad says of how long he’ll be doing this. “They get heavier every year, of course. I still managed easily, so I’m positive I can do it for a few more years. When I can no longer hold them I’ll just kneel and have them stand.”
2022 photo. Dad’s back is facing the camera. Baby C smiles wide while Baby R smiles softly. It’s the same angle as the 2016 photo.
Dad is loving this tradition, of course, but how do the twins feel about it now that they’re turning 9 years old soon? Despite C’s lack of a smile in the 2024 photo, Dad reassures us that it’s not because she isn’t happy.
2023 photo. Dad’s back is facing the camera. The twins seem to laugh as they smile.
“C on my right is not smiling in the 2024 photo because I wanted to select a photo where my shoulders were straight and both twins were looking at the camera,” he explains. “You can see her smiling in these outtakes. She smiled in most of the photos — just not this one.”
2024 photo. Dad’s back is toward the camera. Baby R smiles while Baby C smirks as she rest her face in her hand. They’re outside in front of a tree with pretty pink flowers.
What a fun tradition! There’s no doubt that R and C will grow up to cherish these precious photos, along with the memories that accompany them. It goes to show that even the smallest moments can be oh-so meaningful!