http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/heatherijames/27992 The camera is ready.&nbsp; Ready to capture you over and over again.&nbsp; From your smiles to that way when you furrow your brow because something has definitely captured your attention.&nbsp; You are only three months old, but I know your older brother has had&nbsp;three times as many pictures taken as you have.&nbsp; I said I would never be one of those parents.&nbsp; What you are soon to find out about me, is that you can easily call me an &quot;Even Steven.&quot;&nbsp; This is why the camera is always&nbsp;ready.&nbsp; Something in me triggers this sense of injustice if I do not give you the exact same things your brother had.&nbsp; What can I say?&nbsp; &nbsp;I'm a middle child.&nbsp; Bring it up with Gammie.&nbsp; Remember the time I fell asleep feeding you those first few weeks?&nbsp; It was because mommy had stayed up late one night when I should have been sleeping, just so I did not have to endure one more day without an even number of pictures hung around the house of the both of you.&nbsp; Three of your brother, three of you.&nbsp; It could not be any other way.&nbsp; So, the camera is always ready.&nbsp; But why&nbsp;are there still&nbsp;fewer pictures of you?&nbsp; Because you are my last baby. Something occurred to me today, when I was holding you and I was singing and you were&nbsp;smiling.&nbsp; If I reached over for that camera,&nbsp;I would&nbsp;have broken the moment.&nbsp; You would no longer be staring at mommy's face.&nbsp; You&nbsp;would be staring at a gray box placed in front of mommy's face.&nbsp; I&nbsp;guess this is why I rarely capture you on film with that gorgeous smile.&nbsp;&nbsp; You do not want to look at the camera, you want to look at your mommy.&nbsp; I can not miss these opportunities.&nbsp; But, they are in my mind.&nbsp; Yes, they are there.&nbsp;&nbsp;I want them there so badly, to enjoy and savor every moment; even though the&nbsp;camera is always ready, I dare&nbsp;not pick&nbsp;it up.&nbsp; I want to see you through my eyes, not&nbsp;the camera's.&nbsp;&nbsp;You are the last chance I get to store direct contact, direct memories,&nbsp;of a gift so preciously&nbsp;given over to me.&nbsp; Thus, one of these days if you have&nbsp;inherited mommy's&nbsp;unrelenting, meticulous, and obsessive fairness gene,&nbsp;(and poor daddy if that happens), and you ask why there are more pictures of your brother than of you, this is my explanation for it.&nbsp; I&nbsp;feel a need to offer it to you.&nbsp; It would only&nbsp;be fair that way.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The camera is ready.&nbsp; Ready to capture you over and over again.&nbsp; From your smiles to that way when you furrow your brow because something has definitely captured your attention.&nbsp; You are only three months old, but I know your older brother has had&nbsp;three times as many pictures taken as you have.&nbsp; I said I would never be one of those parents.&nbsp; What you are soon to find out about me, is that you can easily call me an &quot;Even Steven.&quot;&nbsp; This is why the camera is always&nbsp;ready.&nbsp; Something in me triggers this sense of injustice if I do not give you the exact same things your brother had.&nbsp; What can I say?&nbsp; &nbsp;I'm a middle child.&nbsp; Bring it up with Gammie.&nbsp; Remember the time I fell asleep feeding you those first few weeks?&nbsp; It was because mommy had stayed up late one night when I should have been sleeping, just so I did not have to endure one more day without an even number of pictures hung around the house of the both of you.&nbsp; Three of your brother, three of you.&nbsp; It could not be any other way.&nbsp; So, the camera is always ready.&nbsp; But why&nbsp;are there still&nbsp;fewer pictures of you?&nbsp; Because you are my last baby. Something occurred to me today, when I was holding you and I was singing and you were&nbsp;smiling.&nbsp; If I reached over for that camera,&nbsp;I would&nbsp;have broken the moment.&nbsp; You would no longer be staring at mommy's face.&nbsp; You&nbsp;would be staring at a gray box placed in front of mommy's face.&nbsp; I&nbsp;guess this is why I rarely capture you on film with that gorgeous smile.&nbsp;&nbsp; You do not want to look at the camera, you want to look at your mommy.&nbsp; I can not miss these opportunities.&nbsp; But, they are in my mind.&nbsp; Yes, they are there.&nbsp;&nbsp;I want them there so badly, to enjoy and savor every moment; even though the&nbsp;camera is always ready, I dare&nbsp;not pick&nbsp;it up.&nbsp; I want to see you through my eyes, not&nbsp;the camera's.&nbsp;&nbsp;You are the last chance I get to store direct contact, direct memories,&nbsp;of a gift so preciously&nbsp;given over to me.&nbsp; Thus, one of these days if you have&nbsp;inherited mommy's&nbsp;unrelenting, meticulous, and obsessive fairness gene,&nbsp;(and poor daddy if that happens), and you ask why there are more pictures of your brother than of you, this is my explanation for it.&nbsp; I&nbsp;feel a need to offer it to you.&nbsp; It would only&nbsp;be fair that way.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; en-us Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:25:21 PDT <p>Is that why my mom has more pictures of my brother?&nbsp; Too bad she never thought of this.&nbsp; haha</p> <p>Great post.&nbsp; Great reason.</p> <p>Speaking of great reasons, I was at a gal's house the other day, who said she was moving.&nbsp; This house is PERFECT, mind you -- great location, pretty darn new (they've lived there less than 2 years), and she has it decorated like a doll house.&nbsp; I said, &quot;Why in the world would you MOVE?&quot;&nbsp; Her answer?&nbsp; Because, living on a corner, someone had driven wrecklessly over their yard one night and came very close to their son's bedroom window, where he was sleeping.&nbsp; And, &quot;No amount of money or house is worth that.&quot;</p> <p>All of my arguments died in my throat.&nbsp; I said to her that hers was the best reason I've ever heard for selling a house.&nbsp; She wins.&nbsp; :)</p> <p>~d.</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/heatherijames/27992/#c_255468 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/heatherijames/27992/#c_255468 <p>Is that why my mom has more pictures of my brother?&nbsp; Too bad she never thought of this.&nbsp; haha</p> <p>Great post.&nbsp; Great reason.</p> <p>Speaking of great reasons, I was at a gal's house the other day, who said she was moving.&nbsp; This house is PERFECT, mind you -- great location, pretty darn new (they've lived there less than 2 years), and she has it decorated like a doll house.&nbsp; I said, &quot;Why in the world would you MOVE?&quot;&nbsp; Her answer?&nbsp; Because, living on a corner, someone had driven wrecklessly over their yard one night and came very close to their son's bedroom window, where he was sleeping.&nbsp; And, &quot;No amount of money or house is worth that.&quot;</p> <p>All of my arguments died in my throat.&nbsp; I said to her that hers was the best reason I've ever heard for selling a house.&nbsp; She wins.&nbsp; :)</p> <p>~d.</p>