The video: A Dutch dad has created a time-lapse video compressing the growth of his daughter — from newborn to 12-year-old — into two minutes and 35 seconds. (See the video below.) The clip, called "Portrait of Lotte," consists of snippets filmmaker Frans Hofmeester shot over 600 weeks of Lotte's life, starting with images of her cooing and spitting up as a baby. The girl then transforms before the viewer's eyes, as her hair grows longer and she begins to talk, smile, pout, frown, and mature while her father films. In the week since Hofmeester posted the video on Vimeo, it has been viewed 1 million times. He also posted a similar look at his son, Vince, age 9, and says he'll keep the project going to track their young lives.
The reaction: This is "very impressive," says Carolyn Castiglia at Babble. Sure, other time-lapse videos have gone viral online, but you can always trust the Dutch to put their own artsy and "quirky" spin on things. Anyone with a small kid knows what a "remarkable feat of patience" it must have been, for dad and kids alike, says Melanie Hick at The Huffington Post. But what a reward! Hofmeester got to spend tons of time with Lotte and Vince, plus he has an artifact showing them "smile, cry, squeal, and yawn their way" through childhood. It's so easy to let time fly by in "the daily grind" of parenting, says Julie Ryan Evans at The Stir. "So I always love the reminders that come along and stop me in my tracks," forcing me "to take a breath and soak it all in." But I also hate them, as they "make me desperately sad about the fleeting time we have with our children." Take a look at "Portrait of Lotte" for yourself:
