For lovers of non-contrived photos everywhere...

I do take formal pictures on occasion, but usually only when there's no other option or I need to consolidate people into one shot. (For example, pictures for the Christmas card - waiting for a random moment with the whole family isn't going to happen, unless it's a contrived moment of randomness.) However, I am one who prefers good photos that aren't contrived. But sometimes you get all of the wrong pictures for all of the right reasons. You may see this photo, and as a fellow lover of candid shots, may pass over this picture as being cutesy. I would not fault you for thinking that someone stuck a baby in a basket to get a cute shot. However, that was not how the photograph originated.

In my existence, with 3 young children 4 years old and under, I find that I need a way to keep at least two of them happy so that I can help the third. My day tends to be a never-ending cycle of making one happy, then the next, then the next. Feed Emmett... get Jack a corn dog... set up Kyra's computer game... change Emmett's diaper... change Jack's diaper... get Kyra some food... and on (and on and on and on). Today, I needed to set Emmett down. He likes to be snuggled in a little ball, so he's not too fond of flat surfaces. He's also not too fond of Jack, but that's another story. (You'd be scared too if Jack were twice your size and screaming "Baby Emot" in your face while trying to force feed you a pacifier.) Then I saw this basket someone gave to us and thought it is just the right size to mimic being held in someone's lap. I put Emmett in there and he loved it:



Woohoo, a quiet baby!



I love these little toes.



The basket has no longer been banished and will stay downstairs as a surrogate mom while I work out who's turn it is to ride on the motorcycle. It served it's purpose well. However, like most moments of silence, all good things must eventually come to an end: