I keep assuming the reason I’m taking more photos these days is because I’m forcing myself to pick up the camera more often. As I think about it, though, there are more opportunities to pick up the camera: crawling, walking, even just playing with toys. She’s doing more so there’s more memories to capture and save for posterity.

This weekend I was looking for something different to capture on digital film. I poked around on the internet, but was coming up empty for ideas until I stumbled upon a photo of a sweet baby boy looking out the window. The boy sat on the floor, his back to the camera, flanked by a stuffed animals. (ETA: I finally found the photo that served as my inspiration!) It was such a sweet photo. I thought of our living room window and how I had used it for my DIY maternity photos almost a year ago to the day.

As luck would have it, there was a cloudy drizzle early this morning, is unusual for this time of year, giving the curtains a soft glow. I couldn’t resist.

Whenever I look at this photo I instantly image a few decades into the future, but also think back to a year ago when I stood in the same spot. My heart, it melts.

I shouldn’t lament the end of of posed baby photos. It’s true, I can’t pose her anymore. She’s going to do her own thing. Sometimes that will work for the photo I have in mind, sometimes it won’t. Nicki didn’t want to just sit still in front of the window, peacefully amoungst the stuffed animals like the boy I saw in the photograph. She wanted to play. Even her favorite a stuffed animal sitting by her side would not distract her from grabbing the curtain and twirling it around herself.

The best photos aren’t forced, anyway.