Valazquez self portrait

I am writing this initially just with my own thoughts and will actually read more about this piece later in order to get a better understanding. I guess what stands out most is how bored he seems. Even standing before what appears to be a large canvas he seems disinterested in everything else going on around him. He is looking straight at the viewer (at least as best I can tell given the quality of the picture) as if to say, "yeah I'm here to". I am curious why he chose to include himself in this particular painting, was he especially close with the family, and what is he painting in the painting? Is it a depiction of him creating the very thing we are looking at? I will post a follow up after doing a bit of reading on this.