How To Improve Compostion

It was my baby's first Christmas.  The house was quiet and my older 3 children were fast asleep.  As usual, my baby was still up enjoying the still of the night and the twinkle of the Christmas lights.

I took both of these photos with my iPhone.  Which photo has a stronger composition?
This is just my opinion, but to me the second photo has a much stronger composition than the first photo.  Why is that you say?  Well, the top photo has some distracting elements to it.  First of all, the light that is on in the kitchen produces a second light source and distracts the eye from the glow of the Christmas tree, which is one of the main subjects of the photo.  Another distracting feature in the first photo is where the baby is located.  She is really close to the Christmas tree skirt.  At a quick glance, you may even not notice the baby on the ground.  It looks as off she blends into the tree skirt.

In my opinion, the photo above has a much stronger composition.  As the photographer, I positioned myself in basically the same position, but I took a moment to fix the distracting elements before taking the shot.  I turned the light off in the kitchen and moved the baby away from the Christmas tree skirt.  I made sure the baby was still in the light of the tree, that way the viewer wouldn't miss seeing the baby.  This photo is easier on the eye and the viewer can easily tell what the photo is all about.