Mom Gifts 3-Year-Old Son a Camera as His ‘Big Brother’ Present. What Happened Next Was Unexpected (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• A Maryland-based mom of two gifted her 3-year-old son a camera ahead of her daughter’s arrival, and she didn’t know how “overwhelmingly happy” the results would make her

• Victoria Yost gifted her son a camera of his own on the night he met his sister for the first time, and the newly minted big brother immediately fell in love

• He captured the first week of his new role through the pictures, creating long-lasting memories

When a Maryland-based mom of two gifted her 3-year-old son a camera ahead of her newborn daughter’s arrival, she didn’t know how “overwhelmingly happy” the results would make her.

Victoria Yost tells PEOPLE that when she first heard the exciting news about her pregnancy, she and her partner wanted to make sure their son Gabriel didn’t feel left out.

“From the moment we found out we were expecting, we started preparing Gabriel for the new arrival,” she says. “We constantly talked about her and that she was going to come play with him. Overall, he was very excited.”

As it grew closer to Yost’s due date, she noticed the toddler had taken an interest in taking pictures on her phone. With this newfound interest in photography, the doting mom figured he might enjoy having his own camera.

She gifted Gabriel a camera of his own — shaped like a green and yellow dinosaur — on the night he met his sister Elizabeth for the first time, and the newly minted big brother immediately fell in love.

“Our biggest concern was Gabriel feeling jealous of his sister,” she explains. “For the most part, we didn’t see any change in his attitude. Having the camera helped him feel involved in a way, since he felt it was his job to take photos.”

One night, Yost found herself going through the pictures that Gabriel took and was in awe of what she found. Gifting the camera to her toddler gave her a unique opportunity to see his first week as a “big brother” through his eyes.

“I couldn’t help but feel so overwhelmingly happy and filled with love,” she tells PEOPLE. “I was shocked to see just how good of a little photographer he was, and it felt surreal to see things from his point of view.”

The proud mom even shared a few of her son’s snaps in a video on her TikTok, sharing in the caption that it’s “literally the best thing we could have gotten him.”

“I’m crying going through these photos,” she continued writing in the caption. “Of course I had to delete 2000 photos of his feet and the ceiling, but these ones came out great.”

Yost was able to see every part of her son’s first week as a brother, including the few days he spent with his grandparents ahead of the baby’s arrival. While there were several pictures she loved, she tells PEOPLE those are among some of her favorites.

“My favorite photos that he took are of his grandparents while he spent a few days with them while I was in the hospital and of us when we first brought the new baby home,” she shares, adding that there was also “one I found where he took a picture of the baby in her bassinet that is very precious to me.”

Since uploading the video on TikTok, it has garnered 1.9 million views, and Yost says the reaction from viewers has been “overwhelmingly positive.”

“I think many people enjoyed seeing something sweet and wholesome,” she adds.

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Yost plans to keep all of the photos that her son snapped in a photo album for them to look back on.

As far as adjusting to his big brother duties, the mom of two tells people that he’s transitioning “beautifully,” despite some small “hiccups.”

“He has adjusted beautifully,” she says. “We have our little ‘hiccups’ here and there from time to time. But he’s always wanting to be helpful, and yes, he still loves taking photos. His camera is always on hand.”

Read the original article on People