NIKON D3000, a little

I just recently got my Nikon D3000, and am thrilled to use it. I love photography and can't wait to put the camera to good use. I've never had any photography classes, just plenty of cameras to shoot around with. I want to take pictures of a baby that i know (mini photoshoot) and also my brothers grad pictures and i'm not sure what the best settings to use are or what special features the camera has. The owners manual gives it all, but ill admit i get confused. Any help is appreciated.

Baby photos - use aperture priority ("A" on the dial) and set this to the smallest number (on a kit lens might be around f/3.5). This will help throw out the background which is desirable for portraits.

If you want to learn more about this then study the concepts Aperture and Depth of Field.

Bear in mind that you're going to need good light for the photos. You don't want to use the on camera flash as this is too harsh and will produce unsightly shadows. Try using natural light if possible.