Friday, November 29, 2013

Endearing at Eight Months

There were all sorts of things that I could have done today, with Tom home and no pressing errands to run or appointments to make. However, I did none of them. From the moment I woke, I felt that I just needed a lazy day, and I got one.

I really want to say it was worth it- it pretty much felt like it was at the time- but I know I'll soon be wishing I'd made "better" use of the time. Mental health days are important too, however, so I'm trying to keep that in mind.

Needless to say, I did not redo Amelia's eight-month pictures, so I've had to work with what I got yesterday. I've also been desperately unable to come up with an interesting album name, as you've likely noted.

It's a real shame that she was so reluctant to smile, given that she has five teeth to show off now. However, I suppose that the pictures are indicative of where she's at right now. She's a happy, laid-back baby, but the bulk of her energy lately has been spent on observation and exploration. She has some pretty serious stuff to take in and consider every waking moment of the day.

When I first started out she seemed somewhat cooperative, but I was having issues with the white balance due to the lighting and reflective quality of the loveseat material. I edited this picture (one of the first that I took) quite a bit and improved it somewhat, but it still looks a little strange.


After I moved her to the sofa, she seemed intrigued, initially.


Though the white balance appeared more natural in the new location, the sofa fabric was also reflecting too much light back from the flash, and I found that  most of the photos were ending up somewhat overexposed. In the meantime, Mia quickly began to fade out. She clearly wasn't "feelin' it."


Mei Mei, Mima, and I all tried valiantly to capture her attention, while Pooh unabashedly managed to steal my focus for every picture going forward. All the three of us got for our efforts was a blank stare.


Ultimately, Mia decided that Tigger's tag was far more entertaining than we could ever be.


At that point, I decided that perhaps it was time to get some shots of Mia by herself. (Well, almost. Pooh and Piglet were photo-bombing with their feet until I noticed the encroachment and moved them further away.)


Finally, something approaching a smile!


She no longer looks bored or depressed, at least.


Then she broke out a half-sneer...


... but, eventually, we did get some teeth (and a lot of skirt-lifting, as well).


What can I say? That's my girl, all eight months' worth of her. I've no doubt I'll get my share of chances to capture her beaming smile over the next few weeks, so I'll let these particular pictures stand as the official record of just how far she's come.