The stranger in the coffee shop looked at us, almost as if we were insane, and said in a tired voice, "Sleep while you can!". It was an ominous warning, over a month ago. We were (Jo was) a month off giving birth and at the time sleeping was getting uncomfortable. On June the 2nd, 2009, Ida Valentina van Kan graced us with her arrival. 7lb 3oz of beautiful girl. [caption id="attachment_3365" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Ida Valentina"][/caption] After 10 days the warning seems premature. Sleep isn't too bad, in fact we feel incredibly lucky. I am learning things from her.  She will let us know when she has a need. That is a certainty. I am learning about what might be important to her. As one of her official life photographers I am learning the difference between what I would like to photograph, and what she will probably want. I cannot help but be drawn to her face, and most of my initial images were of just her and mainly her face, but as I think about it I realise that those photographs are being taken for me. In ten years time what will be important for her will be where she grew up, and what it was like. Her recollection of these first years will mostly be based on what we tell her and the images of where she lived and the people around her. Suddenly I feel a huge burden of responsibility as the recorder of her story, made even more important because she is our daughter. In truth it is the same responsibility I have to my clients whenever I photograph them. If you are addicted to baby pics there are more on my own blog Sleep can never be overrated. Cheers Johannes (Father of Ida)