Photo Editing: A Whole New World

So, my sweet hubby splurged on me for Christmas and bought me the Nikon Capture NX2 software.  I have never had a moment of training on photography or photo editing, but I love the artistic side of photography.  This software is so great!  Without having cracked open the owner's manual yet, I have already learned how to sharpen colors, brighten dark pictures and even do blemish removal on pictures. 
As I said, I am no expert in any way, shape or form.  I need to take classes, but I enjoy the art of it.
Here is an old picture of Micah from last Easter.  You can see he is shaded and he has some red bumps on his forehead--why do toddlers always fall on their forehead?

Below is a picture I faded out/whitened to emphasize Micah's eyes.  He has such pretty, hazel peepers.  I also erased the red marks on his forehead.

It is fun having a new toy to doctor my photos to look better.  Now I want EVERY photo I take to be "fixed".  I find myself looking at photos I loved and realizing how imperfect they are.  Well, hopefully, my new software will translate into better blog photos for you all!