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Celebrating a first
Boy, 4, marks rare birthday
2 Leap Year pic1
Cory Hall sits with identical twins Preslie and Rylie and son Easton, who turns 4 today. The boy was born on Feb. 29, 2008. - photo by Chelsea Thomas Dawson Community News

Like any other 4-year-old, Easton Hall loves to pretend he is a superhero and play with toy trucks.

Yet unlike most kids, he has a rare birthday.

Easton was born on Leap Day 2008. That means this is the first year since then that his birthday has fallen on Feb. 29.

"He is still too young to understand," said mother Cory Hall. "This is his first year in school, so I [will take] him cupcakes. But next year, when he doesn't have a day, he will understand it better."

To celebrate his birthday, Easton's family had his cousins and family over to their house Saturday. According to Easton, the best part was taking a big bite of his cupcake.

The party's theme was Spiderman, which is his favorite superhero because "he shoots webs."

According to Easton's mother, he nearly wasn't a Leap Day baby. If he had been born an hour earlier, he would have a set birthday like other kids.

"I went in on [Feb. 27, 2008] and had to be induced due to complications," Cory said. "I went into labor the morning of Feb. 28, but he wouldn't come. So finally I had to have an emergency C-section."

He was born at 12:40 a.m. on Feb. 29.

Over time one thing has become increasingly clear to the Halls: oddities are not rarities.

In addition to being a Leap Year baby, Easton is left-handed and his sisters are identical twins.

"I don't play the odds anymore," Cory said. "When people say one in a million, I laugh and say that there is always that one. But with that said, I do feel very lucky."

For Easton's future birthdays that fall in between leap years, the Halls plan to celebrate March 1.

"Because he technically wasn't born on Feb. 28, I think we will celebrate on March 1 from now on," his mother said. "I think it is more accurate. We will just pretend it's not March 1 and its Feb. 29.

"He is a unique child and a ball of energy. We will continue to celebrate that."