Mischief

Can you see how much this kid loves mischief? It's in her eyes!

Blue

I think little girls look great in blue.

Watching puppies

Kiran watching her puppies play.

Close-up

Only babies have skin smooth enough to pull off a close-up like this.

Snow

It's snowing again!

Bath tub

Kiran is a big fan of her new, bigger bath tub that has plenty of space for toys and splashing.

Stairs

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." --Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

Bounce flash #2

Bounce flash off the side wall instead of the ceiling. I love this!

Bounce flash

My first experience with bounce flash off the ceiling was pretty successful. I don't think I've ever taken a picture of Kiran in her own room before -- because there's only one small window and not a lot of natural light. Thank you, Nikon SB-400, for making it possible!

Built-in flash

I love to use natural light as much as possible in my photography, but sometimes she's being super-cute when there's no natural light available. This will hopefully be the last picture I'll take with the built-in flash, as I invested in some new equipment today.

One benefit

One benefit of being able to pull up is being able to see out the window. A bit overwhelming, it seems.

Swing

Richard and I had a dollar riding on whether or not Kiran would enjoy a playground swing. She did -- I won.

Big and little

Daddy's work boots and Kiran's sneakers.

Changing everyday

I'm blown away by how different Kiran looks from day to day lately. I feel like every time I look at her, she has another tooth and a new lock of curly hair over her ear!

Bath time

Do NOT try to take Pee-Pee Whale away from Kiran during her bath.

Too slow, Mommy!

When she's playing, she's lightening fast!

Pulling up

Sunny, diaper hanging out, pulling up in order to make mischief -- I'm not sure Kiran could have been happier.

Wearing Mommy's scarf

I can't get enough of babies in big-people clothes. It's become somewhat of an obsession. I can't wait till I can put her in my heels. I thought this scarf was great because it's so big and she's so little -- it looks like it's eating her alive!

Travel

This is a big travel week in the Nephew household, with everyone headed somewhere different. Richard has been in Europe since Sunday (he gets back today), Kiran heads to her grandparents' house tonight, and Richard and I depart for the Caribbean tomorrow. Even the dogs are headed to their 'pet retreat' this morning.

So, I'm going to post a few photos to keep myself caught up with 'a photo a day' while I'm away. To start, here's a picture of Kiran from Sunday, when Richard was packing for his business trip. I've never seen such a sad little girl!

Headband

My husband thinks it's cruel and unusual to put Kiran in headbands. So I only do it when he's not looking.

For Dada

Kiran usually reserves her biggest, toothiest smiles for her Dada. This one's for you, Dada!

Bright and happy

As promised.

Cousins

Kiran absolutely loves playing with big kids. Here she is hanging out with her cousin, Justin, who's six, and my cousin, Evan, who's eleven.

Dark and serious

Alright...one more dark and serious one before I get to something bright and silly. It's dark outside when I get home from work, so it's much easier to take these kinds of pictures.

This photo is overexposed and slightly out of focus, but still pretty good for a self-portrait, I think!

Wonder

I like the look of wonder on her face in this picture. But I promise to put something cheerful and colorful on here tomorrow -- she's not always this serious!

Sweet, soft, little baby

I always think of Kiran as a tough kid. And she is. But I have to remind myself sometimes that she's also just a sweet, soft, little baby.

"We have eyes."

"We have eyes." That's what we say when we see on the video monitor that Kiran is awake. And we say it with all the seriousness of mission control.

This shot is *supposed* to show smooth, creamy baby skin with clear, dark eyes. However, Kiran is prone to bonking her head on things (she's still getting the hang of crawling), so this also turned into a shot of the cut on her forehead. :-)

Love, Protection

I absolutely adore this one. Big, strong daddy hands and little, tiny baby feet. I took this yesterday while Richard and Kiran watched football together.

Nine Months

Kiran's great grandparents gave us a lovely frame when she was born that has places for pictures of her at birth, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year. She is 9 months old today, so I was sure to get a picture of her for the frame. For the 3-month and 6-month pictures, I was able to sit her in the same place and get similar-looking pictures. This time, Kiran was too busy crawling and playing to do what I wanted to do. So, instead of being au-natural on a taupe background (like I wanted), she's in play clothes in the dining room (like she wanted). I guess the battle of wills has begun. Kiran - 1, Mom - 0.

Cheerio-cleaning team

Before Kiran came along, I was convinced that it would be possible to have a kid AND a house that wasn't cluttered with toys. Apparently not. There may be toys scattered everywhere, but at least we have our own Cheerio-cleaning team!

A New Year's "Reflection"

I am unabashedly stealing this idea from Laura Hardy, an old friend of mine who has her own adorable baby and her own newfound-obsession with baby photography. She has committed to taking a photo a day of her little one and blogging the results (http://www.photoblog.com/hardy365/). I know that I won't stick with the "photo-a-day" concept (life happens!), but I do have my camera out often enough that I think I can keep this updated regularly and post 365 photos by the end of the year.

So, without further ado, here is Kiran Jade, just shy of 9 months old, "reflecting" on the New Year. I wish I had paid more attention to her foot, which was partially covered by the black sheet she was sitting on when I set up this shot. Good practice for a cool concept, though. And I love that she was clapping her hands -- she just learned to do that.