Ayla Happy with Jo

There is a sense of comfort being near your mother as a young baby or child. The closeness, knowing the care taken to keep you safe. At that age, you receive something from her different from anyone else in the world, even you father. A nurturing and familiarity. As if the outer world could evaporate away and you would be none the wiser. It can cease a crying spell or bring a smile to an otherwise mundane moment.

The best part of witnessing this take place with your own child is watching your daughter soak it up and seeing what it does to your wife. Here is one of those moments caught on camera.

One of Those Moments

Franklin, TN

They Were Simpler Times Back Then

Ayla is coming up on one-year old and what better way to commemorate her birth by looking back at the first year. It is really bizarre to think about how much she has changed. She can roll over on her own, shoot, she can stand by herself too. She has 2 teeth, eats solid food and is can hold her liquor with the best of them. Just kidding. But all these changes, though they are good, makes life a little more interesting around the old homestead.

So I wanted to post a photo of when times were simpler. When she pull things off the shelves and follow us all over the house. A time when she wouldn't throw food off her tray. A time when the worst thing that could happen would be that she drooled like a...well, a baby.

Simpler Times

Franklin, TN

Gawking Over Babies

I love watching others look at babies. Don't get me wrong, I love looking at babies also, especially my own, but there is something that happens to adults when they get around newborns. There is always something that changes in the person. Whether it be because they loose inhibitions or get extremely uncomfortable, you cannot be around a baby and not alter your mannerisms in some way.

My wife and I are pretty free with letting others hold our child and so I have seen quite the gamut of reactions. There is the 'Am I Doing This Right?' reaction. This usually involves a timid hold, with questioning looks around the room to anyone who would know more than they do. And without fail, the baby starts crying, causing even more doubt in the holders mind as to whether they are the worst baby-holder in the world.

Other reactions include, but are not limited to, the 'This Child Only Understands High Pitch Squeals', 'Let the Child Cry for All I Care' and 'I Can't Help But Become Ultra-Animated'. Now I must say, the last one is my favorite to watch (also, I think I do this one the most). This is usually how it goes. The person gets the baby in front of them with some anticipation already built up, then peers deep into their glistening eyes and is swept up in the euphoria of being in the presence of such a magnificently innocent creature. They seek out the sheer joy of a smile or giggle. And they will use any means necessary to do so. For a short while they are transported to a magical place where they don't have to worry about a sharp retort to one of their comments or a malicious glance of the eyes. It is in this magical place that they find their own little time of childishness and freedom that often gets suppressed in the real world...or maybe being around a child brings out the child.

Happy Grandparents, Franklin, TN

Ayla On the Thumb

Babies are an interesting breed. All you have to do is meet their basic needs and they are as happy as a clam. Feed them, burp them, change them, put them to bed. This covers about 95% of their crying. The solutions are usually extremely simple. Their is no need to set up a three-ring circus for a baby because chances are they just want to be bounced or something. Take the picture of my daughter below. She is sucking on, what in her opinion, is a delectable thumb, and is as happy as a clam.

But at the same time, deciphering which of those simple needs is necessary at that moment is the difficult part. Does she need to be changed? Is there still some gas in there? Does she just want something to suck on or is she really hungry? And the worst part is that when you are in the heat of the moment and your baby is screaming, you tend to forget some of the simplest solutions such as swaddling your baby or holding her a different way.

And when you figure out exactly what it is that she wants, you move from absolute stress to a sense of accomplishment and pride previously unparalleled in your life. Because you know that you have met the needs of your child and, consequently, fulfilled the exact duty given to you through parenthood. I love that feeling.

Ayla on the Thumb, Franklin, TN
70mm, f/4.5, 1/30 sec

What Has Been Keeping Me Away

I realize that there has been quite a long silence between my last post and this one, so I feel it is only courteous for me to introduce her to everyone. This is my daughter Ayla Joy. She interrupts my sleep, sometimes screams without reason, perplexes me often and brings an incredible amount of joy to my life. She has flipped my world upside-down and I will never be the same because of her. She grows like a weed (already) and sleeps whenever she wants. And even though I could write about all of her little sighs, groans, cries and other noises, I realize that it would bore most people because she is not their daughter. And let's face it, many of those things are only interesting to the ones who also see the screaming, tears and fussing. So I will try to keep my musings about how darn cute my daughter is to a minimum. Instead, I will try to give insight to those who don't have children and a reminder of the wonder that accompanies kids to those who already have them.

This photo was taken just a few weeks after she was born. I can't go any further without thanking Rebekah Pope and Barbie Schwartz. I previously worked with both of them and they were kind enough to let me bring my camera during a photo session at Rebekah's studio. Be sure you check out their work.

Ayla in Her Mother's Hands

The World is Brand New

I love babies. Not so much the poopy diaper side of them, but among other things, the newness of them. They have just been brought into a world that they know nothing about. They have never seen a person, heard a dog bark, felt the wind on their face or even the touch of another human hand. Nothing is old hat to them, even hearing people talk.

You see, for most of us, we walk through our day not even noticing the majority of what goes on around us. The sounds of birds in the trees, the electric white noise, and the sound of passing cars are all things we have grown accustomed to and therefore ignore. But this isn't the way it is for a baby.

They look around them constantly, soaking everything in. Something as minuscule as a person walking can enrapture a babies attention. They are even still getting used to their own body. I can't imagine what it would be like if all the sudden, I had hands for the first time in my life and previously had no concept of what they are or how to use them. I would think they were odd and interesting and look at them over and over again trying to figure them out. I would grip little things just to grip them. And the world around me would be something I could touch and feel and hold.

Nikon D70, VR Nikkor 70-200mm, f/2.8