Light is the most important part of taking photos. I like taking photographs without using a flash, because it forces me to think carefully about where the light is coming from and how to use it effectively. This is one part of the skill of photography in which there is always room for improvement... for me at least.

While hanging out with Aila one day in the kitchen I noticed the light coming in through the front hall and bouncing off the kitchen floor. The way it floods into the scene really helps make the photo more three dimensional, and this one really pops out of the screen next to the other random photos I took that day, which look flat in comparison.

This is the first photo of Aila that I have posted with her doll, who we simply call "Baby". Initially we didn't have any dolls for Aila, because we stocked our house with gender-neutral toys. However, she saw another kid with a baby in a store one day and went absolutely crazy. Angela quickly bought the cheapest baby in the store, figuring that Aila would play with it for a few minutes and discard it in disinterest like the rest of her toys. Of course, Aila took that baby everywhere she went, until it was so dirty that we had to wash it.

That baby didn't suvive the washing process, so we went out and bought a slightly better quality doll for Aila. She still takes Baby everywhere. She hugs her, brushes her hair (or bald head, anyway), gives her water from her drinking cup, feeds her certain foods like toast and eggs, and has figured out how to sit her down in the handle of her walker so that Baby can come with her as she walks around the house.

She has done all of this without any prompting or demonstration from either of us... which quite frankly blows our minds a little. If Aila was a boy, I wonder if she (he) would have shown the same attitude and dedication to a doll as Aila has? Parents of boys: What is your experience?

Technical details: This photo was taken with my 5D Mark II + Tamron 28-75 at 75mm, ISO 800, f/4 for 1/200th of a second.

Comments

Aila is so adorable!! I have raised 2 girls and a boy of my own and have 6
grandchildren as well as worked with many children. There are some boys that
will take to dolls or stuffed animals from the start and are often the gentler
boys. There are also girls that take to cars and such, but on the whole
children are very gender perspective no matter what they are given to play
with. At play group there is a dollhouse both the boys and girls fight
over,however how they play with it is very different. Girls the way you would
expect and boys by hanging GI joes from it and slamming furniture around as 
weapons.BOYS will be BOYS on the whole! It is apparent when reading books to
children. Girls listen boys want to show you the things they see that relate to
other things in the story. On the whole Boys are risk takers climbers
rambunctious, girls are nurturers and whiners. ENJOY your little
nurturer,Braydon has kept me in shape since birth. It is a good thing I was
well experienced before he came into this world to bring me such JOY...LOL!!
 

From ages 1-5, I had an Aunt Jamima doll http://www.auntjemima.com/aj_history/
I loved the doll and carried her around everywhere. At age five I was done with
dolls and totally plunged into a young boy world. I was given my first real
rifle at 5 and I learned how to shoot it. I skied and fished, although I only
used lures because I hated killing worms and minnows. I hunted until I shot my
first animal, a rabbit, and I vowed never to kill another living thing. I don't
think that Aila is necessarily differentiated gender-wise yet. One would need
to see more of a clear preference over time for all kinds of girly things. I
would continue to offer her the best of both worlds without bias.

She is also very interested in large trucks and tractors, and fascinated by
motorcycles... so you are probably right.  I guess it is always interesting to
see what they become interested in at different stages.

You said "She has done all of this without any prompting or demonstration from
either of us" -- but that's not true. She's simply imitating the actions of the
two people closest to her -- her loving, nurturing, caring, engaged parents!
Don't think of it as gender identification; I agree with Dad, it's too early
for that. She's just reflecting the interpersonal relationships in her
immediate environment. :)