While many soon-to-be parents opt to find out their child's sex before they welcome their little one into the world, some folks prefer to be surprised [1]. Tempest and Cornell Griffin Jr. were part of the latter category, and as you can tell by Cornell's facial expression in the above photo, learning his wife had just given birth to a daughter came as one heck of a surprise. Fortunately, birth photographer and fellow parent Sarah Romero [2] was there to capture everything.
"The first time I saw this photo I could not hold back my laughter and my tears of fulfillment," Tempest told POPSUGAR. Because Cornell was serving overseas when the pair welcomed their daughter, Hazel, two years ago, they had no idea what to expect. "We were at an Italian hospital where no one spoke English, and we were clueless about her [sex] until I gave birth. This photo is so authentic and I'm excited to have it as a forever memory."
Officially a proud father, Cornell was eager to get a look at his baby girl. "Nothing else around mattered at that moment," Cornell explained. "Waiting nine months to find out the [sex] was exciting and my facial expression in that photo captured every emotion I was feeling."
To Sarah, this photograph perfectly illustrates what it's like to be a new dad. "This will always be one of my favorite father birth photos," she captioned an Instagram post displaying the picture. "Watching and experiencing reactions is just one of the amazing parts of being a birth photographer."