Every age group has its special challenges when it comes to getting that one great image, but there are some that are harder than others. Three month olds are tough because they can’t sit up yet but don’t curl up like a newborn. 18 month olds won’t sit still for a minute. And then there are the 3 & 4 year olds, who have learned how to smile on command and don’t grasp the difference between a "real" smile and a fake one. They pose beautifully and do what you tell them to do happily…then turn on the cheese! Fortunately, these smiles are just as precious and fleeting as all childhood memories, and it’s fun to have them captured forever because in another year they will be gone for good.

Ava was very typical. Her mom & I worked hard to tease her into real smiles. My favorite shot, though, was this one by our creek. She was engrossed in the soft dirt but looked up when she heard a plane (OK, maybe we told a little fib about a bird) and I caught this expression.

Here is another of her that I love:

This is her little brother Jake. This little guy is barely sitting up, but he was just a doll. Look at his eyes…they are a beautiful shade of green/brown but getting darker as the weeks go by, and his mom wanted a good shot of him at this stage.

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