White House releases "The Year in Photographs, 2012"

Jan. 1, 2012: "A nice way to celebrate the New Year for the President was to jump in the ocean in his native state of Hawaii. He was on his annual Christmas vacation with family and friends, and went swimming at Pyramid Rock Beach in Kaneohe Bay." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Jan. 24, 2012: "One of the most memorable moments of the year was when the President hugged Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as he walked onto the floor of the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol to deliver his annual State of the Union address." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Feb. 7, 2012: "Kids will be kids. After the President had welcomed Lauren Fleming, the March of Dimes national ambassador, and her family in the Oval Office, her brother, Corbin Fleming, started to play with the President's telephone. Fortunately, he wasn't able to get through to a head of state." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

March 30, 2012: "We had just arrived aboard the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn and the President was walking into the White House. I had seen this scene several times but had never been able to quite capture it the way I wanted. Here, finally, arriving at night, I was able to frame him walking into the light of the Diplomatic Reception Room, with the added bonus of his shadow being cast from the television lights off to the left." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

April 24, 2012: "We were backstage at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill for the President's appearance on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.' The President let out a big laugh as he was being briefed by the producers and Mr. Fallon on the 'Slow Jam the News' segment." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

May 1, 2012: "For the President, this was one of the most poignant moments of the his first term. He was visiting wounded warriors in the intensive care unit at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. He had just presented a Purple Heart to Sgt. Chase Haag, who had been injured by an IED just hours before. Sgt. Haag was covered with a blanket and it was difficult to see how badly he was injured. He was also seemingly unconscious, or perhaps just asleep. The President whispered in his ear so not to wake him. Just then, there was a rustling under the blanket and Sgt. Haag, eyes still closed, reached his hand out to shake hands with the President. 'I'll never forget that moment,' someone else in the room later told me." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

May 20, 2012: "'How cool is this,' the President said after he threw a football at Soldier Field following the NATO working dinner in Chicago. I think he was especially excited to be on the home turf of his beloved Chicago Bears." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

May 25, 2012:: "The President was welcoming service members and their families to a screening of 'Men in Black 3' in the White House Family Theater. The movie was being presented in 3D, so the President jokingly asked them to try on their 3D glasses while he was speaking to them." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

June 15, 2012:: "We had just arrived at the helicopter landing zone in Chicago and instead of walking right to the motorcade, the President and First Lady walked past their vehicle to the edge of Lake Michigan to view the skyline of their home town." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

July 5, 2012: "'Anyone want to try a piece of my strawberry pie,' the President asked those at adjacent tables during a stop for lunch at Kozy Corners restaurant in Oak Harbor, Ohio. A young boy said yes and came over for a big bite of pie." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

July 14, 2012: "The President delivers remarks in the pouring rain at a campaign event in Glen Allen, Va. He was supposed to do a series of press interviews inside before his speech, but since people had been waiting for hours in the rain he did his remarks as soon as he arrived onsite so people." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

July 16, 2012: "The President and First Lady were attending the game between the U.S. Men's Olympic basketball team and Brazil in Washington, D.C. During the first half, the jumbotron flashed couples on their 'Kiss Cam', where they are then induced by the crowd to kiss each other. But neither the President or First Lady saw themselves when they were flashed on the 'Kiss Cam', and some in the audience booed when they didn't kiss. At halftime, as we walked to the locker room to visit the U.S. team, daughters Malia and Sasha were asking their parents why they hadn't kissed during their 'Kiss Cam' moment. Both the President and First Lady said they hadn't even realized what had happened and didn't know why people were booing. So in the second half, when they appeared again on the 'Kiss Cam', the President leaned over to kiss the First Lady amongst audience cheers as Malia and the Vice President watched overhead on the jumbotron." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

July 22, 2012: "The President hugs Stephanie Davies, who helped keep her friend, Allie Young, left, stay alive after she was shot during the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colo. The President visited patients and family members affected by the shootings at the University of Colorado Hospital. The President later told their story in a news conference." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

July 26, 2012: "A view from behind the President's chair during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Aug. 8, 2012: "Overcome with emotion, eight-year old Make-A-Wish child Janiya Penny reacts just after meeting the President as he welcomes her family to the Oval Office." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Aug. 14, 2012: "The President waves from his campaign bus to people lining the motorcade route in Iowa." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Aug. 15, 2012: "The President hugs the First Lady after she had introduced him at a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa. The campaign tweeted a similar photo from the campaign photographer on election night and a lot of people thought it was taken on election day." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Sept. 5, 2012: "Backstage at the Democratic National Convention, the President watches as former President Bill Clinton delivers his nomination speech, before surprising the crowd with an onstage appearance together after the speech." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Sept. 7, 2012: "The President and Vice President share a laugh before a campaign rally together in Portsmouth, N.H." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Sept. 14, 2012: "The President grasps the hand of the Secretary of State after his remarks during the ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, marking the return to the United States of the remains of J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. Ambassador to Libya; Sean Smith, Information Management Officer; and Security Personnel Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, who were killed in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Oct. 26, 2012: "The President pretends to be caught in Spider-Man's web as he greets the Nicholas Tamarin, 3, just outside the Oval Office. Spider-Man had been trick-or-treating for an early Halloween with his father, White House aide Nate Tamarin in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. I can never commit to calling any picture my favorite, but the President told me that this was HIS favorite picture of the year when he saw it hanging in the West Wing a couple of weeks later." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Nov. 15, 2012: "The President had just met with the U.S. Olympics gymnastics team, who because of a previous commitment had missed the ceremony earlier in the year with the entire U.S. Olympic team. The President suggested to McKayla Maroney that they recreate her 'not impressed' photograph before they departed." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Nov. 15, 2012: "The President tries to comfort Damien and Glenda Moore at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center tent in Staten Island, N.Y. The Moore’s two small children, Brandon and Connor, died after being swept away during Hurricane Sandy." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)